Time and Date in Tagalog

Expressing time and date in Tagalog involves a mix of native Tagalog and Spanish-derived terms. Understanding these patterns is essential for daily conversation.

Telling Time

Hours

Hours are expressed using Spanish numbers with alas:

Time	Tagalog
1:00	ala una
2:00	alas dos
3:00	alas tres
4:00	alas kwatro
5:00	alas singko
6:00	alas seis
7:00	alas siyete
8:00	alas otso
9:00	alas nuwebe
10:00	alas diyes
11:00	alas onse
12:00	alas dose

Examples:

• Alas tres ng hapon.
  (Three o'clock in the afternoon.)
• Ala una ng umaga.
  (One o'clock in the morning.)

Alas vs. Ala

Use ala for one o'clock (ala una) and alas for all other hours.

Minutes

Minutes are expressed using Spanish numbers:

Exact Minutes

• Alas dos y medya / Alas dos y trenta
  (2:30)
• Alas tres y kinse
  (3:15)
• Alas kwatro y bente
  (4:20)

Quarter Hours

Time Pattern	Tagalog
Quarter past	y kinse
Half past	y medya / y trenta
Quarter to	menos kinse

Examples:

• Alas dos y kinse.
  (2:15 / Quarter past two.)
• Alas tres y medya.
  (3:30 / Half past three.)
• Alas kwatro menos kinse.
  (3:45 / Quarter to four.)

Before and After

• y - and/past (adds minutes)
• menos - minus/to (subtracts minutes from next hour)

Examples:

• Alas tres y diyes.
  (3:10 / Ten past three.)
• Alas singko menos singko.
  (4:55 / Five to five.)

Time of Day

Specify parts of the day using:

Tagalog	Time Range
madaling araw	3 AM to 6 AM
ng umaga	6 AM to noon
ng tanghali	11 AM to 1 PM
ng hapon	1 PM to 6 PM
ng gabi	6 PM onward
ng hatinggabi	around 12 midnight

Examples:

• Alas siyete ng umaga.
  (7:00 in the morning.)
• Alas dose ng tanghali.
  (12:00 noon.)
• Alas tres ng hapon.
  (3:00 in the afternoon.)
• Alas otso ng gabi.
  (8:00 in the evening.)

Time-of-Day Usage

Tanghali refers to the midday period including lunch time, not just 12:00 exactly. Madaling araw specifically denotes the pre-dawn hours when most people are still asleep.

Asking About Time

• Anong oras na?
  (What time is it?)
• Anong oras ka darating?
  (What time are you arriving?)
• Ilang oras ang byahe?
  (How many hours is the trip?)

Responses:

• Alas tres na.
  (It's three o'clock already.)
• Mamayang alas singko.
  (Later at five o'clock.)

Days of the Week

Days of the week are derived from Spanish:

Tagalog	Meaning
Lunes	Monday
Martes	Tuesday
Miyerkules	Wednesday
Huwebes	Thursday
Biyernes	Friday
Sabado	Saturday
Linggo	Sunday

Using Days

• Ngayong Lunes.
  (This Monday.)
• Susunod na Biyernes.
  (Next Friday.)
• Noong Sabado.
  (Last Saturday.)
• Tuwing Linggo.
  (Every Sunday.)

Day Names

All day names are capitalized in Tagalog, following Spanish convention.

Relative Days

Tagalog	Meaning
ngayon	today
bukas	tomorrow
kahapon	yesterday
kamakalawa	day before yesterday
samakalawa	day after tomorrow

Examples:

• Pupunta ako bukas.
  (I will go tomorrow.)
• Dumating siya kahapon.
  (He/She arrived yesterday.)

Months

Months are derived from Spanish and are capitalized:

Tagalog	Meaning
Enero	January
Pebrero	February
Marso	March
Abril	April
Mayo	May
Hunyo	June
Hulyo	July
Agosto	August
Setyembre	September
Oktubre	October
Nobyembre	November
Disyembre	December

Using Months

• Ipinanganak ako noong Enero.
  (I was born in January.)
• Bakasyon namin sa Abril.
  (Our vacation is in April.)
• Tuwing Disyembre, malamig ang panahon.
  (Every December, the weather is cold.)

Dates

Dates use Spanish numbers with the month name:

Full Date Format

• Ika-15 ng Enero, 2024
  (January 15, 2024)
• Enero 15, 2024
  (January 15, 2024)

Ordinal Date Form

Use ika- prefix for ordinal dates:

• ika-unang araw ng Enero
  (first day of January)
• ika-dalawampu't lima ng Pebrero
  (25th of February)

Asking About Dates

• Anong petsa ngayon?
  (What is the date today?)
• Kailan ka ipinanganak?
  (When were you born?)

Responses:

• Ika-10 ng Marso.
  (March 10th.)
• Enero 5, 1990.
  (January 5, 1990.)

