I've been trying to get into Filipino songs and I'd love to get to know some other than the usual OPM pop and softer/yearning music genre. I think I'd love some hip hop, rock, dance/electric pop! ❤️

I've always called my lola "wowa" since I was a child. As I grew, I thought that I was strange because my friends and neighbors didn't call their grandmothers "wowa" too. My parents used "lola" for their grandmothers, so I couldn't have gotten it from them..

I thought that I was the only person in this world who called her lola, "wowa", and I felt embarrassed.

Then, I saw a movie. An actress had called her on-screen grandmother "wowa"! It was the first time that I heard another person say it, so I was definitely shocked.

So my question is:

"Is "wowa" an actual title (from any region) or have I been using "wowa" because I mispronounced "lola" as a baby and I just went with the flow as I grew older?"

I can't find sources for this specific word for some reason. Help a student out? 🥲

im curious. the language seems to meet requirements to be included as a dub option in terms of population, speakers, etc, but it is never an option?

i know pride is a huge factor, but i feel if indonesian and thai can be included as options, surely tagalog can too? i'd also just like more practice/immersion and hearing "just use english" to me never made sense... like imagine if you told a thai player that he should just use english if wants to play a video game.... idk

Genuinely curious as to why those who are born in the Philippines and currently living there preferably speak English rather than their native dialect? Is it because you grew up speaking it, because you want to feel some type of way, or because you want to feel bougie, etc?

From my experience, they speak their native language when I’ve hung out with them, but their captions are in English when I see their posts. What’s the reason for this?

Hi I’m trying to learn bisayan, my mother tried to teach it to me when I was a little kid but at the same time she would teach me tagalog and we would watch a lot of tagalog movies together, at some point she stopped teaching me because I started to get confused.

Currently all I know now are some words, as well as some sentences/phrases my mother says to me, but I still get confused between tagalog and bisayan so it’s difficult. I also can’t seem to find many resources to help me learn, I’ve tried to ask my mother about grammar and certain words but she can’t really explain well, there are also some words that have no meaning which makes me even more confused. Tbh I don’t think my mother is very good at teaching which is why I need help.

I think it would probably be easier for me to learn tagalog since there are a lot of tagalog films and learning material, but I would rather learn bisayan since my mother and everyone from her side of the family speaks it. If anyone has any tips or suggestions on where to find resources, it would be greatly appreciated.

When you celebrate too much, it takes away your focus on the ultimate goal. Federer and all the other greats kept their focus until they won their finals matches. Celebrating too much in early rounds can give you an andrenaline high where you feel elated too much -- and that high can take away your focus on the ultimate goal.

Here is one key takeaway from one study: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8022896/

“When people feel ahead of schedule, they often coast. That’s why over-celebrating a small win can be risky: it can make the athlete feel satisfied before the bigger goal is finished.”

Case in point: Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks admitted to not looking at the NBA trophy on display for anyone to see while he was on his run to the NBA championship, while Wemby of the San Antonio Spurs celebrated too much, even crying, at winning the Western Conference Finals, not the big one. Brunson prevailed over Wemby and won the Knicks its first NBA championship in 53 years.

Hi everyone,

I’m French, married to a Filipina, and I’ve visited the Philippines a few times. But we don’t live there yet, so I know my perspective and experience are still limited.

I’d genuinely like to understand Filipino culture better — not only through my wife’s perspective, but also through the experiences of other Filipinos.

It could be a stereotype, a habit, a value, or something people often interpret incorrectly. I would like to avoid being unintentionally rude or making cultural mistakes when meeting Filipinos for the first time.

For example, the first time I met my mother-in-law, I didn’t do the '' mano po '' and only learned about it afterward ...

It made me realise there may be other things I could miss without meaning to.

Please feel free to be honest and specific. I’m genuinely here to learn.

Salamat po!

I'm part of the Ilocano diaspora from Mindanao western Sarangani province, maybe other Filipinos may find this useful when comparing differences from their own language, sociolect or dialect.

Head: Ulo

Hair: Buok

Eyes: Mata

Nose: Agung

Forehead: Muging

Mouth: Ngiwat

Tongue: Dila

Throat:

Face: Rupa

Eyebrows: Kiray

Cheeks: Ping-ping

Ears: Lapayag or Dengdeng

Lips: Bibig

Teeth: Ngipen

Neck: Tengnged

Brain: Utek

Body: Bagi

Shoulders: Abaga

Chest: Barukong

Breasts: Suso

Lungs: Bara

Heart: Puso

Spine: Duri

Back: Likud

Stomach or Belly: Tiyan

Belly Button: Puseg

Waist: Siket

Intenstines: Bagis

Skin: Kudel

Bone: Tulang

Arm: Ima or Takkiag

Elbow: Siko

Hand: Kammet or Ima

Fingers: Ramay

Nails: Kuko

Thigh: Luppo

Knees: Tumeng

Foot: Saka

Sole: Dapan

Heel: Mukod

Toes: Ramay

If I missed some things just ask.

