The Philippines is a good place to find love. It’s a country of over 7,000 islands and 100 million people. The one you’ve been waiting for all your life (or maybe just all night) is somewhere out there. But face it. If you keep to your lonesome self and not talk, you’re not going to go very far. What you’ve got to do is be proactive and get to know your target better. Put a smile of her face. Compliment her. Make her laugh a little… and you’ll be half way there.

So yeah, you must have heard, or perhaps you’ve experienced it firsthand. Practically everybody speaks English in the Philippines. But you won’t be alone. There are other just like you look to dazzle that pretty young thing. They might be a lot more confident and good looking than you (and have deeper pockets too). Plus, there are a gazillion local guys you have to compete with.  So you gotta’ be a cut above the rest.

Wanna know how? Talk to her in Tagalog, silly. Nothing will impress her more and show you are an intelligent man who really appreciates her culture, than having a couple of Tagalog phrases up your sleeve, Believe me. Any effort to speak to a Filipina in Tagalog is worth lots of points.

So go cruise the bars, walk down the beach, or sidle up next to that colleague you’ve always liked, and let’s practice using these Tagalog sentences for flirting. Go get ’em, tiger!

Breaking the Ice

First impression last. Scary, right? But having zero impressions is worse. You aren’t going anywhere if you think she’s going to come over if you stare at her long enough from across the room. Well, she might, but that might not always be the kind of girl you are looking for. So, grab hold of your balls and go for it.

Take a deep breath. Gulp down that last swig of San Miguel beer. Make eye contact. Smile. Approach with confidence.

Can I sit beside you?
Pwede ba kita tabihan?

Who are you with here?
Sino kasama mo dito?

I just want to talk to you for ( a moment / two minutes).
Gusto lang kita makausap nang ( saglit / dalawang minuto).

What’s your name?
Pwede ko ba malaman ang pangalan mo? (literally: Can I know your name?)

My name is Jose.
Ang pangalan ko ay Jose.

I just noticed you ( weren’t with anyone here / you looked a bit bored).
Napansin ko lang na ( wala kang kasama dito / mukhang nabo-bored ka na )

Where are you from?
Taga-saan ka?

I’m from America. / I’m American.
Taga-America ako. / Amerikano ako.

I just want to practice speaking Tagalog.
Gusto mo lang magpractice mag-Tagalog.

Stimulating Conversation:

So, her eyes are twinkling. You’re off to a good start. She was a bit shy at first. Probably she’s a bit flattered, but she’s still apprehensive. But she’s started talking, now it’s time to keep her talking.

Really?
Talaga?

You don’t say? (Expressing disbelief at something she said. A rhetoric question to get him/her to talk more)
Hindi nga?

Why is that so?
Bakit naman?

How / Why did that happen?
( Paano / Bakit ) nangyari ‘yan?

Compliment him or her

Make her feel at ease. She’s probably sizing you up. She’s trying to figure out whether you’re a serial killer on the prowl or just someone genuinely interested in her. You job now is to drum up a little confidence in her. Nothing will get her smiling and laughing faster than a sincere but playful compliment.

You are really so funny.
Nakakatawa ka talaga.

You’re crazy. (Crazy like funny and extroverted, not crazy “I need my pills”)
Kalog ka.

You are so ( handsome / beautiful ).
Ang ( pogi / ganda ) mo.

You are so smart.
Ang talino mo.

You dance so well.
Ang galing mo sumayaw.

You have such beautiful ( eyes / body ).
Ang ganda ng ( mata / katawan ) mo.

I think you’re the most beautiful girl ( here / in this bar ).
Para sa akin, ikaw ang pinakamagandang babae ( dito / sa bar na ito ).

You’re a goddess in my eyes.
Isa kang diyosa. (Used when speaking to females or transgender males only)

Getting away

You can’t hit the bulls eye all the time. Sometime things just don’t go as planned. Perhaps the “she” turned out to be a “he”. Maybe she wasn’t so interested in you after all. Maybe she just isn’t your type. It happens to the best of us. Use these sentences to make a clean get away.

I’ll leave ahead (of you).
Mauuna na ako. (This is a common way of saying goodbye in the Philippines)

Let’s keep in touch through text.
Text-text tayo ha.

Send me a text message when you get home (safely), okay?
Text mo ako pagdating mo sa bahay, ha?

Sealing the Deal

Sometimes, things do fall in place. So she is under your spell. You can tell from her body language she is digging you. She is looking at you with rapt attention, and is hanging on to your every Tagalog word. Here’s the moment of truth. It’s time to seal the deal.

