Ilocano→Tagalog
Free Ilocano and Tagalog translation

Tagalog to Ilocano Translation

Translate Tagalog to Ilocano instantly, then check the result against a 428-entry phrasebook compiled by hand rather than generated by the tool.

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Tagalog phrases with Ilocano translations

428 entries across 25 categories, compiled from published references rather than generated by the tool above. Every entry was checked against more than one source.

TagalogIlocanoEnglish
Magandang umagaNaimbag a bigatGood morning
Magandang haponNaimbag a malemGood afternoon
Magandang gabiNaimbag a rabiiGood evening
Magandang arawNaimbag nga aldawGood day
BatiKablaawGreeting / hello
Kumusta ka?Kumusta ka?How are you?
Mabuti namanMayat metI'm fine
Maligayang pagdatingNaragsak nga isasangbayWelcome
Paalam naAgpakadaakonGoodbye
Sige, hanggang sa muliKasta paySee you / bye for now
All 428 phrases

How Tagalog and Ilocano differ

Ilocano and Tagalog are both Austronesian languages of the Philippines, but they sit on different branches. Ilocano belongs to the Northern Luzon group; Tagalog to Central Philippine. They are roughly as close as English and German — clearly related, sharing structure and vocabulary, but not mutually intelligible.

The two languages are not mutually intelligible. A Tagalog speaker with no exposure to Ilocano will pick out isolated words — numbers, Spanish loans, a handful of shared roots — but not connected speech. Ilocano speakers in Luzon usually do understand Tagalog, though that is because it is the national language of school and media rather than because the two are alike. The comprehension runs one way.

Words that exist in both languages and mean different things

These are where confident readers get caught, and where the translator above is least reliable — a word it does not recognise is passed through unchanged, which can land in the other language as a real word with an unrelated meaning.

  • baga

    Tagalog: An ember, or a lung. Never the colour.

    Ilocano: Red.

  • saan

    Tagalog: Where.

    Ilocano: No, not — an alternative to haan.

  • apo

    Tagalog: A grandchild.

    Ilocano: A respectful title for an elder or person of authority — roughly 'sir' or 'ma'am'.

  • daya

    Tagalog: Deceit, cheating.

    Ilocano: Blood.

The grammar differs too: the two languages use entirely different linking particles, mark their nouns with different sets of articles, and build comparison in different ways. Full detail in the differences guide and the pronoun system.

How accurate is it?

We ran all 411 translatable entries in our Ilocano↔Tagalog phrasebook through the same engine this site uses, and compared each result against the human-checked Tagalog. Categories are our own; the comparison ignores punctuation and casing.

We ran all 411 translatable entries in this phrasebook through the translator above and compared each against the human-written Ilocano. It matched or came close 50.1% of the time.

Translating out of Ilocano works better than translating into it. Across 411 phrases, Ilocano as the source scored 58.9% and 56.0%; Ilocano as the target scored 50.1% and 47.2% — a gap of 8.8 points. We have now measured this at three sample sizes and the direction of the effect held every time, though its size moved between roughly nine and fourteen points, so treat the exact number as approximate.

Full results, category by category

Common questions

Is Ilocano the same as Tagalog?
No. They are separate languages on different branches of the Austronesian family — Ilocano in the Northern Luzon group, Tagalog in Central Philippine. They share structure and a good deal of Spanish-era vocabulary, but they are not mutually intelligible. The relationship is roughly comparable to English and German.
Can a Tagalog speaker understand Ilocano?
Generally not. A Tagalog speaker will pick out numbers, days of the week and Spanish loanwords, but not connected speech. The reverse is usually true — most Ilocano speakers understand Tagalog — but that is because Tagalog is the national language taught in schools and used in media, not because the languages are close. The comprehension runs one way.
How accurate is Ilocano to Tagalog translation?
We measured it rather than guessing. Running all 411 phrases in our curated phrasebook through this tool, the machine output matched or closely matched the human translation 58.9% of the time. It is strongest on concrete vocabulary and weakest on family terms, introductions and everyday courtesy. The direction matters even more: translating into Ilocano scores about nine points worse than translating out of it. Treat it as a helpful draft, not a finished translation.
Why did the translation come back exactly the same as what I typed?
Because the engine did not recognise the word and echoed your input instead of failing visibly. This happened to ten phrases in our audit — 'Haan' (no), 'Danom' (water), 'Ikan' (fish), 'Manu?' (how much?) and others all came back unchanged despite having ordinary Tagalog equivalents. Be aware that some words genuinely are identical in both languages: 'lima', 'pito', 'itlog' and 'kape' are the same in Ilocano and Tagalog, so unchanged output is not automatically wrong.
Why does the translation sometimes add words that were not in my text?
Short greetings are the usual trigger. Translating 'Naimbag nga bigat. Kumusta ka?' returns 'Magandang umaga, guys. Kumusta ka na?' — the word 'guys' corresponds to nothing in the Ilocano. If the output is noticeably longer than your input, check it before using it.
How many people speak Ilocano?
The 2020 Philippine census recorded Ilocano as the language generally spoken at home in about 1.86 million households, or 7.1% of the national total, and 8.0% of the household population identified as ethnically Ilocano — roughly 8.7 million people. It is the main language of northern Luzon and the third-largest ethnic group in the country. Figures claiming tens of millions of Ilocano speakers, which circulate on other translation sites, are not supported by census data.
Is Tagalog the same as Filipino?
Close enough that this tool treats them as one language. Filipino is the standardised national language and is based on Tagalog; both share the ISO code 'tl', which is why you will not find them as separate options here. Selecting Tagalog gives you what most people mean by Filipino.
Does this handle different Ilocano dialects?
Only partly. The engine targets a generalised standard closest to the Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur varieties. Vocabulary specific to Cagayan Valley, Abra, Kalinga or Apayao is often passed through untranslated rather than flagged as unrecognised. If a result looks wrong, check whether the input used a regional form.
Can I translate Tagalog to Ilocano as well?
Yes — use the Tagalog to Ilocano page, or press the swap button above the text box. Be aware it is measurably worse in that direction: we audited both and Tagalog into Ilocano scored 50.1% against 58.9% the other way. Producing correct Ilocano is harder for the engine than reading it.
Is it free, and are there limits?
It is free with no account required. A single translation is capped at 5,000 characters, and there is a rate limit to keep the service available for everyone. There is no limit on how many translations you can do overall.

Related translators

Who maintains this

Compiled and maintained by John Smith. Last checked .

I compile Philippine-language phrase data from published references, check it against multiple sources, and measure the machine translation on this site rather than making claims about it. I am not a linguist. Entries I have not been able to confirm are marked as pending review rather than presented as verified.

No native Tagalog speaker has reviewed this data yet. 12 phrasebook entries are marked pending review. See the phrasebook and its sources.

Translations are produced by a general-purpose machine translation engine and are not a substitute for a professional translator.