Root Word List

Introduction

This reference lists common Tagalog root words organized by category. Root words form the foundation of Tagalog vocabulary. When combined with affixes, they create verbs, nouns, and adjectives with various meanings and grammatical functions. Each root is presented with its basic meaning and common derivatives.

Action Verbs

Basic Actions

Root	English	Common Verb Form	Example	Translation
kain	eat	kumain	Kumain ako ng tinapay.	I ate bread.
inom	drink	uminom	Uminom siya ng tubig.	He/She drank water.
tulog	sleep	matulog	Natulog ang bata.	The child slept.
gising	wake	magising	Gumising siya nang maaga.	He/She woke up early.
lakad	walk	lumakad	Lumakad kami sa parke.	We walked in the park.
takbo	run	tumakbo	Tumakbo ang aso.	The dog ran.
upo	sit	umupo	Umupo ka.	Sit down.
tayo	stand	tumayo	Tumayo ang mga estudyante.	The students stood.
higa	lie down	humiga	Humiga siya sa kama.	He/She lay on the bed.
dating	arrive	dumating	Dumating na ba sila?	Have they arrived?
alis	leave	umalis	Umalis na ang bus.	The bus left already.

Communication

Root	English	Common Verb Form	Example	Translation
sabi	say	sabihin	Sabihin mo ang totoo.	Tell the truth.
salita	speak	magsalita	Nagsalita siya ng Tagalog.	He/She spoke Tagalog.
usap	talk/converse	mag-usap	Nag-usap kami kahapon.	We talked yesterday.
tanong	ask	magtanong	Nagtanong ang estudyante.	The student asked.
sagot	answer	sumagot	Sumagot siya ng tama.	He/She answered correctly.
tawag	call	tumawag	Tumawag ka sa akin.	Call me.
sigaw	shout	sumigaw	Sumigaw ang bata.	The child shouted.
bulong	whisper	bumulong	Bumulong siya sa akin.	He/She whispered to me.
ngiti	smile	ngumiti	Ngumiti ang babae.	The woman smiled.
tawa	laugh	tumawa	Tumawa ang mga bata.	The children laughed.
iyak	cry	umiyak	Umiyak ang sanggol.	The baby cried.

Work and Activity

Root	English	Common Verb Form	Example	Translation
trabaho	work	magtrabaho	Nagtrabaho ako kahapon.	I worked yesterday.
gawa	do/make	gumawa	Gumawa ako ng proyekto.	I made a project.
luto	cook	magluto	Nagluto si nanay ng hapunan.	Mother cooked dinner.
linis	clean	maglinis	Naglinis kami ng bahay.	We cleaned the house.
hugas	wash	maghugas	Naghugas siya ng pinggan.	He/She washed the dishes.
laba	laundry	maglaba	Maglalaba ako bukas.	I will do laundry tomorrow.
plantsa	iron	magplantsa	Nagplantsa siya ng damit.	He/She ironed clothes.
walis	sweep	magwalis	Nagwalis ako ng sahig.	I swept the floor.
punás	wipe	magpunas	Magpunas ka ng mesa.	Wipe the table.
ayos	fix/arrange	mag-ayos	Nag-ayos siya ng silya.	He/She arranged the chairs.

Learning and Thinking

Root	English	Common Verb Form	Example	Translation
aral	study	mag-aral	Nag-aral ako kagabi.	I studied last night.
basa	read	bumasa	Bumasa siya ng libro.	He/She read a book.
sulat	write	sumulat	Sumulat ako ng liham.	I wrote a letter.
intindi	understand	maintindihan	Naintindihan ko ang leksyon.	I understood the lesson.
alam	know	malaman	Nalaman niya ang totoo.	He/She found out the truth.
isip	think	mag-isip	Nag-isip siya ng solusyon.	He/She thought of a solution.
tanda	remember	matandaan	Natandaan ko ang pangalan niya.	I remembered his/her name.
limot	forget	makalimot	Nakalimot ako ng password.	I forgot the password.
turó	teach	magturo	Nagturo siya ng matematika.	He/She taught mathematics.

Acquisition and Transfer

Root	English	Common Verb Form	Example	Translation
bili	buy	bumili	Bumili ako ng pagkain.	I bought food.
tinda	sell	magtinda	Nagtinda siya ng prutas.	He/She sold fruits.
bigay	give	magbigay	Nagbigay siya ng regalo.	He/She gave a gift.
kuha	get/take	kumuha	Kumuha ako ng libro.	I took a book.
abot	hand/reach	mag-abot	Nag-abot siya ng plato.	He/She handed the plate.
tanggáp	receive	tumanggap	Tumanggap kami ng liham.	We received a letter.
hánap	look for	maghanap	Naghanap ako ng susi.	I looked for the key.
tawad	bargain	tumawad	Tumawad siya ng presyo.	He/She bargained on the price.

