Filipino is the national language and one of two official languages of the Philippines, standardized from Tagalog as spoken in Metro Manila . [1] It functions alongside English in government, education, and media, and is understood by the vast majority of Filipinos nationwide.

The Filipino Alphabet — Alpabetong Filipino of the Philippines

Q: How many letters are in the Filipino alphabet?

The modern Alpabetong Filipino has 28 letters — the 26 letters of the Latin alphabet plus Ñ and the digraph NG. [4] This replaced the older 20-letter Abakada system used in Philippine schools since 1940.

Q: What is the difference between Filipino and Tagalog?

Filipino is the standardized, national form of Tagalog , officially enriched with vocabulary from other Philippine and foreign languages. In everyday speech the two are nearly identical , though Filipino formally welcomes loanwords that traditional Tagalog grammar excluded.

Q: Why does Filipino include the letter Ñ?

Ñ was borrowed from Spanish during over three centuries of colonial rule and appears in many Philippine place names . A well-known example is Parañaque , a city in Metro Manila, where the ñ marks a distinct palatal "ny" sound.

Q: What is special about the NG digraph?

NG represents a single nasal sound and, unusually for a Latin-script language, can appear at the start of a Filipino word. The word ngiti (smile) begins with this sound, which English speakers normally only hear at the end of "sing".

Q: Which letters were added to the alphabet for loanwords?

C, F, J, Q, V, X, and Z were added in 1987 mainly to spell foreign words and proper names accurately. [4] Everyday examples include jeepney , a Filipino public vehicle, along with fiesta and taxi.

Q: What language family does Filipino belong to?

Filipino belongs to the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian language family , the same family as Cebuano and Ilocano. [3] This vast family stretches from Madagascar to Easter Island , one of the world's most widespread language families.

Q: How many people speak Filipino?

Tagalog, the basis of Filipino, is spoken at home in over ten million Philippine households, according to the 2020 census . [2] Tens of millions more Filipinos speak it as a second language across the archipelago's 7,000-plus islands.

Q: Who regulates the Filipino language?

The Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF) is the official government body tasked with developing and promoting Filipino. [1] It was established under the 1987 Philippine Constitution , continuing the work of earlier language institutes dating back to 1937.

Q: Is Filipino easy to pronounce?

Filipino spelling is largely phonemic , meaning words are generally pronounced the way they are spelled, with consistent vowel sounds . The main challenges for English speakers are the tapped R and the word-initial NG sound.

Filipino at a Glance

28 letters: 5 vowels and 23 consonants, including the Spanish-derived Ñ and the native digraph NG
Filipino is the national language and one of two official languages of the Philippines, alongside English ^[1]
Tagalog, the basis of Filipino, is spoken at home in more than ten million Philippine households ^[2]
Filipino belongs to the Malayo-Polynesian branch of Austronesian, closely related to Cebuano and Ilocano ^[3]
The modern 28-letter Alpabetong Filipino was adopted in 1987, replacing the 20-letter Abakada used since 1940 ^[4]
The digraph NG can begin a word in Filipino, unlike English where it only appears at the end of a syllable
Letters C, F, J, Ñ, Q, V, X, and Z were added mainly for loanwords and proper names such as jeepney and Parañaque

[ah]

[eh]

[ee]

[oh]

[oo]

[b]

[k/s]

[d]

[f]

[g]

[h]

[j]

[k]

[l]

[m]

[n]

[ny]

[ng]

[p]

[k]

[r]

[s]

[t]

[v]

[w]

[ks]

[y]

[z]

[b]

Consonant B — as in bahay (house). A voiced bilabial stop, as in the English word "boy".

[k/s]

Consonant C — as in coffee. A borrowed letter used mainly in loanwords and proper names, pronounced like English "k" or "s" depending on the word.

[d]

Consonant D — as in dagat (sea). A voiced alveolar stop, as in the English word "dog".

[f]

Consonant F — as in fiesta (festival). A voiceless labiodental fricative, common in Spanish loanwords, as in the English word "fun".

[g]

Consonant G — as in gabi (night). Always a hard voiced velar stop, as in the English word "go", never soft as in "gem".

[h]

Consonant H — as in hapon (afternoon). A glottal fricative, as in the English word "hat".

[j]

Consonant J — as in jeepney (Filipino public transport vehicle). A voiced palatal affricate in modern loanwords, as in the English word "jam".

[k]

Consonant K — as in kamay (hand). A voiceless velar stop, as in the English word "kite".

[l]

Consonant L — as in langit (sky). A lateral approximant, as in the English word "light".

[m]

Consonant M — as in mata (eye). A bilabial nasal, as in the English word "man".

[n]

Consonant N — as in niyog (coconut). An alveolar nasal, as in the English word "no".

[ny]

Consonant Ñ — as in Parañaque (a city in Metro Manila). A palatal nasal borrowed from Spanish, similar to the "ny" sound in the English word "canyon".

[ng]

Digraph NG — as in ngiti (smile). A velar nasal that can appear at the start of a word, unlike English "ng" which only appears at the end, as in "sing".

[p]

Consonant P — as in puso (heart). A voiceless bilabial stop, as in the English word "pen".

[k]

Consonant Q — as in queso (cheese). A borrowed letter always paired with "u" in loanwords, pronounced like English "k".

[r]

Consonant R — as in araw (sun/day). A tapped or trilled rhotic, similar to the "r" in Spanish rather than English.

[s]

Consonant S — as in saging (banana). A voiceless alveolar fricative, as in the English word "sun".

[t]

Consonant T — as in tubig (water). A voiceless alveolar stop, as in the English word "top".

[v]

Consonant V — as in violin. A borrowed letter used in loanwords, pronounced like English "v" though some speakers approximate it as "b".

[w]

Consonant W — as in wika (language). A labial-velar approximant, as in the English word "way".

[ks]

Consonant X — as in taxi. A borrowed letter used in loanwords, pronounced "ks" as in the English word "box".

[y]

Consonant Y — as in yaman (wealth). A palatal approximant, as in the English word "yes".

[z]

Consonant Z — as in zapatos (shoes). A borrowed letter used in loanwords, pronounced like English "z" though some speakers approximate it as "s".

Expand All Collapse All

What is Filipino?

How many letters are in the Filipino alphabet?

What is the difference between Filipino and Tagalog?

Why does Filipino include the letter Ñ?

What is special about the NG digraph?

Which letters were added to the alphabet for loanwords?

What language family does Filipino belong to?

How many people speak Filipino?

Who regulates the Filipino language?

Is Filipino easy to pronounce?

References:

[1] Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino. "Tungkol sa KWF" — official regulating body of the Filipino language, established under the 1987 Philippine Constitution and Republic Act No. 7104. Retrieved from Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino
[2] Philippine Statistics Authority. "Tagalog is the Most Widely Spoken Language at Home" — 2020 Census of Population and Housing. Retrieved from PSA: 2020 Census of Population and Housing
[3] Glottolog 5.x. "Tagalog [taga1270]". Retrieved from Glottolog: Tagalog
[4] National Commission for Culture and the Arts. "Orthography (Evolution)" — history of the Filipino alphabet from the 1940 Abakada to the 1987 28-letter Alpabetong Filipino. Retrieved from NCCA: Orthography (Evolution)