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Kapampangan to Tagalog Phrasebook

201 everyday phrases, grouped by the situation you need them in. Compiled from published references rather than generated by a translation engine, and marked pending review until native speakers have confirmed it.

No, and this surprises people, because Pampanga borders the Tagalog provinces. Kapampangan belongs to the Central Luzon branch, not Central Philippine, and it is the deepest split on this site: nanu for what, ninu for who, lagyu for name, wa for yes, ali for no. Almost nothing in a Kapampangan sentence is guessable from Tagalog. The proximity on a map is not proximity in the family tree.

Phrases
201
Categories
24
Cited sources
2
Pending review
201

Showing all 201 phrases across 24 categories.

Greetings

The opener changes in every one of these languages — this is the fastest way to tell them apart.

Greetings: Kapampangan phrases with Tagalog and English translations
KapampanganTagalogEnglish
Mayap a abakpending reviewMagandang umagaGood morningEvery one of these is literally 'good' + 'morning', and the word for 'good' is the giveaway: maayo in the Visayan languages, maupay in Waray, marhay in Bikol, mayap in Kapampangan, maabig in Pangasinan, naimbag in Ilocano.
Mayap a gatpanapunpending reviewMagandang haponGood afternoon
Mayap a bengipending reviewMagandang gabiGood evening
Mayap a aldopending reviewMagandang arawGood day
Komusta ka?pending reviewKumusta ka?How are you?The one phrase that is effectively identical everywhere, because all eight borrowed it from Spanish '¿cómo está?'. Do not read that as evidence the languages are close.
Mayap ku namanpending reviewMabuti namanI'm fine

Courtesy

Thank you, sorry, yes and no.

Courtesy: Kapampangan phrases with Tagalog and English translations
KapampanganTagalogEnglish
Salamatpending reviewSalamatThank youIlocano is the odd one out. 'Salamat' is understood in Ilocos, but 'agyamanak' — literally 'I am grateful' — is the native form and the one a speaker will use back to you.
Dakal a salamatpending reviewMaraming salamatThank you very muchThe intensifier is the tell: daghan (Cebuano), madamo (Hiligaynon), damo (Waray), dakula (Bikol), dakal (Kapampangan), dakel (Pangasinan) — all meaning 'many', none of them the Tagalog 'marami'.
Wapending reviewOoYesFour different words for yes across eight languages. Kapampangan 'wa' and Pangasinan 'on' are unrecognisable to a Tagalog speaker, and machine translation frequently passes them through untouched.
Alipending reviewHindiNoIlocano also uses 'saan' for no, which is a genuine trap: 'saan' is 'where' in Tagalog. Hiligaynon 'indi' and Waray 'diri' look alike but Waray 'diri' collides with Hiligaynon 'diri', meaning 'here'.
Pasensya napending reviewPaumanhinSorryIn everyday speech 'sorry' and 'pasensya' are what most speakers actually say in all eight; the native forms above are what you will see written.

Introductions

Names and first meetings.

Introductions: Kapampangan phrases with Tagalog and English translations
KapampanganTagalogEnglish
Nanu ing lagyu mu?pending reviewAno ang pangalan mo?What is your name?Kapampangan shares no root here at all — 'nanu' for what, 'lagyu' for name — which is a fair summary of how far Central Luzon sits from everything else on this list.
Ing lagyu ku…pending reviewAng pangalan ko ay…My name is…
Taga-nokarin ka?pending reviewTaga-saan ka?Where are you from?Same frame, eight different question words bolted onto it. This single row is the clearest illustration of why machine translation between these languages fails: the shared 'taga-' makes the sentence look translatable while the word that carries the meaning is unique to each.

Understanding

Getting by when you do not follow.

Understanding: Kapampangan phrases with Tagalog and English translations
KapampanganTagalogEnglish
E ku aintindianpending reviewHindi ko naiintindihanI don't understand
Nanu ini?pending reviewAno ito?What is this?
Aintindian kupending reviewNaiintindihan koI understand

Numbers

Native numerals one to ten, which diverge sharply between the Luzon and Visayan languages.

