Blog › Travel

🌴 20 Tagalog Phrases Every Tourist Needs

By Drew, native Filipino speaker · July 2026 · 7 min read

Landing in Manila for the first time? Here's some good news: most Filipinos speak at least some English, so you'll never be truly stuck. But here's the better news — the moment you try even one Tagalog phrase, everything changes. Vendors smile wider, tricycle drivers warm up, and lolas (grandmothers) will practically adopt you. Filipinos don't expect foreigners to speak Tagalog, which is exactly why trying means so much.

I grew up in the Philippines speaking Ilonggo, Cebuano, and Tagalog, and I've watched plenty of visitors transform their trip with a handful of phrases. These are the twenty I'd teach a friend before their flight — no grammar lessons, just the words that actually come up.

✨ The magic word: po

Before the phrases, one tiny word you'll hear constantly: po. It doesn't translate to anything — it's a respect marker. Add it when speaking to anyone older than you, anyone serving you, or anyone you've just met. "Salamat" means thank you; "salamat po" means thank you with a small bow built into the sentence. When in doubt, add po. Nobody has ever been offended by too much politeness in the Philippines.

👋 Greetings and courtesy

"Kumusta" comes from the Spanish "¿cómo está?" — one of thousands of Spanish loanwords in Tagalog, a leftover from over 300 years of colonial history. If you speak any Spanish, you'll keep spotting familiar words: mesa (table), silya (chair), kwarto (room).

🍽️ At the restaurant and the market

A cultural note on haggling: at malls and restaurants, prices are fixed. But at street markets and souvenir stalls, friendly haggling is normal and even expected. Say "sobrang mahal naman" with a smile, offer around 60-70% of the asking price, and meet somewhere in the middle. Keep it light — it's a social game, not a battle. And "masarap" might be the single most useful word in this list. Filipino food culture is generous to a fault; telling your host the food is delicious is the fastest way to be offered a second plate you cannot refuse.

🛺 Getting around

Two of these are jeepney-specific, and riding a jeepney at least once is practically mandatory. Payment travels hand to hand up to the driver — you say "bayad po" as you pass your coins forward, and when you want to get off, a firm "para po!" (or a knock on the roof) does the job. Also: restrooms in the Philippines are called CRs — comfort rooms. Asking for the "bathroom" works, but "CR" is what everyone actually says.

🤝 Making friends

Yes, "I don't speak Tagalog" said in Tagalog is a guaranteed laugh — in the best way. Filipinos find it charming, and it usually kicks off a friendly round of them teaching you more words. And "mahal kita"? Maybe you won't need it on a two-week trip. But plenty of visitors to the Philippines end up staying longer than planned, and it's not always because of the beaches.

💡 One last tip

Don't worry about perfect pronunciation. Tagalog is mercifully phonetic — words sound like they're spelled — and Filipinos are among the most encouraging language teachers on earth. Every attempt gets a smile, every mistake gets a gentle correction, and every "salamat po" gets remembered.

Want to hear all of these spoken aloud before your trip? Every phrase on talkaPH comes with native-speaker audio, and it's completely free — no signup, no app download.