Motion and Travel

Root	English	Common Verb Form	Example	Translation
punta	go	pumunta	Pumunta ako sa palengke.	I went to the market.
balik	return	bumalik	Bumalik siya kahapon.	He/She returned yesterday.
uwi	go home	umuwi	Umuwi na ako.	I went home already.
sakay	ride	sumakay	Sumakay kami ng bus.	We rode the bus.
baba	go down/alight	bumaba	Bumaba siya sa tren.	He/She got off the train.
akyat	go up/climb	umakyat	Umakyat kami sa bundok.	We climbed the mountain.
pasok	enter	pumasok	Pumasok ang guro sa klase.	The teacher entered the class.
labas	exit/go out	lumabas	Lumabas kami kagabi.	We went out last night.
takas	escape	tumakas	Tumakas ang aso.	The dog escaped.
lípat	move/transfer	lumipat	Lumipat sila ng bahay.	They moved houses.

Change of State

Root	English	Common Verb Form	Example	Translation
bago	new/change	magbago	Nagbago ang panahon.	The weather changed.
sira	break/damage	masira	Nasira ang telebisyon.	The TV broke.
putol	cut	pumutol	Pumutol siya ng papel.	He/She cut paper.
basag	break (brittle)	mabasag	Nabasag ang baso.	The glass broke.
bukas	open	magbukas	Nagbukas siya ng pinto.	He/She opened the door.
sara	close	magsara	Nagsara ang tindahan.	The store closed.
sunog	burn	masunog	Nasunog ang pagkain.	The food burned.
laki	grow	lumaki	Lumaki ang puno.	The tree grew.
liít	shrink/become small	lumiit	Lumiit ang damit.	The clothes shrunk.

Descriptive Roots (Adjectives)

Physical Properties

Root	English	Common Adjective	Example	Translation
ganda	beauty	maganda	Maganda ang bulaklak.	The flower is beautiful.
liít	small	maliit	Maliit ang bahay.	The house is small.
laki	big	malaki	Malaki ang puno.	The tree is big.
taas	tall/high	mataas	Mataas ang gusali.	The building is tall.
baba	low/short	mababa	Mababa ang mesa.	The table is low.
haba	long	mahaba	Mahaba ang daan.	The road is long.
ikli	short	maikli	Maikli ang kuwento.	The story is short.
lapad	wide	malapad	Malapad ang kalsada.	The street is wide.
kipot	narrow	makipot	Makipot ang eskinita.	The alley is narrow.

Colors

Root	English	Common Form	Example	Translation
pula	red	pula	Pula ang rosas.	The rose is red.
puti	white	puti	Puti ang papel.	The paper is white.
itim	black	itim	Itim ang kotse.	The car is black.
asul	blue	asul	Asul ang dagat.	The sea is blue.
dilaw	yellow	dilaw	Dilaw ang araw.	The sun is yellow.
berde	green	berde	Berde ang dahon.	The leaf is green.
kulay-kahel	orange	kahel	Kahel ang prutas.	The fruit is orange.
lila	purple	lila	Lila ang bulaklak.	The flower is purple.
kulay-kape	brown	kayumanggi	Kayumanggi ang lupa.	The soil is brown.

Temperature and Texture

Root	English	Common Adjective	Example	Translation
init	hot	mainit	Mainit ang kape.	The coffee is hot.
lamig	cold	malamig	Malamig ang tubig.	The water is cold.
tigas	hard	matigas	Matigas ang bato.	The stone is hard.
lambot	soft	malambot	Malambot ang unan.	The pillow is soft.
gaspang	rough	magaspang	Magaspang ang papel de lija.	The sandpaper is rough.
kinis	smooth	makinis	Makinis ang balat.	The skin is smooth.
bigat	heavy	mabigat	Mabigat ang kahon.	The box is heavy.
gaan	light (weight)	magaan	Magaan ang bag.	The bag is light.

Emotional States

Root	English	Common Adjective	Example	Translation
saya	happiness	masaya	Masaya ang bata.	The child is happy.
lungkot	sadness	malungkot	Malungkot ang pelikula.	The movie is sad.
galit	anger	galit	Galit ang ama.	The father is angry.
takot	fear	takot	Takot siya sa dilim.	He/She is afraid of the dark.
gulat	surprise	gulat	Gulat na gulat ako.	I was very surprised.
tuwa	joy	tuwang-tuwa	Tuwang-tuwa siya sa regalo.	He/She was delighted with the gift.
inis	annoyance	inis	Inis ako sa ingay.	I am annoyed by the noise.
hiya	shame	mahiyain	Mahiyain siya.	He/She is shy.
tampo	sulk	matampuhin	Matampuhin siya.	He/She is sulky.

