Filipino quiz

More questions about Filipino

These visible examples show the question style. LearnClash turns the full topic into ranked duels and spaced repetition.

1. 1 Easy

   Which English word for remote areas comes from the Tagalog for mountain?

   Answer: boondocks

   Why: The first known print use is a US soldier's 1914 letter from the Philippines, telling of maneuvers in the boondocks; bundok just means mountain.

2. 2 Medium

   Filipino pronouns like 'siya' do not distinguish between which two categories?

   Answer: male and female

   Why: Tagalog skips the he/she split but makes one English lacks: tayo means 'we including you', kami means 'we without you'.

3. 3 Hard

   In Filipino, the word 'asawa' is used for which two people?

   Answer: husband and wife

   Why: Asawa is genderless: asawang babae or asawang lalaki adds the gender. Poets say kabiyak ng dibdib instead, one's other half.

4. 4 Easy

   The Filipino greeting 'Kumusta' is derived from which Spanish phrase?

   Answer: ¿Cómo está?

   Why: Borrowed whole, the phrase became a Tagalog root that takes affixes: magkumustahan means to catch up and swap news with each other.

5. 5 Medium

   What word do Filipinos add to sentences to show respect to elders?

   Answer: po

   Why: Po comes from poon, short for panginoon, meaning lord. Attach it to oo, yes, and it becomes opo; the less formal version is ho.

6. 6 Hard

   What does the Filipino word for sibling, 'kapatid', literally mean?

   Answer: cut from same umbilical cord

   Why: Tagalog even has a twin word, kaputol ng pusod, a piece of the same umbilical cord. The root patid simply means cut off.