50 million people around the world speak the Tagalog language, which comes from the Philippine Islands. In fact, 2 million in the United States speak Tagalog – making it the fifth most-spoken language in the country! If you’d like to be a fellow Tagalog speaker, keep reading to start with the basics of numbers and counting in Tagalog.
Tagalog Cardinal Numbers
Cardinal numbers indicate the amount of something or numbers in counting. Most of the Tagalog number vocabulary is based on the numbers 1-10. Here are the Tagalog names for these numbers:
Numbers 1-10
Number | Tagalog Translation |
0 | sero / walâ (“none”) |
1 | isá |
2 | dalawá |
3 | tatló |
4 | apat |
5 | limá |
6 | anim |
7 | pitó |
8 | waló |
9 | siyám |
10 | sampû |
Numbers 11-20
Notice that the last word in these numbers is the same as the above chart. Adding any number 1-10 to the Tagalog word labíng creates a number 11-19. See the numbers written in Tagalog below:
Number | Tagalog Translation |
11 | labíng isá |
12 | labíng dalawá |
13 | labíng tatló |
14 | labíng apat |
15 | labíng limá |
16 | labíng anim |
17 | labíng pitó |
18 | labíng waló |
19 | labíng siyám |
20 | dalawámpû |
Numbers 30-100 by Fives
As you get into larger numbers, you need to add additional number names. 30 (tatló na pû) becomes 31 (tatló na pû at isá) when you add 1 (isá) with the word and (at). In Tagalog, you can shorten these numbers with informal contractions (tatlóng pû’t isá) for easier conversation.
Here are some examples of both formal and informal spelling for numbers in Tagalog:
Number | Formal Spelling | Informal Spelling |
30 | tatló na pû | tatlumpu |
35 | tatlóng pû’t limá | tatlumput limá |
40 | ápat na pû | apatnaput |
45 | ápat na pû’t limá | apatnaput limá |
50 | limáng pû | limámpu |
55 | limáng pû’t limá | limámput limá |
60 | anim na pû | animnapu |
65 | anim na pû’t limá | animnaput limá |
70 | pitóng pû | pitumpu |
75 | pitóng pû’t limá | pitumput limá |
80 | walóng pû | walumpu |
85 | walóng pû’t limá | walumput limá |
90 | siyám na pû | siyámnapû |
95 | siyám na pû’t lima | siyámnapût limá |
100 | isá na daán | isang daan |
Larger Numbers
Using the same number system as before, keep going up through the hundreds, thousands, millions, billions, and trillions. Notice how the informal spelling shortens daán at (“100 and”) to daa’t.
Number | Formal Spelling | Informal Spelling |
200 | dalawá | dalawá |
210 | dalawá na daán at limáng pû | dalawáng daa’t sampû |
300 | tatló na daán | tatlóng daán |
320 | tatló na daán at dalawámpû | tatlóng daa’t dalawámpû |
400 | apata na daán | apat na daán |
430 | apata na daán at tatló na pû | apat na daa’t tatlumpu |
500 | limá na daán | limáng daán |
540 | limá na daán at ápat na pû | limáng daa’t apatnaput |
600 | anim na daán | anim na daán (same spelling) |
650 | anim na daán at limáng pû | anim na daa’t limámpu |
700 | pitó na daán | pitóng daán |
760 | pitó na daán at anim na pû | pitóng daa’t animnapu |
800 | waló na daán | walóng daán |
870 | waló na daán at pitóng pû | walóng daa’t pitumpu |
900 | siyám na daán | siyám na daán (same spelling) |
980 | siyám na daán at walóng pû | siyám na daa’t walumpu |
1,000 | isá na libo | isang libo (or sánlibo) |
1,500 | isá na libo at limá na daán | isang libo at limáng daán |
2,000 | dalawá na libo | dalawáng libo |
3,000 | tatló na libo | tatlóng libo |
4,000 | apat na libo | apat na libo (same spelling) |
5,000 | limá na libo | limáng libo |
10,000 | sampû na libo | sampúng libo |
50,000 | limáng pû na libo | limámpung libo |
100,000 | isá na daán na libo | isang daáng libo |
500,000 | limá na daán na libo | limáng daáng libo |
1,000,000 | isá na milyón | isang milyón |
5,000,000 | limá na milyón | limáng milyon |
10,000,000 | sampû na milyón | sampûng milyón |
50,000,000 | limáng pû na milyón | limámpung milyón |
100,000,000 | isá na daán na milyón | sandaáng milyón |
1,000,000,000 | isá na bilyón | sambilyón |
1,000,000,000,000 | isá na trilyón | santrilyón |
Tagalog Ordinal Numbers
When you want to list things in order, use ordinal numbers. In English, these words include first, second, third, etc. Check out these Tagalog words for ordinal numbers.
Number | Tagalog Translation |
1st | una / ika-isá |
2nd | ikalawá / pangalawa |
3rd | ikatló |
4th | pang-apat |
5th | ikalimá |
6th | pang-anim |
7th | pampitó |
8th | pangwaló |
9th | ikasiyám |
10th | ikasampû |
Tagalog vs. Filipino Languages
The Tagalog and Filipino languages are very similar. Filipino, which is the official language of the Philippines, is the standardized version of the native language Tagalog. Filipino is also influenced by other languages spoken in the Philippines, including Spanish, English, and other Austronesian languages.
Learning a New Language
It’s always exciting to learn a new language, especially a language as beautiful as Tagalog. Now that you know the basics of numbers and counting, try your luck with more words in Tagalog. You can also check out idioms in Tagalog that will make you sound like a native speaker in no time!