Years

Years use Spanish numbers:

• 1990 - mil nuwesyentos nobenta
• 2000 - dos mil
• 2024 - dos mil bente kwatro

Examples:

• Ipinanganak ako noong 1995.
  (I was born in 1995.)
• Taong 2024 ngayon.
  (It's the year 2024 now.)

Seasons

The Philippines has two main seasons:

Tagalog	Period
tag-ulan / panahon ng tag-ulan	June to November
tag-init / tag-araw	December to May

Examples:

• Umuulan nang malakas sa tag-ulan.
  (It rains heavily during the rainy season.)
• Mainit sa tag-init.
  (It's hot during summer.)

Philippine Climate

The Philippines has a tropical climate with two main seasons rather than four distinct seasons. Some areas distinguish between hot dry (March-May) and cool dry (December-February) periods.

Time Expressions

Duration

Common time units and duration expressions:

Tagalog	Meaning
segundo	second
minuto	minute
oras	hour
araw	day
linggo	week
buwan	month
taon	year
siglo	century
sandali	a moment
ilang minuto	a few minutes
kalahating oras	half an hour
buong araw	whole day

Examples with native numbers:

• tatlong araw (three days)
• limang linggo (five weeks)
• anim na buwan (six months)
• dalawang taon (two years)

Usage examples:

• Maghintay ka ng sandali.
  (Wait a moment.)
• Tumagal ng dalawang oras ang pelikula.
  (The movie lasted two hours.)
• Mag-aaral ako ng isang taon.
  (I will study for one year.)

Frequency

Tagalog	Meaning
tuwing araw / araw-araw	every day
minsan	once/sometimes
dalawang beses	twice
madalas	often
bihira	rarely
lagi / palagi	always
hindi kailanman	never

Examples:

• Nag-eehersisyo ako araw-araw.
  (I exercise every day.)
• Minsan lang ako kumakain ng dessert.
  (I only eat dessert sometimes.)
• Laging late si Juan.
  (Juan is always late.)

Past, Present, Future

Time Reference	Tagalog	Example
Just now	kanina / kanina lang	Dumating siya kanina. (He/She arrived earlier.)
A while ago	kanina	Kumain ako kanina. (I ate a while ago.)
Now	ngayon	Kumakain ako ngayon. (I am eating now.)
Later	mamaya	Kakain ako mamaya. (I will eat later.)
Soon	maya-maya	Darating siya maya-maya. (He/She will arrive soon.)

Examples:

• Natulog ako kanina.
  (I slept earlier.)
• Busy ako ngayon.
  (I am busy now.)
• Babalik ako mamaya.
  (I will return later.)

Time-Related Adverbs

Specific Time Adverbs

Tagalog	Meaning
maaga	early
huli	late
maagang-maaga	very early
tuwina	always
kadalasan	usually
paminsan-minsan	occasionally

Examples:

• Gumising ako nang maaga.
  (I woke up early.)
• Dumating siya nang huli.
  (He/She arrived late.)

Time Connectors

• pagkatapos - after/afterwards
• bago - before
• habang - while
• nang - when (past)
• kung - when (future/conditional)
• kapag - whenever

Examples:

• Kumain ako pagkatapos maglinis.
  (I ate after cleaning.)
• Maghugas ng kamay bago kumain.
  (Wash hands before eating.)
• Natulog ako habang naglalakbay.
  (I slept while traveling.)

Age

Age expressions use Spanish numbers with taon (year) or anyos (years old):

Asking Age

• Ilang taon ka na?
  (How old are you?)
• Ilan na ang edad mo?
  (What is your age?)

Stating Age

• Bente anyos ako.
  (I am twenty years old.)
• Dose anyos pa lang siya.
  (He/She is only twelve years old.)
• Trenta taon na ako.
  (I am already thirty years old.)

Age Particles

Pa lang (only) and na (already) express whether one considers the age young or old in context.

Common Time Phrases

Useful expressions for daily conversation:

• Wala akong oras.
  (I don't have time.)
• May panahon ka ba?
  (Do you have time?)
• Matagal na.
  (Long time ago. / It's been a long time.)
• Sandali lang.
  (Just a moment.)
• Malapit na.
  (Soon. / Almost there.)

Appointments and Schedules

Making Appointments

• Anong oras tayo magkikita?
  (What time shall we meet?)
• Puwede ba sa alas tres?
  (Is three o'clock okay?)
• Sige, sa Lunes alas dos.
  (Okay, Monday at two o'clock.)

Schedule Terms

Tagalog	Meaning
iskedyul	schedule
tipanan	appointment
pulong	meeting
deadline	deadline
sa oras	on time
huli	late

Examples:

• May pulong ako bukas.
  (I have a meeting tomorrow.)
• Dumating ako sa oras.
  (I arrived on time.)

See also: Numbers, Connectors, Phrases: Greetings, Phrases: Daily Conversation