A lot of Filipino words have been derived from the Spanish language. As you know, the

Philippines had been under Spanish rule for several hundred years and this colonization

had left this indelible legacy on the Tagalog language. You will also note that the personal

names of most Filipinos are Spanish names. So it might interest you to know that some of

the words that you will be using came from the Spanish language. However, Tagalog has

ts own structural characteristics that are in no way related to the structure of the Spanish

language. So here are some of the words that can be traced back to their original terms in

Spanish. For each word of phrase, I will try to identify the original Spanish words from which

it was derived then use the word in a simple Tagalog sentence.

apellido -> apelyido - last name
Ang mga pangalan at apelyido ng mga Pilipino ay hango sa wikang Kastila.

The first names and last names of Filipinos have been derived from the

Spanish language.

querida -> kerida - lover
Nabisto ng asawa na may kerida ang pulitiko.

The wife of the politician discovered that he has a lover.

cuenta -> kwentahin - find out how much
Kinukwenta pa ng kahero kung magkano ang ating babayaran.

The cashier is still counting how much we're going to pay.

siempre -> siyempre - of course
Nagpapaganda pa ang dalaga siyempre bago magpakita sa binata.

The lady is of course beautifying herself before she shows

up for the gentleman.

labios -> labi - lips
Kinukulayan ng mga babae ang kanilang mga labi.

Women put color on their lips.

lunar -> nunal - mole
Ano ang ibig sabihin kapag ang tao ay may nunal sa kanyang mga labi?

What does it mean when a person has mole on his lips?

fuera -> mapwera - except
Pinapayagan ang magpasok ng gamit mapwera na lamang kung may mahalagang okasyon.

Bringing of things inside is allowed except when there is an important occasion.

fiesta -> pista - feast
Nagdiriwang ang mga tao kapag pista ng kanilang tagapaglistas na santo.

The people celebrate on the feast of their patron saint.

americana -> amerikana - suit
Nakasuot siya ng amerikana nang dumating siya buhat sa ibang bansa.

He was wearing a suit when he arrived from abroad.

muňeca -> manika - doll
Ang batang babae ay mahilig maglaro ng manika.

The small girl likes to play with a doll.

ducha -> dutsa - shower
Ang banyo ay mayroong dutsa.

The bathroom has a shower.

toalla -> tuwalya - towel
Naglabas siya ng bagong tuwalya para sa bisita.

He took out a new towel for the visitor.

lavar -> maglaba - to wash clothes
Maglalaba siya ng damit pagdating niya sa bahay.

She is going to wash clothes when she arrives at the house.

pomada -> pomada - pomade
Ang mga lalaki ay naglalagay ng pomada upang kumintab ang kanilang buhok.

The men put pomade on their hair to make them shiny.

el paňuelo -> panyolito - handkerchief
Pahiran mo ng panyolito ang pawis mo.

Wipe your sweat with a handkerchief.

diseňo -> disenyo - design
Maganda ang disenyo ng bagong gusali.

The new building has a beautiful design.

asistir -> umasiste - assist the priest during mass
Noong bata pa kami ay umaasiste kami sa pari kapag may misa.

When we were small, we used to assist the priest during mass.

responder - rumesponde - to respond
Rumesponde kaagad ang mga pulis sa taong humingi ng tulong.

The policemen responded immediately to the person who needed help.

explicar -> eksplika - to explain
Paki eksplika nga kung bakit nasa labas ang mga gamit.

Please explain why the things are outside.

barato -> barat - stingy
Mahirap sa isang barat ang dumukot sa bulsa upang magbayad.

It's difficult for a stingy person to get money from his pocket and pay.

la tienda -> tindahan - store
Bumili ka muna ng bigas sa tindahan.

Please buy rice first from the store.

gastar -> gastos - expenses
Malaki ang gastos pag nag-aaral sa kolehiyo.

Expenses are big when someone studies in college.

hacer caso de -> asikaso - take care of
Asikasuhin mo ang mga bisita natin.

Take care of our guests.

tacon -> takong - heel
Mataas ang takong ng kanyang sapatos.

Her shoes have high heels.

la manteca -> mantika - vegetable oil
Lagyan mo ng mantika ang kawali.

Put vegetable oil on the frying pan.

merienda -> meryenda - snack
Magmeryenda muna tayo sa canteen.

Let's have some snacks first at the canteen.

encender -> sindihan - to turn on the light
Sindihan mo na ang ilaw dahil madilim na.

Turn on the light because it's dark already.

tomar -> tumoma - to drink wine
Halika muna kayo sa kainan at tumoma muna tayo.

You all come with me at the eatery and let's have a drink first.

alquilar -> umarkila - to rent
Umarkila tayo ng bisikleta sa parke.

Let's rent bicycles at the park.

cochero -> kutsero - coachman
Ang kutsero ay nagpapakain ng kanyang kabayo.

The coachman is feeding his horse.

almorzar -> almusal - breakfast
Ano ang meron tayo para sa almusal?

What do we have for breakfast?

casar -> ikasal - to marry
Kailan ka ba ikakasal?

hen are you getting married?

cambio -> kambyo - transmission lever
Ilagay mo sa neutral ang kambyo.

Put the transmission lever at neutral.

bancarrota -> bangkarote - bankrupt
Bangkarote na ang kanilang mga negosyo.

Their businesses are now bankrupt.

el retrato -> litrato - photograph
Ang mga lumang litrato ay wala pang kulay.

Old photographs were not yet in color.

pareja -> pareho - similar
Ang sapatos mo ay pareho ng sa akin.

Your shoes are similar to mine.

So there you have it, some Tagalog words that have been derived from Spanish.

Knowing these words intimately will tremendously increase your Tagalog vocabulary.

Practice saying the sentences aloud while glancing on the English translation.

Pretty soon, you will have an intuitive understanding of how the Tagalog language works.

This is the end of another lesson on your Tagalog language learning.

I hope you have gained something from this lesson. Thanks for reading and have a good day.