How to Start a Chat in Tagalog Using Tagalog Pleasantries
If you’re trying to learn Tagalog, you probably already know “Kumusta” which is the rough counterpart of the English greeting “Hi” or “Hello,” but do you know what goes after that? Learn some basic Tagalog pleasantries to keep a short conversation going the next time you wanted to chat with your Filipino friends, relatives, neighbors, or co-workers.
Kumusta ka? = How are you? (As discussed in the previous lesson, aside from asking the state of someone’s well-being, it can also be used to say “Hi” or “Hello.”)
Polite Form: Kumusta po kayo?
Mabuti naman ako. = “I am fine” / “I’m doing good.” (“Mabuti naman” can also mean “That’s good to hear”)
Polite Form: Mabuti naman po ako.
Ikaw? = How about you? (Usually said right after “Mabuti naman ako”)
Polite Form: Kayo po?
Ang tagal nating hindi nagkita. = We haven’t seen each other for so long. / It’s been a while.
Polite Form: Ang tagal po nating hindi nagkita.
Natutuwa akong makita ka ulit. = I’m glad to see you again / It’s nice to see you again.
Polite Form: Natutuwa po akong makita kayo ulit
Ako din! = Me too! / Same here!
Polite Form: Ako din po.
Gumaganda/Gumaguwapo ka yata. = You seem to be getting lovelier/more handsome. (You can also add an extra “ngayon” right after “yata” to say “You seem to be getting lovelier/more handsome now/lately).
Polite Form: Gumaganda/gumaguwapo po yata kayo.
Na-miss kita. = I missed you. (There is no exact Tagalog counterpart for this English sentence, so we use Taglish (a combination of Tagalog and English words) instead. Variants of this include: Miss na kita which means “I already miss you,” Nami-miss kita which means “I am missing you” or “I have been missing you” and Mami-miss kita which means “I will miss you.”
Polite Forms: Na-miss ko po kayo / Miss ko na po kayo / Nami-miss ko po kayo / Mami-miss ko po kayo
Mag-ingat ka! / Ingat ka! = Take care!
Polite Form: Mag-ingat po kayo or Ingat po kayo.
Paalam! = Goodbye! People rarely use this, though — usually opting for a simple “bye” or “babay” (bye-bye) instead.
Polite Form: Paalam po.
Ikumusta mo na lang ako sa kanila. = Just give my regards to them.
Polite Form: Ikumusta ninyo na lang po ako sa kanila.
Paki-kumusta mo na lang ako sa kanila/Paki-kumusta mo na lang sila para sa akin. = Please say hi to them for me.
Polite Form: Paki-kumusta ninyo na lang po ako sa kanila/ Paki-kumusta ninyo na lang po sila para sa akin.
Hanggang sa muli! = Until next time! (Usually used to imply that you will meet again in the future.)
Polite Form: Hanggang sa muli po!
