Tagalog Question Words: How to Ask Anything

Once you have some Tagalog vocabulary and a feel for politeness markers like po, the next step is asking questions. A small set of question words opens up a huge range of everyday conversations.

The core question words

These seven words cover almost everything you need to ask:

• ano — what
• sino — who
• saan — where
• kailan — when
• bakit — why
• paano — how
• magkano — how much

To make any of them polite, simply add po after the question word: ano po, sino po, saan po, and so on. Filipinos will immediately notice and appreciate it.

How questions are formed

Unlike Thai, which often places question words at the end of a sentence, Tagalog typically puts them at the beginning. The structure is familiar and easy to learn:

• Ano ang pangalan mo? — What is your name?
• Saan ka pupunta? — Where are you going?
• Bakit ka nandito? — Why are you here?
• Magkano ito? — How much is this?

Notice how natural the word order feels — question word first, then the rest of the sentence.

The ang marker

You will often see ang appearing right after the question word. In Tagalog, ang marks the focus of the sentence — roughly the subject that the question is about. You do not need to master the grammar behind it right away; just recognise the pattern question word + ang as a common opening and you will start to hear it everywhere.

Knowing these question words lets you turn any vocabulary you already have into a question — and that is when real conversations begin.