Translate Tagalog Idioms into English
English Idioms into Tagalog
Tagalog Idioms: these are expressions that don’t mean what they say on the surface. For example:
| Para It seemed as if |
Siyang she or he [were] |
basang-sisiw a drenched chick |
He or she looked pitiful |
| Mahilig siyang He or she is fond of |
magbuhat ng sariling lifting his own |
bangko bench |
He or she is boastful |
| Aanhin pa What is the use for ang kabayo. the horse.. |
ang damo the grass |
kung patay na if dead [already] |
Goodwill won’t benefit those who are already dead or gone. (or near the expression “too late the hero”) |
| Ginigisa ka You are sautéed |
sa sarili mong in your own |
mantika fat. |
What you have or know is being used against you. |
| Magpapantay muna [They will be] levelled first |
ang aking my |
mga paa … feet… |
Only when I’m dead or akin to saying “Over my dead body” |
| Daig pa niya You are worse than ang lipad. the flight. |
ang kalapating the dove |
mababa low |
He or she is worse than a prostitute. |
| Nagmumurang-kamyas Ripening sour-fruit |
si lolo. Grandfather. |
Grandfather acts or tries to look much younger than his real age. |
Capture exact meaning using tagalog idioms
| You are Ikaw ay |
over lampas |
the top sa ibabaw o itaas |
You exaggerate. Sobra ka naman (popular use) |
| You have got Ikaw ay mayroong |
too many irons napakaraming bakal |
in the fire [na hinihinang?] sa apoy |
You are involved with too many different things at the same time. Isa-isa lang, mahina ang kalaban (nearest colloquial idiom) |
| I think we are Sa palagay namin kami ay |
over the hill lampas [na] sa burol |
now. ngayon |
We’re past the most difficult part. Nalampasan na namin ang pinakamahirap na bahagi (formal) |
| We were calm and quiet Kami ay payapa at tahimik |
before bago |
he rocked the boat. niya inuga ang bangka. |
We were calm and quiet before he spoiled it all. Tahimik sana kami at walang gulo kung di siya dumating. (dynamic equivalence: changed emphasis) |
| She decided Nagpasiya siyang |
to take hawakan |
the bull by the horns. ang tamaraw sa sungay nito. (contextualized) |
She decided that she will face her problems squarely. Nagpasiya siyang harapin ang problema. |
| Please Pakiusap |
don’t be a huwag maging isang |
doubting Thomas nagdududang Tomas |
Please don’t be skeptical Pakiusap (lang), huwag sana kayong magduda katulad ni Tomas (literal) |
| He knew Alam niya |
his alibi na ang kanyang dahilan (nearest equivalent). |
Didn’t hold water. ay hindi makakahawak (malalagyan?) ng tubig. |
He couldn’t prove that what he’s saying is true. Hindi niya kayang patunayang totoo ang kanyang sinabi. (dynamic equivalent). |