Skip to content

alamat

alamát with stress marks

legend; folklore

noun a-la-MAT Malay origin Less Common
Illustration of "alamat" (legend; folklore)

Usage Note

Alamat refers to traditional folk tales explaining the origins of things like plants and places, making it a staple of Filipino education. Colloquially, it is also used to describe a person who is highly skilled or considered a "legend" in their field.

Examples

Beginner

" Gusto kong marinig ang alamat. "

Natural Translation

I want to hear the legend.

Literal Translation

Want I to-hear the legend.

Intermediate

" Alam mo ba ang alamat ng pinya? "

Natural Translation

Do you know the legend of the pineapple?

Literal Translation

Know you interrogative the legend of pineapple?

Advanced

" Bawat lalawigan sa Pilipinas ay may sariling alamat na ipinapasa sa mga bata upang ipaliwanag ang pinagmulan ng mga bagay sa paligid. "

Natural Translation

Every province in the Philippines has its own legend passed down to children to explain the origins of the things around them.

Literal Translation

Each province in Philippines has own legend that passed to the children in-order explain the origin of the things at surroundings.

Free · iOS & Android

Take Tagalog with you

The full course, a 12,500-word dictionary, and flashcards that make every word stick — free to start on iOS and Android.

Tagalog builds thousands of words from a few hundred roots.

How Tagalog words work

Derived Words

Actor Focus Verbs

Object Focus Verbs

Explore Tagalog by topic

Free guides on grammar, vocabulary, and culture to take you past single-word lookups.