Personality Traits

Root	English	Common Adjective	Example	Translation
bait	kindness	mabait	Mabait ang guro.	The teacher is kind.
sama	bad	masama	Masama ang loob niya.	His/Her feelings are bad.
sipag	diligence	masipag	Masipag ang estudyante.	The student is diligent.
tamad	lazy	tamad	Tamad ang aso.	The dog is lazy.
talino	intelligence	matalino	Matalino ang bata.	The child is intelligent.
galing	skill	magaling	Magaling siyang kumanta.	He/She is good at singing.
tiyaga	perseverance	matiyaga	Matiyaga ang magsasaka.	The farmer is persevering.
kulit	annoyingly persistent	makulit	Makulit ang bata.	The child is pesky.
ingat	care	maingat	Maingat siyang mag-drive.	He/She drives carefully.

Concrete Nouns

Body Parts

Root	English	Example	Translation
ulo	head	Masakit ang ulo ko.	My head hurts.
mata	eye	Maliit ang mata niya.	His/Her eyes are small.
ilong	nose	Matangos ang ilong.	The nose is pointed.
bibig	mouth	Buksan ang bibig.	Open the mouth.
tainga	ear	Malaki ang tainga.	The ears are big.
kamay	hand	Maganda ang kamay niya.	His/Her hands are beautiful.
paa	foot	Masakit ang paa ko.	My foot hurts.
puso	heart	Mabilis ang tibok ng puso.	The heartbeat is fast.
tiyan	stomach	Gutom ang tiyan ko.	My stomach is hungry.
likod	back	Masakit ang likod ko.	My back hurts.

Nature

Root	English	Example	Translation
dagat	sea	Malawak ang dagat.	The sea is vast.
bundok	mountain	Mataas ang bundok.	The mountain is high.
ilog	river	Malinis ang ilog.	The river is clean.
puno	tree	Matanda ang puno.	The tree is old.
bulaklak	flower	Mabango ang bulaklak.	The flower is fragrant.
dahon	leaf	Berde ang dahon.	The leaf is green.
sanga	branch	Malakas ang sanga.	The branch is strong.
ugat	root	Malalim ang ugat.	The roots are deep.
lupa	soil/land	Matabang ang lupa.	The soil is fertile.
bato	stone	Matigas ang bato.	The stone is hard.

Common Objects

Root	English	Example	Translation
bahay	house	Malaki ang bahay.	The house is big.
pinto	door	Bukas ang pinto.	The door is open.
bintana	window	Malinis ang bintana.	The window is clean.
silya	chair	Sira ang silya.	The chair is broken.
mesa	table	Bagong mesa.	New table.
libro	book	Makapal ang libro.	The book is thick.
papel	paper	Puti ang papel.	The paper is white.
lapis	pencil	Mahaba ang lapis.	The pencil is long.
plato	plate	Malinis ang plato.	The plate is clean.
baso	glass	Basag ang baso.	The glass is broken.

Abstract Concepts

Time

Root	English	Example	Translation
araw	day/sun	Mainit ang araw.	The sun is hot.
gabi	night	Madilim ang gabi.	The night is dark.
umaga	morning	Maganda ang umaga.	The morning is beautiful.
tanghali	noon	Mainit sa tanghali.	It's hot at noon.
hapon	afternoon	Malamig ang hapon.	The afternoon is cool.
taon	year	Bagong taon.	New year.
buwan	month/moon	Maliwanag ang buwan.	The moon is bright.
linggo	week	Isang linggo.	One week.
oras	hour/time	Anong oras na?	What time is it?

Emotions and States

Root	English	Example	Translation
ibig	love/desire	Ano ang ibig mo?	What do you want?
pag-ibig	love	Tunay na pag-ibig.	True love.
galit	anger	Puno ng galit.	Full of anger.
saya	happiness	Puno ng saya.	Full of happiness.
takot	fear	Walang takot.	Without fear.
asa	hope	May pag-asa pa.	There is still hope.
damdam	feeling	Ano ang pakiramdam mo?	How do you feel?
hiya	shame	Walang hiya.	Shameless.

See Also

• Affix List – Affixes that modify these roots
• Verb List – Complete verb conjugations
• Grammar Cheat Sheet – Quick grammar reference