Tagalog Absolute Beginner Lesson 1 – Basic Greetings

With our lessons, you will learn the absolute beginner levels of Tagalog through the most effective ways of jumping into a language; practice through reading and speaking!

Tagalog at beginner level is very easy to absorb. By the end of our lessons, you will know how to greet others, introduce yourself, express your likes and dislikes, tell time, and get around in the Philippines. These lessons apply to all walks of life, from young children to foreigners who want to quickly learn how to converse with native Filipinos.

1.0 A quick overview of pronunciation

The pronunciation of Tagalog words are exactly as they are spelled. Each vowel represents one individual syllable. Think of it in the same principle as “banana” being pronounced as “ba-na-na”. For example, the Tagalog word “kamusta” is pronounced “ka-mus-ta” and “oo” is pronounced “o-o”.

1.1 Saying yes or no

1.2 Meeting or leaving someone

The word ‘maganda’ directly translates as ‘beautiful’, but is used as ‘good’ in the context of greeting someone. A beautiful morning is a good morning!

1.3 Common Conversation Phrases

1.4 Basic Rules

The word ‘po’ can be added to most sentences to convey respect. This is typically done to show respect to elders, people who are in positions of authority, older family members, and older friends.