Travel phrases

Essential Filipino travel phrases

Pack the words that matter. These are the 34 Filipino phrases that actually come up on a trip, from your first Kumusta po kayo? to calling for help, grouped by situation and written with a simple pronunciation guide, and read aloud at the tap of a button. Chosen the way a Filipino speaker would choose them, which is why the list ends with the phrases you only hear once you are there.

Quick answer

The most useful Filipino travel phrases cover greetings, politeness, directions, food, and emergencies. Learn a handful first: Kumusta po kayo? (hello), Opo (yes, politely), Salamat po (thank you), and Nasaan po ang banyo? (where is the toilet?). This free tool groups 34 Filipino phrases by situation, each with a plain-English pronunciation and a play button that reads it aloud. They are the phrases Filipino speakers really use, not an English list translated into Filipino, so the last block is the one a phrasebook never has: what locals say to each other.

Start here

The first 10 Filipino phrases to learn

The ones you need on day one. Tap play, say the phrase back until it sounds close, then say it along with the voice: that is shadowing, the drill interpreters train with.

  1. 1 Kumusta po kayo? Hello koo-MOOS-tah poh kah-YOH Hello and how are you in one; po makes it polite. Answered with Mabuti po naman
  2. 2 Magandang umaga po Good morning mah-gahn-DAHNG oo-MAH-gah poh Until noon; drop po only with people your own age or younger
  3. 3 Magandang gabi po Good evening mah-gahn-DAHNG gah-BEE poh
  4. 4 Ingat po Take care EE-ngaht poh The standard goodbye; Paalam sounds like a farewell forever
  5. 5 Sige po Alright then SEE-geh poh Agrees, ends a conversation and says bye, often mid Taglish sentence
  6. 6 Salamat po Thank you sah-LAH-maht poh Answered with "Walang anuman", or casually "Wala 'yon"; in Manila you hear "Thank you po" just as often
  7. 7 Opo Yes, politely OH-poh Opo to anyone older; adding po to any sentence is the politeness marker
  8. 8 Hindi po No hin-DEE poh Po softens the refusal; a bare hindi sounds blunt to an elder
  9. 9 Pasensya na po Sorry about that pah-SEN-shah nah poh Apology and excuse me in one, used far more than Paumanhin; the Taglish "Sorry po" is just as common
  10. 10 Hindi ko po maintindihan I don't understand hin-DEE koh poh mah-in-tin-dee-HAHN
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All 34 phrases, grouped by situation.

Greetings

Kumusta po kayo? Hello koo-MOOS-tah poh kah-YOH Hello and how are you in one; po makes it polite. Answered with Mabuti po naman
Magandang umaga po Good morning mah-gahn-DAHNG oo-MAH-gah poh Until noon; drop po only with people your own age or younger
Magandang gabi po Good evening mah-gahn-DAHNG gah-BEE poh
Ingat po Take care EE-ngaht poh The standard goodbye; Paalam sounds like a farewell forever
Sige po Alright then SEE-geh poh Agrees, ends a conversation and says bye, often mid Taglish sentence

Basics

Salamat po Thank you sah-LAH-maht poh Answered with "Walang anuman", or casually "Wala 'yon"; in Manila you hear "Thank you po" just as often
Opo Yes, politely OH-poh Opo to anyone older; adding po to any sentence is the politeness marker
Hindi po No hin-DEE poh Po softens the refusal; a bare hindi sounds blunt to an elder
Pasensya na po Sorry about that pah-SEN-shah nah poh Apology and excuse me in one, used far more than Paumanhin; the Taglish "Sorry po" is just as common
Hindi ko po maintindihan I don't understand hin-DEE koh poh mah-in-tin-dee-HAHN
Pakiulit po Please say that again pah-kee-OO-lit poh Paki on the front of a verb turns it into a polite request

Getting around

Nasaan po ang banyo? Where is the toilet? nah-sah-AHN poh ahng BAHN-yoh Signs and people often say CR instead, short for comfort room
Para po! Stop here, please! PAH-rah poh How you get off a jeepney or a tricycle: say it loudly, the driver stops
Magkano po ang pamasahe? How much is the fare? mahg-KAH-noh poh ahng pah-mah-SAH-heh Ask it before a tricycle ride, where a special trip is priced on the spot
Bayad po Here's my fare BAH-yahd poh Said as you pass your fare forward on a jeepney; the other passengers hand it on to the driver and pass the change back
Diretso lang po Straight ahead, please dee-RET-soh lahng poh To a driver; with kanan for right and kaliwa for left

Eating out

Pahingi po ng menu The menu, please pah-hee-NGEE poh nahng MEH-noo
Ano po ang masarap dito? What is good here? ah-NOH poh ahng mah-sah-RAHP dee-TOH
Isa po nito One of these, please ee-SAH poh nee-TOH Point at the tray at a turo-turo eatery; turo means point
Magkano po lahat? How much for everything? mahg-KAH-noh poh lah-HAHT How you ask for the bill in small places, where nothing is printed
Ang sarap po That is delicious ahng sah-RAHP poh Sarap covers anything good; say it to whoever cooked

