Who else has some major goals and dreams they’re working towards? If you have a plano brewing up within you, then now is the best time to learn how to express plans in Tagalog. Let’s learn more about that below!
Did your brain just imagine some wonderfully exotic beach with crystal clear waters when you heard the word “plans”? Us too! Daydreaming up future adventures is one of life’s simple pleasures, even if we don’t have that vacation on the books quite yet. But playing out those mental images is just the start – being able to actually say “This is what I’m GOING to do…” in another language takes your planning game to an Oscar-worthy level!
Just imagine soaking up the island vibes while effortlessly chatting through your plans to sip coconut juice from its own shell. Pretty sweet, right? In this article, we’ll teach you how to be that smooth in Tagalog – island style and with the local lingo to manifest those dreams into reality!
Table Of Contents
What Is Plano In Tagalog?
The Tagalog word that comes closest to the English word “plan” is plano. This lines up nicely and makes sense! Basically, plano can refer to a few related things:
- A planned event or activity happening in the future – “May plano kami na pumunta sa beach sa Linggo.” (We have a plan to go to the beach on Sunday.)
- An intention or scheme – “Ano ang plano mo pagkatapos ng paaralan?” (What’s your plan after finishing school?)
- A proposed method or course of action – “Pinag-isipan ko ang plano para sa aking karera.” (I thought over the plan for my career.)
So when you talk about your mga plano in Tagalog, it captures things like intentions, schemes, proposals, and methods. Anything related to thinking ahead about what you’d like to do!
How To Express Plans In Tagalog
Expressing Short-Term Plans In Tagalog
When it comes to the events happening later today or just in the next couple of days, Tagalog has some lovely language for teasing out those deets! Some of the must-know words are:
Mamaya
Refers to later on within the current day.
Sentence formula: The basic sentence formula combines the future form of the verb with a pronoun, then mamaya, and a time marker like evening or afternoon.
- [Future verb] + pronoun + mamayang + [time marker like “hapon” or “gabi”]
Examples:
- Mamayang gabi pupunta ako sa mall. (I will go to the mall tonight.)
- Magluluto sila mamayang hapon. (They will cook this afternoon.)
Maya-maya
Indicates the near future, in the next hour, or upcoming moments.
Formula: This formula follows the same pattern – future verb, pronoun, then adding maya-maya to specify the near future.
- [Future verb] + pronoun + maya-maya
Examples:
- Kakain kami maya-maya. (We will eat in a little while.)
- Mag-eehersisyo sila maya-maya. (They will exercise in a little while.)
Bukas
Refers very specifically to activities/plans for tomorrow.
Formula: The formula uses the future form verb, pronoun subject, followed by bukas to convey plans that will happen tomorrow.
- [Future verb] + pronoun + bukas
Examples:
- Bukas gagawin ko ang aking takdang-aralin. (I will do my homework tomorrow.)
- Babasahin niya ang libro bukas. (She will read the book tomorrow.)
Makalawa
Specifies the day after tomorrow (two days from the current).
Formula: To use makalawa for plans 2 days out, place the future verb and pronoun, then makalawa at the end.
- [Future verb] + pronoun + makalawa
Examples:
- Makalawa dadalo ako ng klase ng Tagalog. (The day after tomorrow I will attend Tagalog class.)
- Makalawa magluluto kami ng pansit. (The day after tomorrow we will cook pancit.)
Expressing Long-Term Plans In Tagalog
It’s exciting to dream big about life goals way out in the future – whether lands travel on your vision board or career moves you hope will play out over time. Describing that malayong hinaharap na plano (long-term plans) artfully can convince anyone you’re strategizing hard for future success! For this, you need to use either the word gusto or balak.
Gusto
Expresses desires and long-term plans in Tagalog.
Formula: To use gusto for future plans, place gusto before the infinitive form of the verb
- Gusto + [infinitive] + object
Examples:
- Gusto kong makapunta sa Pilipinas sa hinaharap. (I want to go to the Philippines in the future.)
- Gusto nilang bumili ng bahay sa probinsya. (They want to buy a house in the province.)
Balak
Indicates ambitions and long term intentions
Formula: Balak before the infinitive verb or noun conveys plans
- Balak + [infinitive/noun] + object
Examples:
- Balak kong tapusin ang aking bachelor’s degree. (I intend to finish my bachelor’s degree.)
- Balak namin na mag-aral ng medisina. (We plan to study medicine.)
How To Ask Someone Else’s Plans In Tagalog
So you’ve nicely shared your various short-term and lifelong plans in eloquent Tagalog. Great! But now get ready for that most interesting follow-up question…what about THEIR plans?! Asking about friends’ or colleagues’ intentions is a form of “pakikisama” and requires some language finesse. Here are key Tagalog phrases to try!
| English Translation | Filipino Phrase | Context |
|---|---|---|
| What’s your plan? | Ano ang plano mo? | Simple and direct, great for casual conversations. |
| Do you have any plans? | May balak ka ba? | Open-ended to invite them to elaborate. |
| How are your plans for the next year doing? | Kamusta ang mga plano mo para sa susunod na taon? | Gets a progress update on known goals. |
With those phrases for inquiries in your back pocket, you can have an enthusiastic exchange of hopes and dreams for the future in smooth-sounding Tagalog. Pull these question prompts out at your next gathering with friends to stir up excitement and give those mental vision boards life through dialogue!
Go Forth And Chat About Plans In Tagalog!
Now you’re armed with a Tagalog vocabulary toolset for communicating plans from what you’ll do tonight to where you’ll be years down the road. Nice work!
The next step is to take these phrases around town and into conversations with Tagalog-speaking friends. Test them out! Expressing your exciting ambitions and finding out theirs will be a blast with these time expressions, verbs, and questions to guide chats about the future.
Want to expand your skill for witty repartee about plans in Tagalog even further? We recommend checking out the Ling app. With bite-sized Tagalog lessons focused on real-life conversational contexts, Ling will quickly get those lingo skills shimmering – so your Tagalog plan planning can dazzle! Give it a try now!
