tagalog

IPA/təˈɡɑːlɒɡ/
KK[tˈæɡəlˌɑɡ]IPA/təˈɡɑːlɔːɡ/

tagalog — noun

1. the language spoken by millions of people in the Philippines, used especially ar

1.nounB1
Definition

the language spoken by millions of people in the Philippines, used especially around the capital Manila, and the base of the national language Filipino

Example

Andrés is learning Tagalog because he was offered a job in Manila.

collocation: learning Tagalog

The restaurant menu was printed in both English and Tagalog.

passive: printed in + Tagalog

Common collocations
  • speak Tagalog
  • learn Tagalog
  • in Tagalog
  • Tagalog speaker
  • Tagalog language
  • fluent in Tagalog

Grammar Patterns

Tagalog + verb (third-person singular)

in + Tagalog

speak/learn/know + Tagalog

Usage Note

Tagalog is the base of the official national language Filipino, and the two are largely mutually intelligible in spoken form. The word may also refer to a member of the Tagalog ethnic group from central Luzon, but that sense is less common in everyday English.

Common Mistakes

She speaks Tagolog.
She speaks Tagalog.
The vowel in the middle syllable is 'a', not 'o'.
I studied Filipino, which is completely different from Tagalog.
I studied Filipino, which is based on Tagalog and very similar to it.
Filipino is the standardized national language; its grammar and vocabulary are built on Tagalog.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Tagalog and Filipino are very closely related but are not exactly the same. Tagalog is the indigenous language of the Manila and southern Luzon region, while Filipino is the national standard language codified by the Philippine government, based primarily on Tagalog but incorporating words from other Philippine languages, Spanish, English, and Chinese. In everyday conversation, people in the Philippines often use the terms interchangeably when speaking casually. However, in official contexts — government documents, news broadcasts, and school curricula — 'Filipino' is the prescribed term. A learner visiting Manila will hear Tagalog spoken on the streets, while official signage and television news use Filipino.

Filipino ↗Tagalog ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • a Tagalog speaker
  • Tagalog classes
  • Tagalog film
  • Tagalog word
  • Tagalog translation

Adverbs

  • fluently in Tagalog

Phrases

  • speak Tagalog
  • learn Tagalog
  • write in Tagalog
  • translate into Tagalog
  • know Tagalog

Prepositions

  • in Tagalog
  • from Tagalog
  • into Tagalog

Etymology

TagalogSpanishEnglish

The name Tagalog comes from 'tagá' meaning 'native' or 'of the place' and 'ilog' meaning 'river' in the Tagalog language itself — so it originally referred to 'the people of the river.' The word entered English usage through Spanish colonial contact in the 16th century.