Travel phrases

Essential Filipino travel phrases

Pack the words that matter. These are the 30 Filipino phrases that actually come up on a trip, from your first Kumusta to calling for help, grouped by situation and written with a simple pronunciation guide.

Quick answer

The most useful Filipino travel phrases cover greetings, politeness, directions, food, and emergencies. Learn a handful first: Kumusta (hello), Pakiusap po (please), Salamat po (thank you), and Nasaan po ang banyo? (where is the toilet?). This free tool groups 30 essential Filipino phrases by situation, each with a plain-English pronunciation, so you practice only what your trip needs.

Show

All 30 phrases, grouped by situation.

Greetings

Kumusta Hello koo-MOOS-tah
Magandang umaga po Good morning mah-gahn-DAHNG oo-MAH-gah poh
Magandang hapon po Good afternoon mah-gahn-DAHNG HAH-pohn poh
Magandang gabi po Good evening mah-gahn-DAHNG gah-BEE poh
Paalam Goodbye pah-AH-lahm

Basics

Pakiusap po Please pah-kee-OO-sahp poh
Salamat po Thank you sah-LAH-maht poh
Walang anuman You're welcome WAH-lahng ah-NOO-mahn
Oo / Hindi Yes / No oh-oh / hin-DEE
Paumanhin po Excuse me pah-oo-MAHN-heen poh

Getting around

Nasaan po ang...? Where is...? nah-SAH-ahn poh ahng
Nasaan po ang banyo? Where is the toilet? nah-SAH-ahn poh ahng BAHN-yoh
Magkano ang tiket? How much is the ticket? mahg-KAH-noh ahng TEE-keht
Gusto kong pumunta sa... I want to go to... GOOS-toh kong poo-MOON-tah sah
Para po dito Stop here, please PAH-rah poh DEE-toh

Eating out

Mesa po para sa dalawa A table for two, please MEH-sah poh PAH-rah sah dah-lah-WAH
Pahingi po ng menu The menu, please pah-HEE-ngee poh nahng MEH-noo
Pahingi po ng bill The bill, please pah-HEE-ngee poh nahng bihl
Tubig Water TOO-big
Tagay! Cheers! tah-GUY

Shopping

Magkano po ito? How much is it? mahg-KAH-noh poh EE-toh
Ang mahal naman! It's too expensive! ahng mah-HAHL nah-MAHN
Tumatanggap po ba kayo ng credit card? Do you accept cards? too-mah-tahng-GAHP poh bah kah-YOH nahng KREH-dit kahrd
Tumitingin lang po ako I'm just looking too-mee-tee-NGEEN lahng poh AH-koh
Pabili po I'd like to buy this pah-bee-LEE poh

Emergencies

Tulong! Help! TOO-long
Tumawag ng pulis! Call the police! too-mah-WAHG nahng POO-lees
Kailangan ko ng doktor I need a doctor kah-ee-LAH-ngahn koh nahng DOK-tor
Nawawala ako I'm lost nah-wah-WAH-lah AH-koh
Tumawag ng ambulansya! Call an ambulance! too-mah-WAHG nahng ahm-boo-LAHN-shah

Go past the phrasebook. Learn Filipino by reading

A phrasebook gets you through the airport. Reading real Filipino books, with a tap for translation and native audio on every sentence, is how the words start to stick. Lingo7 turns a book a level above you into something you can actually read. Free to start.

How to get the most from these phrases

Learn by situation, not alphabetically. Your memory files Kumusta 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. Say each phrase out loud a few times, and if you can, listen to a native speaker to fix the vowels that plain English spelling cannot capture.

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 Pakiusap po 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.

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 (hello), Pakiusap po (please), 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.

How do you say hello and thank you in Filipino?

In Filipino, hello is Kumusta (pronounced koo-MOOS-tah) and thank you is Salamat po (sah-LAH-maht poh). Add Pakiusap po for please and Paalam for goodbye, 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. 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 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.