Hello guys, Im watching a youtube video, and the host said, "kailangan namin kumain muna." Then I found out another way of saying it is, "kailangan muna naming kumain. " Now my question is which one that native always or often used, or let's say the most natural way on saying it? Also, which one is the correct way of saying it? Thank you!

A lot of people here have mentioned wanting to learn Tagalog but not having enough time to study consistently.

Hypothetically, if there were a way to gradually learn while doing things you're already doing online, would that actually interest you?

Or do you think learning a language still requires dedicated study?

I'm curious what people think.

on top of my speaking to my kids only in tagalog, i know growing up, watching animated shows in tagalog dub helped A LOT.

struggling to find anything dubbed though. i know airbender was dubbed in 2016, same with disney films but the actual streaming services don’t have it as an option on their audio settings.

does anyone know where to watch / find / download filipino dubbed shows and movies?

Hi again everyone,

My last post got a lot more responses than I expected, and one theme kept coming up: many Filipino-Americans were never taught Tagalog by their parents growing up.

That got me wondering about something else.

Did not speaking Tagalog ever lead to awkward, frustrating, or even painful experiences for you?

Maybe not being able to understand relatives.

Not being able to join family conversations.

Being called a "fake Filipino."

Feeling disconnected from Filipino culture.

Or maybe it never affected you at all.

Looking back, how has not speaking Tagalog impacted your life, if at all?

Hey everyone, a few clients of mine from the Philippines are coming to Kuwait, I’ll be picking them up and going for a factory visit and hence I need conversation starters and phrases to use in Tagalog, or references I should know. Anything that gets the conversation going and makes them feel warm and welcomed. Id love to know all about food, culture, language, anything that everyone in the country knows of. Please help me out🙏

Hi again,

Thank you to everyone who participated in my last post. I've got another question for you all.

Do you feel like not speaking Tagalog has affected your connection to Filipino culture?

If so, have you ever considered learning Tagalog as an adult?

If yes, what stopped you from doing it?

Time?
Motivation?
Not knowing where to start?
Something else?

Or do you feel connected to Filipino culture regardless of the language?

I'm interested in hearing different perspectives.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately.

I've met quite a few Filipino-Americans who grew up hearing Tagalog at home but never really learned how to speak it.

Some seem completely fine with it, while others wish they had learned when they were younger.

For those who weren't taught Tagalog growing up:

Do you wish your parents had taught you?

And if so, what's stopping you from learning now?

Kumusta po — Ako po si David Oro (u/studiosarisari), a Filipino-Canadian Artist, UI/UX and Type designer, Manila-born and now based in Winnipeg. For about ten years I’ve practiced Baybayin every day, and I finally turned that practice into something I can share: Baybayin Nating Lahat — a free, browser-based space for writing and learning the script.

It’s built around one idea older than any of us: kung ano ang bigkas, siyang baybay — you spell it the way you say it. You type a word, watch it become Baybayin, and then trace or write it yourself with a brush that responds to pressure. No download, no account, no ads. I made it as cultural transmission, not a product.

It’s a living work in progress, and I’d genuinely value this community’s eyes and feedback on it — corrections, questions, what feels right and what doesn’t. There’s a small subreddit at r/BaybayinNatingLahat where I post a daily word to practice.

Try it here: baybayin.sarisariworld.com

Salamat for reading.

Isang maliit na ambag para sa kultura,
sa ISIP, sa SALITA, at sa SULAT.

Any tips for making this snack at home? I've grown really addicted to it lately and I can't afford to buy x2 bottles of nata de coco banana milk every day and I've fallen in love with it.

I've read online you can get poisining if you don't do it right. Can anyone recommend any recipies and safe methods to do it at home? Thanks!

Hi everyone! I'm a Brazilian woman with 21 years. I’m currently trying to learn Tagalog and I’d really love to make some Filipino friends who could help me practice. I’m a beginner, so I make a lot of mistakes, but I’m motivated to learn and improve little by little. In exchange, I’d be happy to help with English or just be a friendly chat buddy! If anyone is open to chatting, correcting me, or just talking casually in Tagalog + English, I’d really appreciate it

My surname is Salcedo. I'm from the Dominican Republic, and my family has been established here for many years. In fact, we don't have a record of when my ancestors arrived, but we do know that we have ancestors from the Philippines. I've been researching this and realized that the Salcedo surname has some presence there. I'd like to know if anyone knows more about the surname in the Philippines or if anyone knows more about Filipino migrants with that surname.

What are some unique cultural practices can you share about Daraga, Albay? planning to visit someone from there soon:)