Numbers: Kapampangan phrases with Tagalog and English translations
KapampanganTagalogEnglish
Metungpending reviewIsaOneCebuano and Waray 'usa' is a false friend of the highest order: in Tagalog 'usa' is a deer.
Adwapending reviewDalawaTwo
Atlupending reviewTatloThree
Apatpending reviewApatFour
Limapending reviewLimaFiveThe one numeral that survives intact across all eight — and in Pangasinan 'lima' is also the word for 'hand', which is where the numeral came from in the first place.
Anampending reviewAnimSix
Pitupending reviewPitoSeven
Walupending reviewWaloEight
Siyampending reviewSiyamNine
Apulupending reviewSampuTenPangasinan numerals carry a counting suffix -ra that none of the others use, so 'limara' and 'samplora' look longer than their neighbours for a structural reason rather than a phonetic one.
Labing metungpending reviewLabing-isaElevenThree different strategies for building teens: Tagalog and Kapampangan prefix labing-, the Visayan languages say 'ten and one', and Bikol has a dedicated form (kagsaro).
Labingadwapending reviewLabindalawaTwelve
Adwangpulupending reviewDalawampuTwentyCebuano and Hiligaynon 'kaluhaan' bears no visible relation to their own word for two, duha. Waray's 'karuhaan' shows the same form after its regular l→r shift.
Atlungpulupending reviewTatlumpuThirty
Limangpulupending reviewLimampuFifty
Dinalanpending reviewIsang daanOne hundredKapampangan 'dinalan' and Pangasinan 'sanlasus' share nothing with the gatos/daan the rest use — another reminder that the Luzon languages are not a group.
Libupending reviewIsang liboOne thousand

Question words

Who, what, where and when — the words that differ most and trip up readers most.

Question words: Kapampangan phrases with Tagalog and English translations
KapampanganTagalogEnglish
Nanupending reviewAnoWhat
Ninupending reviewSinoWhoHiligaynon 'sin-o' and Waray 'hin-o' differ by a single consonant, and that s→h shift runs through the whole of Waray. It is the single most reliable way to tell the two apart.
Nokarinpending reviewSaanWhereSeven distinct words. Cebuano 'asa' is a false friend in Tagalog, where it means to hope or depend on someone.
Kapilanpending reviewKailanWhen
Baketpending reviewBakitWhyKapampangan 'baket' looks like Tagalog 'bakit' and means the same thing — but it is also the Ilocano word for an old woman or a wife, so the same string means two unrelated things depending on which language you are reading.
Magkanu?pending reviewMagkano?How much?
Pilan?pending reviewIlan?How many?Cebuano and Hiligaynon 'pila' means 'how many'. In Tagalog 'pila' is a queue — which makes 'Pila?' one of the most commonly misread words between Manila and Cebu.

Time & days

Today, tomorrow, day and night.

Time & days: Kapampangan phrases with Tagalog and English translations
KapampanganTagalogEnglish
Ngenipending reviewNgayonToday
Bukaspending reviewBukasTomorrowIlocano builds tomorrow out of 'bigat', the word for morning — the same root as in 'Naimbag a bigat'.
Napunpending reviewKahaponYesterday
Aldopending reviewArawDayIn the Visayan languages 'adlaw' is both the day and the sun. Tagalog keeps the same double meaning in 'araw'; Ilocano does not — 'aldaw' is the day and 'init' is the sun.
Bengipending reviewGabiNight
Dominggopending reviewLinggoWeek
Banwapending reviewTaonYear
Lunespending reviewLunesMondayAll eight took the Spanish weekday names wholesale. Only Sunday diverges — see below.
Martespending reviewMartesTuesday
Miyerkulespending reviewMiyerkulesWednesday
Huwebespending reviewHuwebesThursday
Biyernespending reviewBiyernesFriday
Sabadopending reviewSabadoSaturday
Dominggopending reviewLinggoSundayTagalog is the outlier: 'Linggo' where the rest kept 'Domingo'. Pangasinan went further and uses 'Simba', from the word for churchgoing — the same root Tagalog uses for the verb 'to attend mass'.
Abakpending reviewUmagaMorning
Oraspending reviewOrasHour

Family & people

Relationships and forms of address.

