Guide · Learning Tagalog
Learn Tagalog with conversation cards, by actually talking
Flashcards teach words. Conversation cards get you using them, with someone who answers back. Every Kumustahan card has the same question in English and Filipino, so you can read one, try the other, and talk.
Kumustahan is a bilingual conversation card app: 1,200 questions in English and Filipino across 7 decks, with a short reflection on the back of every card.
When you think of home, what small detail comes up first?
Kapag naiisip mo ang home, anong maliit na detail ang unang pumapasok?
Home can be a smell, a sound, a person, a room, or one ordinary detail that stayed.
Pwedeng amoy, tunog, tao, kwarto, o isang ordinaryong detail ang home. Minsan yun ang unang bumabalik.
In short
The idea
Many people who want to speak Tagalog already understand some of it: kids of Filipino parents abroad, partners who hear it at every family party, friends who pick up words from the barkada. What they lack is practice talking, with real sentences, about real things.
Conversation cards are made for that. Read the card in English, then read the Filipino version aloud. Ask a Filipino speaker the question in Tagalog, and try answering in a mix of both. Taglish counts. That is how most Filipinos actually speak.
Kumustahan is not a language course; it has no lessons or grammar drills. It is a conversation game whose cards happen to be fully bilingual, which makes it good practice once you know the basics.
Good for
Tips
- Play with a native speaker who will answer in Tagalog and wait while you try.
- Choose Keep it light: easier questions use everyday words.
- Don’t translate in your head. Point at the word you don’t know and ask.
- Laugh at mistakes. Filipino tables are forgiving.
Decks for this
A simple way to practice
- Read both sides. Read the English, then the Filipino, and spot the words you know.
- Ask it in Tagalog. Ask a Filipino friend, partner or parent the question in Filipino.
- Answer in Taglish. Answer in whatever mix you can. Swap in English when you get stuck.
- Switch the card language. In the app, switch the card to Filipino and try a whole round without the English.
- Keep a word list. Write down one new word per card. Ask what it means; it’s a conversation, after all.
Words you’ll meet on the cards
A few that come up again and again:
- kumusta: how are you. (Kumustahan is catching up with each other; see what kumustahan means.)
- barkada: your group of close friends.
- ulam: the dish you eat with rice.
- merienda: an afternoon snack.
- pambahay: comfortable clothes for wearing at home.
- kuwento: a story; kuwentuhan is swapping stories.
The questions
18 Tagalog questions to practice with
Real cards, English first with the Filipino under it, from short and simple to longer sentences. The Filipino is written the way people really talk, Taglish included.
Short and simple
6 questions
Good first sentences to read aloud.
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What food is hard for you to say no to?
Anong pagkain ang hirap mong tanggihan?
Back of the card
Food answers can be light, but they usually carry a little story: comfort, habit, craving, or someone who introduced it.
Light lang ang food answer, pero madalas may kasamang kuwento: comfort, habit, craving, o taong nagpakilala nito sa'yo.
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Name one ulam you would be happy to eat every week.
Magbanggit ng isang ulam na happy kang kainin every week.
Back of the card
Some dishes earn a permanent place in the rotation. They do not need drama, just rice and a happy yes.
May ulam na deserve maging regular sa rotation. Hindi kailangan ng drama, kanin lang at happy yes.
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What word would describe your week so far?
Anong word ang babagay sa week mo so far?
Back of the card
Sometimes one word is enough to begin. Naming the week can help you notice what your heart has been carrying.
Minsan sapat na ang isang word para makapagsimula. Kapag napangalanan mo ang week mo, mas nakikita mo kung ano ang bitbit mo.
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Which part of your day do you look forward to?
Anong part ng araw mo ang inaabangan mo?
Back of the card
The part you look forward to can be a clue. It shows where your day still gives you a little life.
Clue din yung part na inaabangan mo. Ipinapakita niya kung saan may konting buhay pa sa araw mo.
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What line do your friends often hear you say?
Anong linya ang madalas marinig ng friends mo sa'yo?
Back of the card
Imagine your usual line printed on a shirt.
Isipin na naka-print sa shirt ang madalas mong sabihin.
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When you get home, what’s the first thing you usually do?
Pag-uwi mo, ano yung unang bagay na usually mong ginagawa?
Back of the card
That first move can be funny, tired, quiet, or automatic. It can say something about how you settle in.
Yung first move na iyon pwedeng nakakatawa, pagod, tahimik, o automatic. May sinasabi rin siya kung paano ka nagse-settle.
Everyday words
6 questions
Food, home and friends: the words you’ll hear at a Filipino table.
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Name a food that tastes better when it's free.
