Tagalog Quotes & Sayings

Yo-yo (Tagalog for "come back") evolved from a Philippine hunting tool made from a softball-size stone tied to a length of plant vine or a leather thong which enabled throwers to retrieve the weapon with a simple flick of the wrist (Hoffman 1996). The modern yo-yo thus has a great deal of physics, prehistory, and hunting lore encoded in its maple, beech, or plastic form (see below, Neuro-notes III). — David B. Givens

Don't say Fili, sister. Say Pili. In Tagalog, pili means to choose. Pino means fine. Pilipino equals 'fine choice. — Jessica Hagedorn The Gangster Of Love

There's more to life than love. — Ramon Bautista

I speak Cantonese, and I speak Tagalog. — Reggie Lee

I won't be affected by your charm nor I will trap you into marriage. I've been there once, never again.
- Kristine — Martha Cecilia

My dad is an ob-gyn - he's retired now - and he wanted to come to the States to make a better life, for opportunity. My mom said that, on the plane ride here, I did not want to speak a word of English - I spoke Tagalog. And then, after the first day of school, I didn't want to speak anything but English. — Reggie Lee

We will love her, protect her, all of us
Bisaya, Tagalog, Ilokano, so many islands, so many tribes
because if we act as one, we will be strong and so will she be. Alone you will fall prey to every marauder that passes by. I am not asking that you love Filipinas. I am asking that you do what is right, what is duty ...
-The Cripple — F. Sionil Jose

In Tagalog, we call undocumented people 'TNT,' which means tago ng tago, which means 'hiding and hiding.' So that's literally what undocumented means in Tagalog. And that kind of tells you how Filipinos think of this issue, and really any culture, right? — Jose Antonio Vargas

Boondocks' is simply the Tagalog word for mountains. — Sharyn McCrumb

My tongue was handed down to me
by datus and katipuneros. The truth is
my mouth is a battlefield that
you wouldn't know how to fight in. — Danabelle Gutierrez

What do you want, Alvaro?
- Kristine
Ikaw. Marry me.
- Alvaro — Martha Cecilia

I write entirely in English; Tagalog chauvinists chide me for this. I feel no guilt in doing so. But I am sad that I cannot write in my native Ilokano. History demanded this; if it isn't English I am using now, I would most probably be writing in Spanish like Rizal, or even German or Japanese. — F. Sionil Jose

Tagalog sounds like boiling water. — Jim Paredes

For her, this was one of the happiest things on earth--to be in love with someone who is more in love with you. — Marione Ashley