Family & people: Kapampangan phrases with Tagalog and English translations
KapampanganTagalogEnglish
Imapending reviewInaMotherKapampangan 'ima' is a mother; Ilocano 'ima' is a hand. Two Luzon languages a hundred kilometres apart, same three letters, nothing in common.
Ibpapending reviewAmaFather
Imapending reviewNanayMum
Tatangpending reviewTatayDad
Anakpending reviewAnakChild'Anak' is the offspring relationship in all eight; Bikol 'aki' is the exception and is a child in general.
Kapatadpending reviewKapatidSiblingSix unrelated roots. Only Tagalog 'kapatid' and Kapampangan 'kapatad' match, and that is a loan rather than shared inheritance.
Apupending reviewLolaGrandmother
Apupending reviewLoloGrandfatherPangasinan 'laki' is a grandfather. In Tagalog, Cebuano and most of the rest, 'lalaki' is simply a man — close enough to mislead.
Kaluguranpending reviewKaibiganFriendEight languages, eight unrelated words. Kapampangan 'kaluguran' doubles as a term of affection, which is why 'Kaluguran daka' means 'I love you'.
Lalakipending reviewLalakiMan
Babaipending reviewBabaeWoman
Asawapending reviewAsawaSpouse'Asawa' covers husband and wife alike in seven of the eight — the sex of the spouse is not marked. Bikol 'agom' is the odd one out.
Lagyupending reviewPangalanName

Food & eating

Meals, ingredients and asking for them.

Food & eating: Kapampangan phrases with Tagalog and English translations
KapampanganTagalogEnglish
Abiaspending reviewBigasRice (uncooked)All eight distinguish uncooked grain from cooked rice with separate words — a distinction English has to spell out.
Nasipending reviewKaninRice (cooked)Kapampangan 'nasi' is a Malay-shaped word that none of its neighbours share.
Asanpending reviewIsdaFishBikol and Pangasinan 'sira' is a fish. In Tagalog and Cebuano 'sira' means broken or spoiled — so a Bikolano menu can read alarmingly to a Manila reader.
Karnepending reviewKarneMeat
Manukpending reviewManokChicken
Babipending reviewBaboyPig
Ebunpending reviewItlogEggOne of the sharpest splits in this file. 'Itlog' covers Tagalog through Hiligaynon, then Waray, Bikol, Kapampangan and Pangasinan each go their own way entirely.
Asinpending reviewAsinSaltThe province of Pangasinan is named for this word — 'pang-asin-an', the place where salt is made.
Gulepending reviewGulayVegetable
Manganpending reviewKumainTo eatIlocano, Kapampangan and Pangasinan all use 'mangan' — a genuine Luzon isogloss, and one of the very few things the three share against the Visayan 'kaon'.
Danupan ku napending reviewGutom na akoI'm hungry
Manyamanpending reviewMasarapDeliciousEight languages, eight unrelated words for the same compliment. If you learn one word from this list, learn the local one for this.
Tinapepending reviewTinapayBread
Asukalpending reviewAsukalSugar
Sagingpending reviewSagingBanana
Ungutpending reviewNiyogCoconut
Manggapending reviewManggaMango
Maispending reviewMaisCorn
Bawangpending reviewBawangGarlicThe Visayan languages took the Spanish 'ajos'; the Luzon languages kept the native 'bawang'.
Mayumupending reviewMatamisSweet
Maaslampending reviewMaasimSour
Maglutupending reviewMaglutoTo cook
Kutsarapending reviewKutsaraSpoon

Drinks

Water, coffee and what to order.

Drinks: Kapampangan phrases with Tagalog and English translations
KapampanganTagalogEnglish
Danumpending reviewTubigWaterThe Luzon/Visayan split in one word: danum in the north, tubig everywhere else. Tagalog sides with the Visayan languages here despite sitting on Luzon.
Kapepending reviewKapeCoffee
Gataspending reviewGatasMilk
Minumpending reviewUminomTo drink

Market & money

Prices, haggling, paying.

