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How To Say ‘How Are You?’ In Tagalog & Common Responses

In this post, you will learn how to say ‘how are you?’ in Tagalog. You’ll also learn common responses so you can respond if you’re asked this question. This can be really useful if you’re speaking with someone from the Philippines or if you’re travelling there. 

Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken by the Tagalog people who make up around 25% of the population of the Philippines. 

The standardized form of Tagalog, named Filipino, is the official language of the Philippines. There are approximately 50 million speakers in the Philippines.

How To Say ‘How Are You?’ In Tagalog

There are a few different ways to ask ‘how are you?’. Here are the most common:

In informal situations, such as with friends or peers, you can say:

EnglishTagalog
How are you?Kumusta?
How are you? Kumusta ka?
How’s it going?Kumusta ka na?
What’s up?Ano meron?
How are you? (plural)Kumusta kayo?

The word ‘kumusta’ (also sometimes spelt ‘kamusta’) is also used to say ‘hello’ so you will often hear this as a greeting. This phrase comes from the Spanish ‘¿Cómo está?’. 

Check out the video below to hear the pronunciation of some of these phrases:

In formal situations, such as with elders or people you don’t know, you can say:

EnglishTagalog
How are you?Kumusta po kayo?

How To Respond To ‘How Are You?’ In Tagalog

There are many different ways that you can reply to this question. Below are the most common responses to this question. I’ve also included how to say ‘thank you’ as it’s polite to thank someone if they ask how you are.

EnglishTagalog
Thank youSalamat
Fine/goodMabuti
I’m so-so/okayOkay lang ako
I’m sleepy/tiredInaantok ako
I’m greatMagaling ako
I’m sickMay sakit ako
I’m not badOk naman ako
I’m hungryGutom na ako
I’m happyMasaya ako
I’m sadMalungkot ako

It’s also useful to know how to say ‘and you?’ or ‘what about you?’ to find out how someone else is if they ask you.

EnglishTagalog
And you? (informal)Ikaw?
And you? (formal)Kayo?

Example Conversation:

Person 1: Kumusta ka? (How are you?)

Person 2: Mabuti, salamat. Ikaw? (I’m fine, thank you. And you?)

Person 1: Mabuti. (I’m fine)


Thanks for reading this post. 

You should now know how to say ‘how are you?’ in Tagalog and you should also be able to respond if you’re asked! 

You can’t go wrong with these simple phrases. 

Someone’s birthday coming up? Learn how to wish them a happy birthday in Tagalog.

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