Tagalog Greetings: Saying Good Morning, Afternoon, and Evening

To help you on your way to learning the Filipino language, let's start with the Filipino greetings to warm you up. Well, it is one of the must know that I think one should start with since it is used in a daily basis, specially if you're going to converse with native speakers.

Let's start with Filipino greetings, so you know how to say "Good morning" or whatever, in Filipino. It could be a good conversation starter you know, and don't worry about the pronunciation, practice makes perfect. Read on or go straight on my video lesson down below. Yes, there's a video lesson of Tagalog greetings I have on YouTube.

Let's start with good morning shall we?

English
"Good morning!"
"Magandang umaga!"
-and it sounds like: ma-gan-dang um-mah-ga

English
"Good afternoon!"
"Magandang hapon!"
-and it sounds like: ma-gan-dang ha-phoon

English
"Good evening!"
"Magandang gabi!"
-and it sounds like: ma-gan-dang gah-bi (with bi, it is pronounce as "bee")

And there's a Tagalog greeting too at noon. Say for example you went and visited a Filipino friend at her home at 12 noon, or around 12 noon. You don't say good morning, good afternoon, or good evening. But you say:

"Magandang tanghali!"
- and it sounds like: ma-gan-dang tang-ha-li

Of course it is way better hearing the right pronunciation, right? Hear the correct pronunciation of these must know Tagalog greetings on my YouTube video lesson.

Filipino Word -Takipsilim

So you are having a vacation in the Philippines and it is getting late, and your auntie, or cousin said "Let's all hurry up and get back home, mag tatakipsilim na."

Or you could have heard it on television while watching the Filipino channel (TFC.)

So what is takipsilim? Or what does takipsilim means?

Takipsilim means it is getting dark. Dusk, sundown, or nightfall is the English word for takipsilim.

Chayote Plant Photos

This year, 2013, is the second year of our two chayote plant in our small patio. Last year went crazy with both chayote's grasping, and climbing into anything they could reach into. It's like a blink of an eye and they're all over the place. We have a trellis my dad had built for one chayote, and for the other chayote plant, I made its own trellis, and for this year too. It got out of hand by Summer last year as we hadn't keep a close eye on them, so this year, hope we can have both under control, and that means by harvesting the chayote shoots and guiding them where to climb.

Here's a photo of one of our chayote plant on its trellis from last year, 2012. For more photos along with other plants we have on our container garden, you can stop by on my article titled, "Container Gardening: Plants At The Patio." 

We had harvested many chayote fruits, and mostly twins plus the chayote shoots that mom cooks with other vegetables mixed together, either on pinakbet or denengdeng dish of the Ilocanos.

Here's a twin chayote fruit we had from last year with some young clusters of young male chayote flowers.

This twin chayote are still young, but they are already bigger than the chayote I usually see on the market. And greener too.

For this year, I am looking forward into seeing more of this twin chayote's. Both plants are as lively as last year and grasping into anything the tendrils can get hold off.

Here's photo of this year's chayote, 2013. One here as shown in the photo amazes me as I spotted this tendril holding onto the sleek fence.

YOU MIGHT ALSO WANT TO READ:

Chayote: Photos and Health Benefits Of This Fast Growing Plant

Some quick interesting facts about the chayote plant:

* Adding chayote into diet can help on lowering the cholesterol level.

* Chayote would grasp into anything and is a fast growing plant.

* The fruit, along with chayote shoots and even the tuberous part is consumed. 

* Other names the chayote is known are pear squash, vegetable squash, christophene, sayote, and chocho.

* Chayote, or known as sayote is 94% water. 

* Although we, or most of us call chayote as a vegetable, it is a fruit. 

Filipino Word - Bulilit

When I was baby sitting before for a neighbor, the mom would fondly sing to her 3 year old son, ♫ ♩ ♪ bulilit, bulilit ang liit liit!! ♫ ♩ ♪ I don't know if there's really a song like that or it was a made up song but it was kinda cute. And after to what I think was about few months, it was on a new TFC (The Filipino Channel) tv commercial. So maybe there really is a song like that.

But what does bulilit mean in English?

Bulilit means tiny. So if you also asked or are wondering what does munti mean? It means the same thing. BULILIT or MUNTI means small or tiny, a small child.

Bulilit means a small child, a very young kid.

Example 1: TAGALOG: Batang munti. 
Meaning in ENGLISH: A small child.

Example 2: TAGALOG: Halika dito bulilit. 
Meaning in ENGLISH: Come over here little guy.

Filipino Word - Makulimlim

First, I just wanted to mention how did the idea of making blog entry for Tagalog word meanings popped up to me.

I was on my way to work this morning, and for the last few days its been getting hot and Mr. Sun is already up and bright just past 8 o'clock in the morning. But today, it wasn't like yesterday, or the past few days. It was gloomy. And I liked it. I even wished for a rain today and tomorrow. It drizzled a bit but that's it, no raining happened. Still a little bit gloomy and a bit windy in the afternoon though. I like that kind of weather. :)

"Makulimlim," I thought to myself on my way to work driving on the freeway. And then, "Why don't I write Tagalog words meanings on my blog?" I will. Hopefully that could help those learning Tagalog specially the deep Tagalog words. So that's how the idea started.

So, enough of the day's weather, let's get on the topic. What is makulimlim? Or what does the Tagalog word makulimlim means?

Makulimlim means gloomy, a gloomy weather. Any time of the day and you noticed the sky is darkening and it looks like a rain is coming, you say makulimlim. That means gloomy.

Example: ENGLISH: "Today is makulimlim (gloomy.)
In TAGALOG: " Ngayon ay makulimlim."

Example 2: ENGLISH: "It's a bit gloomy ( makulimlim) today. Looks like a rain's on its way.
In TAGALOG: "Medyo makulimlim ngayon. Parang uulan."

Hyacinth Beans!

Our hyacinth beans was just "waking up" for the 2013 Spring, it was on a pot and we have two hyacinth beans in a pot. The one didn't survived the cold weather but this other one that was starting to grow leaves again was on where the chayote plant is. And the chayote are just also catching up for Spring, growing new leaves pretty fast. I already made the first part of the trellis for it and now had occupied the whole trellis.

BUT, there was a plant under its shades, a plant in a pot, and that is the hyacinth beans. This past years our hyacinth bean had been like this, but while I was visiting a close friend who also has planted a hyacinth bean in their backyard, it is continuously flowering and bearing pods.

" Do you still have your hyacinth beans?" I was asked. "No, it was just coming back to life for Spring. How come your was continuously flowering and has lots of pods!"It probably likes the soil in there, plus it was on the ground and not in a pot. 

And when I was offered some hyacinth beans to bring home, of course I gladly accepted it, fresh and nutritious. 

And just like what I was thinking, the hyacinth beans would be one of the ingredients of my mom's favorite Ilocano dish, pinakbet.