Market & money: Kapampangan phrases with Tagalog and English translations
KapampanganTagalogEnglish
Salapipending reviewPeraMoneyTagalog took 'pera' from Spanish 'perra'; everything north and south of it took 'cuarta' instead. The two are not interchangeable outside Manila.
Maalpending reviewMahalExpensiveIn Tagalog 'mahal' means both expensive and beloved. Ilocano keeps them apart — 'nangina' for costly, 'ay-ayat' for love — so the pun does not survive translation.
Salihanpending reviewBumiliTo buyCebuano 'palit' is to buy; in Tagalog 'palit' is to exchange or swap. Same root, opposite ends of a transaction.
Pamalengkepending reviewPalengkeMarket
Magkanu ini?pending reviewMagkano ito?How much is this?

Directions

Left, right, here, there and how far.

Directions: Kapampangan phrases with Tagalog and English translations
KapampanganTagalogEnglish
Kailipending reviewKaliwaLeftThe most dangerous word on this page. 'Wala' means left in four of these languages and 'none' in Tagalog — so a Tagalog speaker hearing directions in Cebu can understand the sentence and take the wrong turn.
Wananpending reviewKananRight
Kenipending reviewDitoHereHiligaynon 'diri' is 'here'. Waray 'diri' is 'not'. The two languages are neighbours and this pair catches people constantly.
Karinpending reviewDoonThere
Marayupending reviewMalayoFar
Malapitpending reviewMalapitNear
Umepending reviewPumuntaTo go
Diretsupending reviewDiretsoStraight ahead
Babopending reviewTaasUp
Lubpending reviewLoobInside

Health & emergency

The phrases worth knowing before you need them.

Health & emergency: Kapampangan phrases with Tagalog and English translations
KapampanganTagalogEnglish
Saup!pending reviewTulong!Help!Worth memorising the local form before you need it. Cebuano 'tabang' is help; Hiligaynon 'tab-ang' is bland or tasteless, which is a poor thing to shout.
Doktorpending reviewDoktorDoctor
Ospitalpending reviewOspitalHospital
Masakit kupending reviewMay sakit akoI am sick
Pulispending reviewPulisPolice

The body

Head to foot, where several of these languages share nothing at all.

The body: Kapampangan phrases with Tagalog and English translations
KapampanganTagalogEnglish
Buntukpending reviewUloHeadBikol 'payo' is a head. In Tagalog 'payo' is advice — which makes it one of the neatest false friends in the country.
Matapending reviewMataEye
Gamatpending reviewKamayHandThree separate traps in one row: Ilocano 'ima' is Kapampangan for mother, Visayan 'kamot' is Tagalog for scratching, and Pangasinan 'lima' is the numeral five in every other language here.
Bitispending reviewPaaFoot
Asbukpending reviewBibigMouthVisayan 'baba' is a mouth; Tagalog 'baba' is a chin, and with different stress it is also 'down'. Neighbouring body parts, different words.
Atyanpending reviewTiyanStomach
Buakpending reviewBuhokHair
Balugbugpending reviewTaingaEar
Arungpending reviewIlongNose
Ipanpending reviewNgipinTooth
Dayapending reviewDugoBloodIlocano and Kapampangan both say 'daya' for blood — and in Tagalog and Cebuano the same word means cheating. Worth care in any medical setting.
Pusupending reviewPusoHeart

Nature & weather

Sun, rain, sea and mountain.

Nature & weather: Kapampangan phrases with Tagalog and English translations
KapampanganTagalogEnglish
Aldopending reviewArawSunIlocano 'init' is the sun; Tagalog 'init' is heat. Related idea, different part of speech, and machine translation routinely mixes the two.
Bulanpending reviewBuwanMoonSeven of the eight kept 'bulan'; Tagalog alone shifted the l to w. The same word means 'month' in all of them.
Batwinpending reviewBituinStar
Uranpending reviewUlanRainIlocano is alone here. 'Tudo' shares nothing with the ulan/uran the other seven use.
Dayatmalatpending reviewDagatSea
Bundukpending reviewBundokMountainTwo traps at once. Ilocano 'bantay' is a mountain; in Tagalog it is a guard. Visayan 'bukid' is a mountain; in Tagalog 'bukid' is a field or farm.
Balepending reviewBahayHouse
Apipending reviewApoyFireVisayan 'kalayo' is fire; Tagalog 'kalayo' would be parsed as 'distance'. The Luzon languages all keep apoy/apuy.
Ilugpending reviewIlogRiverWaray and Bikol 'salog' looks close to Tagalog 'ilog' but is a separate root — and in Cebuano 'salog' is a floor.
Gabunpending reviewLupaLand, soilSix unrelated roots for the ground under your feet, and Ilocano 'daga' collides head-on with Tagalog, where it means a rat.
Dutungpending reviewPunoTree
Sampagapending reviewBulaklakFlowerIlocano 'sabong' is a flower. In Tagalog 'sabong' is cockfighting — an unusually large gap for two languages spoken on the same island.
Batupending reviewBatoStone
Anginpending reviewHanginWind
Bagyupending reviewBagyoTyphoon

Describing things

Big, small, good, beautiful.

