As you walk the streets of Manila, there is a good chance that you will be greeted by the locals with a warm good morning in Tagalog. Similar to the English language, friendly greetings in Tagalog can take many forms depending on the time of the day. In fact, Filipinos use five specific greetings related to the common morning, afternoon, and evening expressions.
To avoid being overwhelmed, we have prepared this guide to the Tagalog time-of-the-day phrases that will enable you to greet anyone in Tagalog with confidence. Through this, we will also equip you with relevant information on how to use phrases like a pro based on common contexts.
The likelihood of being further understood by your Filipino friends and colleagues depends on how adept you are at using common phrases. Regardless of where you are situated, there is a big chance that you will have to greet someone- may it be over the phone or face to face.
Native English speakers use four major greetings at different times of the day- “good morning”, “good afternoon”, “good evening”, and the general “good day”. Tagalog-speaking Filipinos, on the other hand, included in their list a specific greeting for midday.
The basic Filipino greetings follow this formula:
| Formal | English | Tagalog Example | Sound |
| Magandang + time of the day + po | Good day! | Magandang araw po! | [Speechword voice=”Filipino Female” isinline]Magandang araw po[/Speechword] |
| Informal | |||
| Magandang + time of the day | Good day! | Magandang araw! | [Speechword voice=”Filipino Female” isinline]Magandang araw[/Speechword] |
The first word in the formula is “magandang” which is a combination of two words- “maganda” and “ng”. “Maganda” is the Tagalog word for beautiful. On the other hand, the word “ng” is added as a connector whenever we use an adjective that ends with a vowel. With that being said, our example “magandang araw” can be directly translated to “beautiful morning”.
In our formal variation of the formula, we also made use of the word “po”. Going back to our thank you in Tagalog post, we learned that “po” signifies formality and respect whenever you are addressing people of authority, strangers, and older people.
How Do I Say Good Morning In Tagalog?
There is no doubt that the concept of time-based greeting is simple. For the Philippines, the default way for saying good morning in the Tagalog language is through “magandang umaga.” Pairing the statement with a warm smile can help in spreading positive vibes first thing in the morning. Do remember though that this greeting is commonly used between 12 am to 8 am.
In the Philippines, there is a funny connotation related to this word if you are going to say it past 8 am. Well, if you say “magandang umaga” at 10 am, for example, most Filipinos will assume that you just woke up!
| English | Tagalog | Sound |
| Formal | ||
| Good day! | Magandang umaga po! | [Speechword voice=”Filipino Female” isinline]Magandang umaga po[/Speechword] |
| Informal | ||
| Good day! | Magandang umaga! | [Speechword voice=”Filipino Female” isinline]Magandang umaga[/Speechword] |
A quick tip: To improve relationships with the locals, feel free to greet everyone good morning in Tagalog using “magandang umaga po” as you start the day. You may even say it to the Taho (a sweet treat in the Philippines usually served in the morning) vendor and you will see how this magical phrase can instantly put a smile on his face!
There will be special instances when you want to greet a varying number of people. One example of that is when you are given the chance to host an event. As the host, you are required to address a large number of people in one room, and using the word “magandang umaga” will not be enough. To do that, we have listed in the table below the appropriate ways to say it depending on your situation.
| Situations | English | What You May Say | Sound |
| When greeting a single person | Good morning! | Magandang umaga! | [Speechword voice=”Filipino Female” isinline]Magandang umaga[/Speechword] |
| When greeting two or more people | Good morning to you | Magandang umaga sa inyo | [Speechword voice=”Filipino Female” isinline]Magandang umaga sa inyo [/Speechword] |
| When addressing everyone | Good morning to all of you | Magandang umaga sa inyong lahat! | [Speechword voice=”Filipino Female” isinline]Magandang umaga sa inyong lahat[/Speechword] |
If you are staying in the Philippines, there will be countless opportunities for you to practice saying good morning in Tagalog. This is because Filipinos enjoy wishing people (even strangers) a good morning. With that being said, let us also check out how to say good day, good afternoon, and good evening.
When Is The Best Time To Say Good Gay, Good Afternoon, And Good Evening?
