One of the greatest pleasures of traveling and discovering another culture is in eating. The Philippines is no exception. Filipino food has its charms and challenges. But whether you find yourself becoming a Filipino food aficionado or you find that it’s an acquired taste, learning Tagalog words describing the sense of taste will help you connect to Filipino food in a more intimate way.
Basic words of taste in Tagalog
Let’s blast off this gustatory rocket by naming the basic words of taste
- Sweet – Matamis
- Sour – Maasim
- Salty – Maalat
- Bitter – Mapait
- Spicy – Maanghang
Let’s throw in some examples:
Matamis ang manga na ito.
This mango is sweet.
Mapait ang kape.
Coffee is bitter.
Hindi ko ito makain dahil masyado siya maanghang.
I can’t eat this because it’s too spicy.
That’s the easy peezy stuff. Let’s do some words that are more specialized when it comes to taste.
Advanced words of taste in Tagalog
Now that we’ve tackled the basic tastes, let’s go up a notch.
- Fishy – Malansa
- Astringent – Mapakla
- Gamey – Maagno
Malansa is a fishy taste, usually with a negative connotation. This can be likened to Philippine patis or Thai fermented fish sauce.
Mapakla is that biting astringent taste you get for some unripe fruits, like a very unripe banana.
Maagno is that gamey taste you get with mutton or goat meat.
Cool, huh? Okay, let’s check out more taste adjectives. (Read up on Tagalog adjectives)
Luscious or umami – Malinamnam
The word malinamnam is another is often translated to the word “umami” but it can be described to anything that tastes delicious. The closest English equivalent to malinamnam would be would be “luscious.”
You can for example use it to describe a chocolate cake.
Malinamnam ang cake na ito
This cake is luscious.
Nakakaumay
This word can’t be translated directly. However, it refers to any taste that you get tired off if you eat too much of it. Typically, it is used for foods that have a very strong flavor or taste.
It might be good to consider this word a reaction to taste rather an actual taste itself.
Let’s learn how to complement something as good tasting.
Delicious or pleasurable – Masarap
Anything that tastes good you can describe as masarap.
Lechon (spit-roast pig) is delicious.
Masarap ang lechon.
This coconut is delicious.
Masarap ang buko na ito.
You can also ask, someone: Masarap ba ‘to? (Is it delicious?)
Note though that the word sarap means pleasure, and masarap can pertain to anything that is pleasurable. For example:
Masarap lumangoy kapag mainit.
It’s nice to swim when it’s hot.
How do you say something doesn’t taste good?
Usually you would say hindi masarap, literally “isn’t delicious”
Or sometimes, pangit ng lasa or pangit ang lasa literally, “ugly taste/”
This fruit tastes awful.
Ang pangit ng lasa ng prutas na ito.
If your waiter served you something you would sue someone over, you could use a stronger word like nakakadiri or disgusting, from the word diri or disgust.
Nakakadiri yung lasa nito.
This tastes awful.
Using the word “Lasa” or “Taste”
The word “lasa” literally means taste or flavor. You could ask:
“Anong lasa nito?“
Literally: “What taste does this have?”
Another example:
May nalalasahan ka bang asin sa kape mo?
Can you taste any salt in your coffee?
Flavorful – Malasa
The word for “taste” is “lasa.” Thus, you could ask:
Ano ang lasa nito?
How does this taste?
With the word “lasa” meaning flavor, the word for “flavorful” is “malasa”
For example:
Mas malasa ang isda na ito.
This fish is more flavorful.
If you are a bit advanced in Tagalog you can use lasa as a verb’s root word.
Nalasahan ko na ito.
I’ve tasted this (before).
Using the word “lasa” to compare it to another taste
You can also use the word “lasa” to compare something with the taste of something else. This is done by adding the object you are comparing the taste to.
This is what I mean:
This food tastes like chicken.
Lasang manok ang pagkain na ito
Lasang + (object you are comparing it with)
Here are some typical words constructed this way,
- Lasang lupa – tastes like soil
- Lasang putik – tastes like mud
- Lasang dagat – tastes like the sea or seawater
- Lasang bakal – tastes like metal
Let’s us these in an example:
Hindi mo lininisn ang kuhol na ito. Lasang-lupa putik pa sila.
You didn’t clean these snails well. They still taste like mud.
Using the word “Tikim”
“Tikim” is another word meaning to taste.
It can be used as a noun or a verb.
Used as a noun:
Isang tikim lang, matutuwa ka.
Just one taste (of it), it will make you happy.
It can be used as a verb. Of course, like any Tagalog word,tikim can undergo lots of changes with Tagalog prefixes, infixes and suffixes for verbs:
Gusto kong tikman ang prutas na ‘yan.
I want to taste that fruit.
Natikman ko na ito.
I’ve taste this (before).
Beware that “patikim” can also be used figuratively with sexual connotations, such as “patikim ng pinya” (may I taste your pineapple) or “patikim ng saging” (may I taste your banana). I will leave this to your imagination.
Saying: “Gusto kitang tikman” literally meaning “I want to taste you.” This may mean you want to have sexual intercourse with a person.
If you’re on that level of flirtation with a Tagalog-speaker, you might as well check out our guide on: Flirting in Tagalog.