20 Basic Tagalog Phrases For Travel and Shopping

Ling Learn Languages
4 min readDec 12, 2020

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There are a lot of different words that you should know about in Tagalog. However, if you find yourself commuting in the lively streets of Manila or shopping in the ever-popular Divisoria, learning some of the basic Tagalog phrases can help your overall experience. In today’s article, we have listed the most common native-sounding Tagalog phrases that you can use anywhere and anytime in the Philippines.

The Philippines is a haven in Asia due to its unique culture and incredible sets of islands and beaches. But wait! This country has so much more to offer than its bustling tourism industry. You see, the Pearl of The Orient Seas also prides itself with its traditional jeepneys and tricycles that have been around since 1945!

Even today, you might set foot out of the NAIA and see for yourself how these modes of transportations are still widely used. So, if you are planning to pay a visit to the Philippines, I highly recommend that you experience riding these instead of booking a plain-old Grab-not only is it cheaper, but it can help in engaging yourself with the locals.

While transportation is one of the things you might be interested in, I bet that most of you will go head over heels once you see for yourself the Philippines’ budget shopping capital known as Divisoria.

This budget-friendly place in Manila’s earliest and biggest marketplace since 1909, and it is quite cool to know that it still exists. A huge number of tourists actually visit this place due to its fantastic location and the wide array of affordable items that you can get.

Therefore, why not visit Divisoria by riding a jeepney, right?🙂

Basic Tagalog Phrases For Commuting

Listed below are 11 of the most used expressions that Filipinos say during a commute. Please be sure to read the contexts to see when you should use a particular phrase because it can make or break the communication between you and the local.

For instance, Filipinos use the “Paki abot po ng bayad” only when they are in the jeepney. While you may also say it when riding the tricycle to sound polite, it may sound unnatural.

Basic Tagalog Phrases For Shopping

The Philippines is the best place to get wholesale prices and the biggest discounts. To make your experience in Tutuban Center and 168 Mall (both located in Divisoria) even more special, try to use the phrases below when dealing with the store attendants.

Pro tip: Just finished a transaction? Feel free today “Salamat po” or thank you to make the local smile warmly at you😊

Speak Tagalog with Confidence Today!

Unlike other languages, Tagalog is fairly easy to memorize even if it holds a unique set of words influenced by different cultures from all over the world. If you can speak basic Spanish or even English, I bet that you will have so much fun navigating the sameness of some expressions in Tagalog. In fact, most of the words and phrases are mainly based around English, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, and Malay words! In short, it is an exciting melting pot!

Interested to learn more Tagalog language vocabulary words like how to express the basics to the most complex ideas? For extra reinforcement in the Tagalog language, be sure to check out the Ling App. This handy-dandy training buddy features fun mini-games and quizzes that can motivate you to practice and explore more about your target language day by day.

Explore the Philippines with style by using the most native Tagalog expressions from the Ling app today!

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Ling Learn Languages

Ling is a game-like language learning app with a pack of 60+ languages. You will learn languages in fun ways!