Shopping

Magkano po ito? How much is this? mahg-KAH-noh poh ee-TOH Without po it sounds blunt, above all to anyone older
Pwede po bang tumawad? Can I ask for a lower price? PWEH-deh poh bahng too-MAH-wahd Markets and street stalls only; malls and shops have fixed prices
Tingin lang po I'm just looking tee-NGEEN lahng poh
May sukli po ba kayo? Do you have change? my sook-LEE poh bah kah-YOH Small stalls and jeepneys rarely break a big note; carry coins

Emergencies

Tulong! Help! TOO-long
Tumawag po kayo ng pulis Call the police too-MAH-wahg poh kah-YOH nahng POO-lees
Kailangan ko po ng doktor I need a doctor kah-ee-LAH-ngahn koh poh nahng DOK-tor
Naliligaw po ako I'm lost nah-lee-lee-GAW poh ah-KOH

Locals say

Kuya Big brother, how you address a driver or vendor KOO-yah Said to any man a bit older, from the jeepney driver to the guard, as in "Kuya, para po"; "Ate" (AH-teh) to a woman, "Manong" and "Manang" to someone clearly older
Tara! Let's go! tah-RAH Come on, let's go, let's eat. The everyday invitation between friends
Mano po Your blessing, please MAH-noh poh Said while taking an elder's hand to your forehead as a greeting
Kain po tayo Come and eat with us KAH-in poh TAH-yoh Anyone eating says it to whoever walks in; a smile or Sige po is enough
Naku! Oh no! nah-KOO The all purpose exclamation: surprise, worry, sympathy, disbelief

How to get the most from these phrases

Learn by situation, not alphabetically. Your memory files Kumusta po kayo? next to the moment you would use it, so run through the greetings before you fly, the restaurant block on the way to dinner, and the emergency block once so it is there if you ever need it.

The pronunciation guide is written the way an English speaker would read it aloud, with the stressed syllable in capitals. It is a crutch, not the real sound. Press play, listen once, then say the phrase back: the audio fixes the vowels that plain English spelling cannot capture. Once a phrase feels easy, say it together with the voice, a beat behind, the way interpreters drill: our guide to shadowing explains the sequence.

Phrases get you to the country. What gets you fluent is meeting the same words again and again in context, which is exactly what reading does. Once Opo and Salamat po feel automatic, the next step is a real Filipino sentence, then a page, then a book. That is the whole idea behind reading in Lingo7.

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Frequently asked questions

What are the most important Filipino phrases for travel?

Start with greetings and politeness, then the phrases that solve a real problem: asking directions, ordering, paying, and getting help. On this page that is Kumusta po kayo? (hello), Opo (yes, politely), Salamat po (thank you), Nasaan po ang banyo? (where is the toilet?), and Tulong! (help!). Learn those few and you can be polite and safe almost anywhere.

What do Filipino locals say that a phrasebook leaves out?

A phrasebook translates English, so it gives you the Filipino for "hello" and stops. The phrases people there actually trade all day are the ones with no English slot: Kuya (big brother, how you address a driver or vendor), Tara! (let's go!), Mano po (your blessing, please). The "Locals say" block on this page collects 5 of them and says when each one is used, which is usually what turns a correct sentence into a normal one.

What do these Filipino phrases sound like?

Tap the play button next to a phrase and you hear it read aloud, so you can copy the sound instead of guessing it from the spelling. The written pronunciation is a crutch for English eyes, the audio is the real thing. Play Kumusta po kayo? and Salamat po a few times, say them back, and they come out right when it counts.

How do you say hello and thank you in Filipino?

In Filipino, hello is Kumusta po kayo? (pronounced koo-MOOS-tah poh kah-YOH) and thank you is Salamat po (sah-LAH-maht poh). Add Opo (yes, politely) and Ingat po (take care), and you have the words that carry most short exchanges with a shopkeeper, waiter, or stranger.

How do you ask where the toilet is in Filipino?

Ask Nasaan po ang banyo? (pronounced nah-sah-AHN poh ahng BAHN-yoh), which means "where is the toilet?" in Filipino. If you only catch part of the reply, Hindi ko po maintindihan (I don't understand) and a smile usually gets it repeated or pointed out. It is one of the few phrases worth memorizing word for word before you go.

Do I need to learn Filipino before traveling?

No, but a dozen Filipino phrases go a long way. Locals warm up fast when you open with Kumusta po kayo? and Salamat po instead of English. You do not need grammar or fluency for a trip, just the survival set above. For anything past that, the fastest route to real Filipino is reading, which is exactly what Lingo7 is built for.