Imagine you’re travelling through Manila. You step into a small café, and the person behind the counter smiles and says:
“Kumusta?”
For a brief moment, you don’t understand what you’ve just heard. Then, suddenly, it sounds strangely familiar.
Without realising it, you’ve just heard a Spanish expression that has survived on the other side of the world for more than four centuries. It is one of the many traces Spanish has left in Tagalog, a word that carries the memory of centuries of contact between two cultures.
A few weeks ago, during one of my Spanish lessons, my student Mira Varghese told me that she was about to take a very special trip. Part of her family comes from the Philippines, and she was planning to spend a month there reconnecting with her roots—while also enjoying one of her greatest passions: travelling.
As we talked, I remembered something I had learned years ago in school: the Philippines was one of Spain’s last overseas territories. That sparked our curiosity. Together, we started looking for traces of Spanish in Tagalog, one of the main languages spoken in the Philippines. And what we found was fascinating.
A little historical background
Spain first arrived in the Philippines in 1565, and the archipelago remained under Spanish administration for more than three centuries, until 1898. During that time, Spanish left a profound mark on many Philippine languages, especially on everyday vocabulary. However, Spanish never replaced the local languages.
What happened instead was something much more interesting: centuries of close linguistic and cultural contact. So where does kumusta come from? Its origin is surprisingly easy to trace.
¿Cómo está? –> comoesta –> komosta –> kumusta
As the expression was adopted into Tagalog, its pronunciation and spelling gradually changed to fit the language’s own sound system, until it became a natural part of everyday speech.
One important point worth remembering is that the languages spoken in the Philippines existed long before the arrival of the Spanish. Tagalog is not derived from Spanish. Although Spanish contributed thousands of loanwords, the grammar and structure of Tagalog remain fundamentally Austronesian.
Other Spanish words that are still alive in Tagalog
Kumusta is only one example. Many Spanish words are still part of everyday Filipino vocabulary today, including:
- mesa (table)
- silya (< silla, chair)
- kutsara (< cuchara, spoon)
- sapatos (< zapatos, shoes)
- bintana (< ventana, window)
- relos (< reloj, watch/clock)
- tinidor (< tenedor, fork)
- kutsilyo (< cuchillo, knife)
What I love most is seeing how these words changed as they travelled from one language to another. It’s not just that they survived. Another language welcomed them, reshaped them, and made them its own.
“¿Cómo está?” became kumusta. The pronunciation changed. The spelling changed. Even the way the word is used in conversation evolved.
To me, it’s a beautiful example of how languages influence one another and how words travel across continents and generations. Every time someone in the Philippines says kumusta, they are using a Spanish expression that crossed oceans centuries ago and found a new home in another language.
Because every word is a small journey through time. And learning a language also means discovering the stories hidden inside its words.
Other examples of Spanish words in Tagalog
- hepe ← jefe
- kumpisal ← confesar
- dalanghita ← naranjita (mandarin orange)
- silya ← silla
- kabayo ← caballo
- relo ← reloj
- harina ← harina
- oras ← horas
- kotse ← coche
- saklolo ← socorro
- gobyerno ← gobierno
- loko ← loco
- pero ← pero
- porke ← porque
- puwersa ← fuerza
- guwapo ← guapo
- kuwento ← cuento
- puwesto ← puesto
- milagro ← milagro
- grasya ← gracia
- hardin ← jardín
- impiyerno ← infierno
- nuwebe ← nueve
- Pilipinas ← Filipinas
Want to explore the topic further?
Suggested reading
- Antonio Quilis & Celia Casado-Fresnillo, La lengua española en Filipinas.
- Instituto Cervantes Manila – Clásicos Hispanofilipinos.
- Tagalog language overview (for a general introduction).
Do you want to put this into practice?
Improve your Spanish. Experience the language in a real-world context with guided classes.