Questions · Lolo and lola
Questions for your lolo and lola, in a language they’ll answer in
Your lolo (grandfather) and lola (grandmother) have stories nobody has written down. These questions are easy to ask on a call or a visit, and every one comes in Tagalog as well as English, which matters when lola’s English is shy and yours is the only language you’re fluent in.
- 16 questions
- EN + TL on every card
- Free in the app
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.
The questions
16 questions to ask a Filipino grandparent
Every question in English and Filipino/Tagalog, word for word from the Kumustahan decks. Open “Back of the card” for the reflection printed on the other side.
Easy ones for the first call
5 questions
Home, food and the quiet parts of the day.
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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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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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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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Choose one food that tastes better when it’s left over for the next day.
Pumili ng isang pagkain na mas masarap kapag tira siya hanggang kinabukasan.
Back of the card
Some food needs an overnight plot twist. Leftovers can be humble, practical, and somehow better than round one.
May pagkain talaga na mas gumaganda kinabukasan. Simple lang siya, practical, pero minsan mas panalo pa.
When lola was young
6 questions
Games, places and the memory everyone in the family has heard but you.
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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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What day from the past would you like to watch?
Anong araw sa nakaraan ang gusto mong mapanood?
Back of the card
Pause on one scene from that day. Which detail would you want to look at longer?
Huminto muna sa isang eksena ng araw na iyon. Anong detalye ang gusto mong tingnan nang mas matagal?
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Tell us about a place that left a memory or feeling you still carry.
Ikuwento yung lugar na may iniwang memory o feeling na dala mo pa rin.
Back of the card
Some places stay with us quietly. You may not notice it right away, but later you realize you carried something from there.
May mga lugar na tahimik lang ang iniiwan sa atin. Hindi mo agad napapansin, pero may dala ka pala mula roon.
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From when you were younger, what habit or interest do you still carry now?
Mula nung bata ka, anong habit o hilig ang dala mo pa rin ngayon?
Back of the card
Some parts of us do not disappear; they just grow up with us. It can be nice to notice what stayed.
May parts tayo na hindi naman nawawala; lumalaki lang kasama natin. Nakakatuwang mapansin kung ano yung naiwan.
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Tell us about a small thing you can do now that would have amazed you as a kid.
Kuwento mo yung maliit na bagay na kaya mo na ngayon na maa-amaze ka kung bata ka pa.
Back of the card
Progress can look ordinary from the outside. But younger you might know exactly how big that ordinary thing is.
Mukhang ordinaryo minsan ang progress. Pero baka alam ng batang ikaw kung gaano kalaki yung ordinaryong bagay na yan.
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Tell us the funny memory your friends or family still bring up.
Ikuwento yung funny memory na binabalikan pa rin ng friends o family mo.
Back of the card
Some stories become part of a group's archive. If people still bring it up, it probably earned its place.
May stories na parte na ng group archive. Kapag binabalikan pa rin, malamang deserve niya yung spot.
What they would like you to know
5 questions
For a slow afternoon, not a two-minute call.
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Who is someone you respect for the way they live, even in small things?
Sino yung taong nirerespeto mo sa paraan ng buhay niya, kahit sa maliliit na bagay?
Back of the card
Respect often begins with small, steady things. A simple habit can show a lot about how someone moves through life.
Madalas nagsisimula ang respeto sa maliliit pero consistent na bagay. May simpleng habit na maraming sinasabi tungkol sa isang tao.
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When did you last change your mind after hearing a good reason?
Kailan ka huling nagbago ng isip dahil may narinig kang magandang reason?
Back of the card
Try an optional before-and-after: "I thought..., but now..."
Kung gusto mo: "Dati, akala ko..., pero ngayon..."
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Name something you want to be known for by people close to you.
Magsabi ng isang bagay na gusto mong maalala sa'yo ng mga taong close sa'yo.
Back of the card
The way you want to be known can reveal what you value. It can also guide one small choice today.
Yung gusto mong maalala nila sa'yo, may pinapakitang value. Puwede rin siyang gumabay sa isang maliit na choice today.
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Tell us about someone whose faith encourages you to keep going.
Ikuwento yung isang tao na dahil sa faith niya, nae-encourage kang magpatuloy.
Back of the card
God can encourage us through the steady faith of other people. Naming it can turn quiet admiration into gratitude.
Minsan ginagamit ni Lord yung steady faith ng iba para ma-encourage tayo. Kapag nasabi natin yun, puwede itong maging gratitude.
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Finish this sentence: “In this next season, I hope I get to experience...”
Tapusin mo yung sentence: “Sa next season, sana ma-experience ko...”
Back of the card
This sentence can stay small or open wide. Either way, it gives your hope a place to begin.
Puwedeng maliit lang o biglang lumawak yung sentence. Either way, may starting point yung hope mo.
How to use them
Before you ask
Filipino grandparents usually answer a question about the past much more readily than a question about themselves. Ask lola what game she played as a girl or what sound means home to her, and you will hear about the province, the house, the siblings, and probably a story about your parent that your parent would rather you didn’t hear.
For grandkids abroad the hard part is the language. Many lolos and lolas understand English well but answer more fully in Tagalog, Ilocano, Cebuano or Kapampangan. Read them the Tagalog side of the card, and if they switch to their home language, let them. A parent or tita can fill in the gaps later.
Keep calls short and frequent rather than long and rare. One question per call, asked every week, adds up to a family history.
Good for
Tips
- Greet first: “Mano po, Lola” in person, or “Kumusta po kayo?” on a call. It sets the tone.
- Read the Tagalog version aloud, even slowly. Grandparents love hearing their grandchildren try.
- Ask about places by name: the town, the street, the river. Names unlock stories.
- Have a parent nearby the first time, to translate a word or two and to hear the story too.
- Write down one line from each answer. You will want it someday.
Decks for this
Filipino grandparents
Frequently asked questions
What should I ask my Filipino grandparents?
Ask about their childhood games, the house they grew up in, the food that reminds them of home and the person they most respect. Concrete questions about places and things get longer answers than questions about feelings.
How do I talk to my lola if I don’t speak Tagalog well?
Use questions written in both languages, read her the Tagalog version, and let her answer however she likes. Ask a parent or cousin to translate the parts you miss, and learn one new word from each call.
What do “lolo” and “lola” mean?
Lolo means grandfather and lola means grandmother in Filipino. Many families also use them for great-aunts, great-uncles and other elders of that generation.
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