Describing things: Kapampangan phrases with Tagalog and English translations
KapampanganTagalogEnglish
Maragulpending reviewMalakiBig
Malatipending reviewMaliitSmall
Mayappending reviewMabutiGood
Marokpending reviewMasamaBad
Malagupending reviewMagandaBeautifulBikol 'magayon' is the root behind Mayon, the volcano. Waray 'mahusay' means beautiful; in Tagalog the same word means skilled or well-arranged.
Mapalipending reviewMainitHot
Malamigpending reviewMalamigCold
Bayupending reviewBagoNew
Lumapending reviewLumaOld (of a thing)Ilocano and the Visayan languages use 'daan' for old — the same string Tagalog uses for a road.
Matuapending reviewMatandaOld (of a person)Ilocano 'lakay' is an old man specifically; 'baket' is the word for an old woman, and that one collides with Kapampangan 'baket', meaning why.
Dakalpending reviewMaramiMany

Feelings

Saying how you are, and how you feel about someone.

Feelings: Kapampangan phrases with Tagalog and English translations
KapampanganTagalogEnglish
Kaluguran dakapending reviewMahal kitaI love youEight languages and eight completely different verbs. This row alone answers the question of whether Philippine languages are 'dialects of each other'.
Masayapending reviewMasayaHappy

Colours

Basic colour terms.

Colours: Kapampangan phrases with Tagalog and English translations
KapampanganTagalogEnglish
Malutupending reviewPulaRed
Maputipending reviewPutiWhite
Matulingpending reviewItimBlackKapampangan 'matuling' is black. Tagalog 'matulin' — one letter apart — means fast.
Asulpending reviewAsulBlue
Dilopending reviewDilawYellow
Aluntianpending reviewBerdeGreenOnly Kapampangan kept a native word. The other seven took the Spanish 'verde' and never replaced it.

Everyday verbs

The actions that carry most sentences.

Everyday verbs: Kapampangan phrases with Tagalog and English translations
KapampanganTagalogEnglish
Matudtudpending reviewMatulogTo sleep
Akitpending reviewMakitaTo see
Balupending reviewAlamTo know
Buripending reviewGustoTo wantKapampangan 'buri' is to want or like. In Tagalog 'buri' is a species of palm.
Mibiepending reviewMagbigayTo give
Magobrapending reviewMagtrabahoTo work
Magsalitapending reviewMagsalitaTo speakThe Visayan languages disagree with each other completely here — sulti, hambal, yakan — which is a useful corrective to the idea that they are one language.
Sumulatpending reviewSumulatTo write
Magbasapending reviewMagbasaTo read
Luklukpending reviewUmupoTo sit
Ume kenipending reviewPumunta ritoTo come here

Months

The Spanish-derived month names, and where the spellings part company.

Months: Kapampangan phrases with Tagalog and English translations
KapampanganTagalogEnglish
Eneropending reviewEneroJanuaryThe month names are Spanish in all eight languages. What varies is spelling: Tagalog respells the Spanish f as p (Pebrero), while several of the others keep Febrero.
Pebrerupending reviewPebreroFebruary
Marsupending reviewMarsoMarch
Abrilpending reviewAbrilApril
Mayupending reviewMayoMay
Agostupending reviewAgostoAugust

Getting around

Roads, boats, jeepneys and how to get off one.

Getting around: Kapampangan phrases with Tagalog and English translations
KapampanganTagalogEnglish
Dalanpending reviewDaanRoadSeven of the eight use 'dalan'. Tagalog's 'daan' is the same root worn down, and Bikol went its own way with 'tinampo'.
Bangkapending reviewBangkaBoat
Kotsipending reviewKotseCar
Nokarin ka munta?pending reviewSaan ka pupunta?Where are you going?

