The family is central to Filipino culture. You probably have learned this if you’re dating a Filipino or Filipina, or if you have Filipino ancestry. That’s why we came up with this lesson all about Familial Relation words. By this I mean words like: father, mother, uncle, aunt, son and daughter.

These are words which help define the familial relationships between people. If you are an absolute beginner (our Maralita level), you should consider giving it a swing. Why?

Why is learning Tagalog Familial Relation Words Important?

Learning Tagalog familial relation words are super quick wins. Familial relation words are the low hanging fruit of the foreign language learning world. Here are some reasons why this is so:

• There are a whole lot of opportunities to use them. Talking about one family and relatives is quite common.
• They carry a lot of emotional weight. To endear yourself to the object of your affections, one of the fastest ways to her heart is through her family. Instead of calling her mother “Ms. Santos” or just “Hey!” you could call her “tita” meaning “aunt” which is perfectly acceptable in Filipino culture and will win you ten brownie points.
• They are easy to learn and hard to mess up. There is no convoluted grammar to use them. You can use them as soon as you learn them – even if it’s the only Tagalog word in the entire English sentence, it would sound perfectly normal, for example “How are doing, tita?”

Ready for the lesson? Let’s get right to it.

Tagalog Familial Relation Words

Tagalog familial relation words totally rock. We’ll start with English then follow with the Tagalog translation, assuming that you’ll want to learn how to say the English word you have in mind in Tagalog.

Family – Pamilya
Clan – Angkan
Kinsfolk / Relative – Kamaganak

Example: Isang pamilya kami, kaya gusto naming umupong magkasama. – We’re one family, so we prefer to be seated together.
Example: Sa isla na ito lahat sila ay magka-angkan. – On this island they all belong to the same clan.
Example: Binigyan niya yung kamaganak niya ng trabaho sa kumpanya niya. – He gave his relative a job in his company.

The word pamilya means family. This word would be used pretty much the same as its counterpart in English. It would typically refer to a nuclear family, but it’s common to have grandparent or another close relative included when you would describe a pamilya. The word angkan would mean clan. It refers to a group of relatives bound by blood relations. Angkan while it connotes some closeness, members of the same angkan can be several degrees of consanguinity separated, such as third or fourth degree cousins. Kamaganak is the loosest term of them all, and perhaps can be better translated as “kinsfolk.”

Spouse – Asawa

Example: May asawa ka na ba? – Do you have a spouse? / Are you married?
Example: Kasama ko asawa ko.– I am with my husband/wife.
When used in a conversation, Filipino normally just use the word asawa to refer to either the husband or wife. In real life, no one ever says “asawang lalaki” and “asawang babae” unless you are particularly trying to specify the gender. So if ever you read that in a phrase book or a Tagalog course, just throw out those words from your vocabulary.

Parent – Magulang
Father – Ama / Tatay / Itay
Mother – Ina / Nanay / Inay

Example: Nakatira ako sa Amerika, pero sa Pilipinas ang magulang ko. – I live in America, but my parents live in the Philippines.
Example: Ang pangalan ng ama ko ay Jose. – My father’s name is Jose.
Example: Paul, tinatawag ka na ng nanay mo. – Paul, your mom is calling you.
Example: Itay, nakita ko yung mga manok sa palayan – Pops, I saw the chickens in the ricefield.

Ama and ina would roughly be equivalent to the words father and mother.

In modern Filipino families, the children commonly call their fathers tatay, papa, or daddy. Mothers are addressed nanay, mama, or mommy. Ama and Ina are rather formal.

However, in formal speech or in written form Ama or Ina would sound appropriate. Tatay and nanay are the most general in tome and are best for everyday conversation. They are probably should be the best used to refer to one’s parents if you aren’t sure which one to use, since they are acceptable in formal speech as well. Itay and inay – while you will still hear these two words still used by some families, they would sound very traditional way to a modern city dweller in Manila.

Son or Daughter – Anak

Example: Lima na ang anak ko. – I already have five children.
Example: May anak ka na ba? – Do you have any children?

Some textbook or phrase books would translate “son” as anak na lalaki and “daughter” as anak na babae. Don’t do that. Just like in describing spouses, a native Tagalog speaker would not use these terms unless there is a need to particularly specify the gender. Use the word anak to translate the words “son” and “daughter”.

Remember that the word anak is used in the context of the relationship of a parent to the child. When we are talking about child in the context of the age of a person (young human being), it is termed as sanggol, bata, binatillo, dalagita, binata or dalaga depending on the age.

Uncle – Tito / Tiyo
Aunt – Tita / Tiya

Example: Kilala ko ang mamang ‘yan, tito siya ni Frank. – I know that man, he is the uncle of Frank.
Example: Puntahan mo si Tiya Maria mo at hingian mo ng bigas – Go to your Auntie Maria and ask for some rice.

Tito, tita, tiyo, tiya came straight from the Tagalog Hispanic past as Tagalog loan words. You will probably use these familial relationship words more often than others. Not only do you refer to your real uncles and aunts as tito or tita, it’s polite to refer to anyone around a generation older than you (roughly 10 to 20 years older) using these terms. Tagalog is not alone in this though, as this is common in a lot of Asian cultures.

Sibling – Kapatid

Example: Magkapatid si Paul and Frank. – Paula and Frank are siblings.
Example: Lima kaming magkapatid. – There are five of us siblings (in the family).

Elder brother – kuya
Elder sister – ate
Eldest child/sibling or firstborn – panganay
Youngest child/sibling – bunso

Just like the usage of asawa for spouse and anak for child, we only use kapatid in conversations when referring to younger siblings.  If you see brother (or younger brother) translated as anak na lalaki and sister (or younger sister) translated as anak na babae in a phrasebook or textbook, turn away and run. No one ever uses these to refer to their siblings without context, unless there was the intention to specify their gender.

As a term of endearment, some Filipino families call their youngest child or sibling bunso, just like in the following sentence: Example: Bunso, kumain ka na ba? – Youngest, have you eaten already?

We don’t use panganay in the same way.

Grandfather – lolo
Grandmother – lola

Example: Lumaban ang lolo ko sa gera. – My grandfather fought in the war.
Example: Mahilig ang lola ko kumain ng gulay. – My grandmother likes eating vegetables.

Use lolo and lola for grandfather and grandmother. Just like in tito and tita, they can also be used respectfully for those of grandfatherly or grandmotherlybage.

Talk Tagalog Tip: In the Filipino culture, it is unusual and rude to call an older person by first name alone. You may want to add the words Kuya/Ate, Tito/Tita, Lolo/Lola before the first name. For example: For someone five years older than you

 

More in the making: There are several other interesting familial relationship words which you will use a lot less often such as bayaw and manugang. We’ll add them to this article if you request us to. You just have to request us too and we’ll add them. No kidding, just ask us too at the contact page.

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