What’s your phone number?
Anong phone number mo? (This isn’t a typo, no one uses “numero ng telepono” the literal translation of ‘telephone number’ ever)

Do you want to come with me?
Gusto mo sumama sa akin?

We’re just going to talk.
Maguusap lang tayo. (Yeah right, buddy)

I’ll bring you to your home.
Ihahatid kita pauwi.

I’d like to bring you to my home.
Gusto kita i-uwi.

Accompany me to my room.
Samahan mo ako sa kwarto.

We can continue ( drinking / talking) there.
Pwede natin ituloy ang ( inuman / kwentuhan ) natin doon.

When can we see each other again?
Kailan tayo pwede magkita ulit?

I think I love you.
Mahal na ata kita.

Expert tips for flirting in Tagalog

You may be a Cassanova in your native language, but trying to sound cool in a foreign language is whole different game. However, just by speaking Tagalog you already place yourself a cut above every other foreigner who never bothered to learn two sentences strung together. Speaking Tagalog sends a signal that you’re a person that’s in it for the long game (girls dig this stuff) and are really into their culture. There are just so few foreigners who speak it well, so you’re bound to impress.

By the way, keep away from the Tagalog word “po” of you are flirting with someone. It just sounds weird if you are flirting with someone and you are using the Tagalog word “po” which is reserved for older people or people who you perceive to have a higher social stature. If someone you are flirting with starts using the word “po“, this adds “distance” to your relationship, so ask her to address you by your first name. Try say something like “Don’t address me with ‘po‘. Just call me Bill” or “Huwag mo ako i-po. Tawagin mo na lang akong Bill.” An exception perhaps is if you want to use the word “po” for comedic purposes to suggest deference.

Of course, the ability to speak Tagalog is not everything. Nothing beats basic courtesy, decency and having a big bucket of confidence. Don’t be cocky though. Too much cockiness will turn most modest Filipina girls off. Go instead for showing genuine interest in a person.

Remember, you can always fall back to English if you are having difficulty expressing your thoughts in Tagalog. Even among native Tagalog speakers it is common to freely mix both English and Tagalog, so you can too.

Download the PDF Version of the Book (No Email Required)

This article is a trimmed down version of the book Flirting in Tagalog: Your Guide & Phrasebook to Attraction Using the Philippines’ Most Commonly Spoken Language. The PDF version of the book has a bunch more sentences you might want to try out.

The PDF also makes it quite handy for reading when you’re offline. If you’re on a mobile data plan, it would save a couple of cents. I also won’t ask for your email address for it. I just want you to have a look at it and actually use the sentences on it. I believe in speaking from day one. Nothing beats using the sentences in real live situations to get you learning at rocket speed.

Download link: Flirting in Tagalog 2020 Free (2509 downloads )

You can also click on the picture of the cover below to download. (No email required)

There’s also a paid version of this book on Amazon below. You’re totally free not to buy the paid version, the free version is already quite a lot to practice and pretty much covers a lot of ground.

The paid version has something like 50 pages give or take (depending on your device) of phrases and articles. I did have a lot more fun with it, with segments like “Progressive Physical Intimacy” and articles like “Beware of the ‘Working Girl’” and other steamy stuff. But again, the free PDF version is already a few weeks or months worth of practice.

Above is a link to Amazon where you can get the full paid version, but again, I don’t want want you to buy it unless you want to. If you aren’t comfortable with buying an eBook, just get the free but shorter PDF you can download on this page.

Learn More

So, that’s it. This should be a good start. A good rejoinder to this article on Flirting in Tagalog is learning Your First 100 Tagalog Sentences. That should get you talking in Tagalog. I believe in you! You can do it!

Got a hot date with a Filipina (or Filipino) coming up? You can also check out our article and download on dating in Tagalog.

This is an article about flirting in Tagalog, but you could also speed things up a bit by learning how to pop the question in Tagalog. Learn to say “Will you marry me?” in Tagalog.

Don’t forget to check out the Talk Tagalog Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify and where ever you get your podcasts. Just search for “Talk Tagalog” and find us there.

Lastly, if you like our stuff, why don’t you subscribe to the Talk Tagalog Newsletter? Our website is like a Philippine jeepney, but instead of fuel it needs email addressed to run. We’ll love you for it, and promise to never, ever send you spam. We only will send you notifications a few times a year if we have some new content.

Have an awesome day, kaibigan!