Kumusta sa lahat! Ako si Ate Nina. Ngayon tuturuan kita kung paano magsalita Filipino.
(Hello all! I am Tita Nina. Today, I will be teaching you how to speak Filipino.)
Hindi pa ako ganon kahusay sa tamang grammar. Magtuturo ako ng bokabularyo.
(I’m not that good at proper grammar yet. I will teach vocabulary for now.)
Pwede mo akong tawaging Ate Nina.
(You can call me “older sister” Nina.)
Ate directly translates to older sister, but it is also commonly used to address any female older than you or just any female stranger you don’t really know. So, it is pretty normal to go to a Filipino restaurant and be greeted by a worker calling you Ate!
Merong akong dalawang kuya.
(I have two older brothers.)
Kuya directly translates to older brother, but similarly to Ate, it is commonly used to address any male older than you or any male stranger you don’t really know. For example, I call my older male cousin named Noel, “Kuya Noel”.
Salamat po.
(Thank you (older person)).
Salamat means thank you. Po doesn’t really have a direct translation. It’s used out of respect for older people. Respecting elders is a huge part of the Filipino culture. There’s even a thing called “mano po” where you gently take the elders hand and tap it on your forehead. You do this action to people like your grandparents and other elderly people in your family.
Hoy! Kain na tayo.
(Hey! Let’s eat now.)
Hoy is a way of saying hey, but in a way to get someone or multiple people’s attention. Kain is an essential word to know because eating is huge in Filipino culture. Every family party is a huge feast and every aunt and grandma tells you to eat more every five minutes.
Bababa ba? Bababa.
(“Is it going down?” “Going down.”)
I think this is one of the funniest phrases in the Filipino language. It uses the same two letters in the words, but needs different points of emphasis when saying it. It’s used in an instance when someone is trying to hop on an elevator and asks the person already inside the elevator if it’s going down and the person responds saying it’s going down.
Magandang _____. (Umaga, hapon, gabi)
(Good _____. Morning/afternoon/night)
These are some basic salutations you can start incorporating in your everyday life.
Sana may bago kayo natutunan.
(I hope you learned something new.)