As we have stated in the first half, Filipinos have a variety of phrases for specific times of the day. Now that we know that good morning in Tagalog is said through “magandang umaga” between 12 am and 8 am, you might be wondering about the time ranges for other Tagalog greetings. We listed below the other ways by which you can greet your Filipino friends.
| Time Of The Day | Time Range | English | Tagalog Example | Sound |
| Araw | 9 am to 11 am | Good day | Magandang araw po! | [Speechword voice=”Filipino Female” isinline]Magandang araw po[/Speechword] |
| Tanghali | 12 pm to 1 pm | Good noon | Magandang tanghali po! | [Speechword voice=”Filipino Female” isinline]Magandang araw po[/Speechword] |
| Hapon | 2 pm to 5 pm | Good afternoon | Magandang hapon po! | [Speechword voice=”Filipino Female” isinlineMagandang hapon po![/Speechword] |
| Gabi | 6 pm to 11 pm | Good evening | Magandang gabi po! | [Speechword voice=”Filipino Female” isinline]Magandang gabi po[/Speechword] |
Similar to what we have discussed earlier, you may combine the Tagalog word “magandang” and the time of the day with the word “po” to signify formality. Please note that the specified time range above is just an approximation but it is the nearest estimate you can get based on actual day-to-day Filipino conversations.
| Situations | English | What You May Say | Sound |
| When speaking to one person | Good evening | Magandang gabi! | [Speechword voice=”Filipino Female” isinline]Magandang gabi![/Speechword] |
| When speaking to two or more | Good day to you | Magandang araw sa inyo! | [Speechword voice=”Filipino Female” isinline]Magandang araw sa inyo![/Speechword] |
| When addressing everyone | Good morning to all of you | Magandang umaga sa inyong lahat! | [Speechword voice=”Filipino Female” isinline]Magandang umaga sa inyong lahat![/Speechword] |
How Would You Respond If Someone Greets You?
Now that you have learned not just how to say good morning in Tagalog, you are also equipped with information on how to use the four other greetings in the Filipino language. The learning should not stop there! You also need to gear up with the common response to the Tagalog greetings and what they exactly mean.
Aside from having a fat chance of using the greetings in real life, there is also a possibility that the locals will say it to you too. At this point, you do not have to worry since all you have to do is to add the word “din” or “rin”.
| Formal | English | Example | Sound |
| “Magandang” + time of the day + “din/rin” + po” | Good day to you too | Magandang araw rin po! | [Speechword voice=”Filipino Female” isinline]Magandang araw rin po[/Speechword] |
| Informal | |||
| “Magandang” + time of the day + “din/rin” | Good day to you too | Magandang araw rin! | [Speechword voice=”Filipino Female” isinline]Magandang araw rin[/Speechword] |
Authentic Filipino conversations use “din” and “rin” which is the English counterpart for the words “too” and “also”. In Tagalog, we use “rin” whenever the preceding word ends in a vowel (A, E, I, O, U) and semivowel (W, Y). In this case, the words “umaga”, “araw”, “tangahali”, and “gabi” should be partnered with the word “rin”.
In contrast to that, “din” is used for preceding words that end with a consonant like our Tagalog word “hapon”.
| Example Situations | English | Your Response | Sound |
| When someone greets you in the morning | Good morning to you too | Magandang araw rin sa iyo! | [Speechword voice=”Filipino Female” isinline]Magandang araw rin sa iyo![/Speechword] |
| When a group of people greets you during lunch | Good noon to you too | Magandang tanghali rin sa inyo! | [Speechword voice=”Filipino Female” isinline]Magandang tanghali rin sa inyo![/Speechword] |
| When someone wishes you good night | Good evening to you too | Magandang gabi rin sa inyong lahat! | [Speechword voice=”Filipino Female” isinline]Magandang gabi rin sa inyong lahat![/Speechword] |
Learning Basic Phrases In The Tagalog Language With Ling
With your brand-new skill in properly saying good morning in Tagalog in formal and informal contexts, you are a step closer to mastering the Filipino language! Do remember that one of the best ways by which you can fully unlock your full potential is by practicing the Tagalog language consistently.
If you have missed our previous post regarding how to say thank you in Tagalog, you might want to review it too.
Lastly, as a general rule, we believe that you should also converse with a Filipino friend or colleague to achieve an authentic interaction.
For additional reinforcement in the Tagalog language, be sure to check out the Ling app, which features fun mini-games and quizzes that can motivate you to practice and learn more about the language day by day. If you’re deciding to choose which app helps you best with learning languages, download the Ling app now on the Play Store or App Store. It’s the best decision ever!