Somewhere to stay

Rooms, doors, keys — a category where almost nothing carries between languages.

Somewhere to stay: Kapampangan phrases with Tagalog and English translations
KapampanganTagalogEnglish
Pasbulpending reviewPintoDoor
Awangpending reviewBintanaWindowIlocano 'tawa' is a window. In Tagalog it is laughter.
Kuartupending reviewKuwartoRoom

Things to buy

Everyday items you might need to ask for.

Things to buy: Kapampangan phrases with Tagalog and English translations
KapampanganTagalogEnglish
Imalanpending reviewDamitClothes
Sapatuspending reviewSapatosShoes
Ambunpending reviewGamotMedicineWorth knowing before a pharmacy visit, and the source of a nasty trap: Tagalog 'gamot' is medicine, but in the Visayan languages the same word means a root.
Sabunpending reviewSabonSoap
Librupending reviewLibroBook
Papilpending reviewPapelPaper

Animals

Everyday creatures, and several of the sharpest false friends on the site.

Animals: Kapampangan phrases with Tagalog and English translations
KapampanganTagalogEnglish
Asupending reviewAsoDogFour unrelated words for the commonest domestic animal. Worth pairing with the Cebuano trap: 'aso' means smoke there, so the Tagalog word for dog is a real Cebuano word meaning something else entirely.
Pusapending reviewPusaCat
Damulagpending reviewKalabawCarabaoThe national animal, and three of the eight have their own word for it — Ilocano nuang, Kapampangan damulag, Pangasinan dueg.
Kambingpending reviewKambingGoat
Bakapending reviewBakaCow
Kabayupending reviewKabayoHorse
Ayuppending reviewIbonBirdCebuano 'langgam' is a bird; Tagalog 'langgam' is an ant. One of the most-cited false friends between the two largest languages in the country.
Amukpending reviewLamokMosquito

Words that trap you

These exist in both languages but mean different things. They are where confident readers get caught, and where machine translation is least reliable.

  • apohigh risk
    In Kapampangan
    A grandparent — the opposite generation to the Tagalog sense.
    In Tagalog
    A grandchild.

    A generation apart in either direction — the Ilocano term addresses an elder, the Tagalog one names a grandchild.

  • dayahigh risk
    In Kapampangan
    Blood.
    In Tagalog
    Deceit, cheating.

    Medical or ritual context makes this one genuinely hazardous to get wrong.

  • ari
    In Kapampangan
    A king.
    In Tagalog
    Property; also a coarse term for genitalia.

    The Tagalog sense makes the Kapampangan word awkward to read aloud in mixed company, which is precisely why it is worth flagging.

  • asan
    In Kapampangan
    A fish.
    In Tagalog
    Where — the colloquial contraction of nasaan.

    Colloquial Tagalog drops the na- from nasaan, producing exactly the Kapampangan word for fish.

  • buri
    In Kapampangan
    To want, to like.
    In Tagalog
    A palm used for weaving mats and hats.

    Low-risk but frequent: buri is one of the commonest verbs in Kapampangan and a plant in Tagalog.

  • bale
    In Kapampangan
    A house.
    In Tagalog
    Worth or value; colloquially 'so', 'meaning'.

    Kapampangan bale is a house; Tagalog bale is worth, or the discourse filler meaning 'so'.

How often the machine gets these right

We ran 201 Kapampangan entries from the phrasebook below through the same engine this site uses, and compared each result against the human-written Tagalog. Categories are our own; the comparison ignores punctuation and casing. Neither Kapampangan nor Tagalog is well resourced and the engine routes between them through English, so this measures two stacked translations rather than one.

Machine output matched or came close to the human Tagalog for 62.7% of 201 phrases. The rest were partly or entirely wrong.

Least reliable

  • Directions20%
  • Things to buy33%
  • Everyday verbs36%
  • Family & people39%
  • Courtesy40%

Most reliable

  • Time & days88%
  • Months83%
  • Colours83%

Sources

Last updated 2026-08-06. 201 entries are marked “pending review” — carried on general reference and awaiting confirmation from a native speaker.