Sabihin mo yung pagkain na mas masarap kapag libre.
Back of the card
Free food has its own seasoning. Sometimes the best flavor is the tiny thrill of not paying for it.
May sariling sarap ang libreng pagkain. Minsan yung best flavor, yung small joy na hindi ikaw ang nagbayad.
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Which everyday sound reminds you of home right away?
Anong everyday sound ang nagpapaalala agad sa'yo ng home?
Back of the card
Home is not always a place first. Sometimes it is a sound you recognize before you even think about it.
Hindi laging lugar agad ang home. Minsan sound siya na kilala mo na bago mo pa isipin.
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Describe your favorite quiet moment at home in one sentence.
I-describe in one sentence yung favorite mong tahimik na moment sa bahay.
Back of the card
Quiet at home can be its own kind of treat. Sometimes the best part is that nothing needs to happen.
Yung tahimik sa bahay, treat din minsan. Minsan best part na yung walang kailangang mangyari.
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Who do you enjoy eating with, even if the food is simple?
Sino yung masarap kasamang kumain kahit simple lang ang pagkain?
Back of the card
The company can change the meal. Some people make even ordinary food feel warmer.
Iba ang pagkain kapag okay ang kasama. May mga taong kahit simpleng meal, gumagaan yung moment.
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What would you like to watch with a friend?
Ano ang gusto mong panoorin kasama ang friend?
Back of the card
Talking through the whole thing or saving comments until the end?
Kuwentuhan habang nanonood o comments pagkatapos na lang?
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Which compliment from a friend made you smile recently?
Anong compliment mula sa friend ang nagpangiti sa'yo lately?
Back of the card
Did you believe it right away, or did it sink in later?
Naniwala ka ba agad, o saka mo lang ito naramdaman?
Longer sentences
6 questions
When you’re ready to follow a whole question.
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Back when you were a kid, what game or activity could keep you busy for hours?
Nung bata ka, anong laro o activity ang kaya mong pagkaabalahan nang ilang oras?
Back of the card
Childhood focus has its own sweetness. It remembers a time when getting lost in play was enough.
May sariling saya yung focus nung bata tayo. Naalala nito yung panahon na sapat na ang maglaro nang maglaro.
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When you think of home, what small detail comes up first?
Kapag naiisip mo ang home, anong maliit na detail ang unang pumapasok?
Back of the card
Home can be a smell, a sound, a person, a room, or one ordinary detail that stayed.
Pwedeng amoy, tunog, tao, kwarto, o isang ordinaryong detail ang home. Minsan yun ang unang bumabalik.
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If you and a friend talk less often, what would you want to ask them?
Kung bihira na kayong mag-usap ng friend, ano ang gusto mong itanong sa kanila?
Back of the card
Would you ask now or wait for a quieter time to talk?
Itatanong mo ba ngayon o hihintayin mong mas tahimik ang oras ng usapan?
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Name one thing that can wait until tomorrow.
Magbanggit ng isang bagay na puwedeng maghintay hanggang bukas.
Back of the card
Not everything needs today's strength. Letting one thing wait can be a practical kind of kindness.
Hindi lahat kailangan ng lakas mo today. Minsan praktikal na kindness yung hayaan munang maghintay ang isang bagay.
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What flavor of ice cream would you invent?
Anong lasa ng ice cream ang iimbentuhin mo?
Back of the card
Give your invented ice cream a name if you like.
Kung gusto mo, bigyan mo ng pangalan ang ice cream na inimbento mo.
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Tell us about a food that reminds you of someone taking care of you.
Ikuwento yung pagkain na nagpapaalala sa'yo ng alaga ng isang tao.
Back of the card
Food can carry care without needing big words. Sometimes the simple act of feeding someone well becomes a memory by itself.
Kayang magdala ng care ang pagkain kahit walang malaking salita. Minsan yung simpleng pag-alaga sa pagkain, nagiging memory na.
Learn Tagalog with conversation cards
Frequently asked questions
Can conversation cards help me learn Tagalog?
Yes, once you know the basics. Bilingual cards give you real questions in English and Filipino side by side, and answering them with a Filipino speaker is speaking practice no flashcard can give.
Is the Tagalog on Kumustahan cards formal or conversational?
Conversational. It is written the way Filipinos actually talk, including Taglish where that is natural, not textbook Tagalog.
Is there an app for practicing Tagalog conversation?
Kumustahan is a conversation card app with English and Filipino on every card, free on iPhone and Android. It is a game, not a course, so it works best alongside a class or a patient Filipino speaker.
Bring a better question to the table.
Free on iPhone and Android. 420 cards free, no account, works offline.