When studying foreign languages, one of the trickiest things that people usually have a bit of trouble with are idiomatic expressions.
Still, as confusing as they may be at first, there’s always some correlation between the idiomatic expression and its actual meaning, so today, I’m going to share some Tagalog idiomatic expressions with you as well as some brief explanations of the rationale behind them.
Tagalog Idioms | ||
|---|---|---|
| Tagalog Idiomatic Expression | English Counterpart | Meaning |
| Pagputi ng uwak / Pag-itim ng Tagak (literally, when the crow has turned white / when the stork has become black) | When hell freezes over. / When pigs fly. | Something that will never happen |
| Makati ang kamay (literally, hand is itchy) | Sticky fingers | Someone who is always itching to steal something |
| Makati ang paa (literally, foot is itchy) | Someone who has wanderlust | Someone who’s always itching to go somewhere else. |
| Matamis ang dila (tongue is sweet) | Sweet-talker | Someone who’ll tell you compliments that they don’t mean just to get you to do what they want you to. |
| Matalas ang dila (see English counterpart) | Sharp-tongued | Someone whose words can seriously hurt. |
| Manigas ka! (Stiffen up) | Go die! / Drop dead! / Like hell, I will! | There’s no way I’m going to do that even if you dropped dead in front of me. |
| Itaga mo sa bato (literally; hack it against a rock). | Mark my word. / Carved in stone | Remember my words because I will make sure that they will become a reality |
| Sipsip (suck) | Suck-up | A person who tries to gain the favor of someone in authority by saying or doing everything that might please them |
| Parang naghahanap ng karayom sa gitna ng dayami (see English counterpart) | Like looking for a needle in a haystack | Doing something that requires too much effort without any guarantee of success |
| Mahirap pa sa daga (poorer than a mouse) | As poor as a church mouse | Extremely poor. Probably because mice only rely on scraps, so if you’re poorer than a mouse, you are very poor indeed. |
| Nagsusunog ng kilay (literally, burning eyebrows) | Burning the midnight oil | Working very hard |
| Mani (peanut) / Sisiw (chick) | Piece of cake | Something that can be easily accomplished (I’m not sure about the origin of this one, though) |
| Maghahalo ang balat sa tinalupan (literally, the peel will get mixed with the thing that was already peeled). | All hell will break loose. | Chaos will ensue if a particular thing was done. |
| Dadaan sa butas ng karayom (will pass through the eye of the needle) | Go through fire and water | You will face impossible odds before you accomplish something. |
| Harangan man ng sibat (literally, even when stopped by a spear) | Come hell or high water | You will do something no matter what it takes |
| Sampu-sampera | A dime a dozen | Something very common. |
| Balat sibuyas (literally, onion-skinned) | Thin-skinned | Someone who’s easily offended |
| Namamangka sa dalawang ilog (literally, rowing down a stream while riding two boats simultaneously) | Not applicable | Two-timing |
| Sumakay na lang (literally, just jump in for the ride) | Go with the flow | Just let something pass (Don’t rebut it) |
| Ilista sa tubig (literally, write on water) | Not applicable | Write something (i.e. a debt) off. |
| Nagdidilim ang paningin (literally, eyesight is getting dark) | Seeing red | Getting very angry |
| Isaksak mo sa baga mo (literally, shove it up your lungs) | Shove it up yours. | Keep it. I don’t want it. |
| Pinapaikot (see English counterpart) | Taking for a spin | Making someone go round in circles |
| Lutang (literally, floating) | Airhead | Someone visibly distracted |
| Hinahabol ng sampung demonyo (literally, being chased by ten demons) | Not applicable | Someone who is in a great hurry |
| Pupulutin sa kangkungan (literally, will be picked up from the cluster of water spinach) | Thrown to the dogs | Will fail miserably and will be discarded like thrash |
| Nagbubuhat ng sariling bangko (literally, lifting one’s chair) | Not applicable | Shamelessly bragging about one’s own accomplishments |
| Magdildil ng asin (literally, bunch up salt with one’s fingers) | Not applicable | Be so poor that you have to eat salt (with rice) for meals |
| Isang kahig; isang tuka (literally, one scratch; one peck) | Hand-to-mouth existence | Be barely able to support oneself, financially speaking |
| Tubig at langis (literally, oil and water) | Not applicable | A pair who doesn’t work well together |
| Nagmumurang kamatis (literally, acting like a young tomato) | Not applicable | Acting inappropriately for one’s age (used for old or middle-aged people) |
| May asim pa (literally, still has tanginess) | Not applicable | Someone still appealing despite their age |
| Suntok sa buwan (literally, a punch to the moon) | Not applicable | A task that is next-to-impossible to accomplish |
| Maitim ang budhi (literally, dark conscience) | Not applicable | Someone who has no moral compass |
| Maluwag ang turnilyo (literally, screws are loose) | Got screws loose in the head | Someone who’s mentally imbalanced |
| May toyo (literally, has soy sauce) | Got screws loose in the head | Has a mental disorder |
| Lumaki ang ulo (literally, head grew big) | Not applicable | Someone who let wealth, fame, or power got the best of them |
| Kahit lumuha ka ng dugo (literally, even if you shed bloody tears) | Not applicable | You won’t be forgiven no matter what you do |
| Parang dinaanan ng ipu-ipo (literally, looked like it was ran over by a tornado) | Gone with the wind | Something (e.g. food) that was gone in an instant Could also mean something that was left in shambles after a previous event /td> |
| Magaan ang kamay (literally, has light hands) | Not applicable | Someone who is quick to raise their hand against others |
| Mabilis pa sa alas-kuwatro (literally, faster than four o’ clock) | Not applicable | Someone who does something very quickly |
| Mahaba ang pisi (literally, has a long line) | Not applicable | Someone very patient |
| Naghahabi ng kuwento (literally, weaving a story) | Not applicable | Telling a lie |
That’s it for the first batch. I’ll be adding some more next time. For now, I hope you learned something new and of possible use in the future. ^_^
