Usage Note
Am is the starchy liquid drained from cooked rice, or the soft overcooked rice itself — a form of congee. It is a traditional comfort food given to infants, the elderly, and the sick, reflecting Filipino folk medicine traditions where easily digestible food is considered healing.
Examples
" Uminom ng am ang sanggol. "
Natural Translation
The baby drank rice broth.
Literal Translation
Drank of rice-broth the baby.
" Painumin ang bata ng am. "
Natural Translation
Have the child drink rice broth.
Literal Translation
Have-drink the child of rice-broth.
" Noong maysakit ang aking lola, am lamang ang kaya niyang kainin dahil mahina pa ang kanyang sikmura. "
Natural Translation
When my grandmother was sick, rice broth was all she could eat because her stomach was still weak.
Literal Translation
When sick the my grandmother, rice-broth only the able her eat because weak still the her stomach.
Tagalog builds thousands of words from a few hundred roots.
How Tagalog words workRelated Words
Explore Tagalog by topic
Free guides on grammar, vocabulary, and culture to take you past single-word lookups.

Tagalog Question Words: Ano, Sino, Saan & More
Tagalog question words like ano, sino, and saan need the right frame to work. Learn the ang-vs-pronoun rule, confusable pairs, and the ba particle with audio.

Ng vs Nang in Tagalog: The Spelling Rule
Ng vs nang sound identical but spell differently. Use ng to mark nouns (of, the object), and nang for how, when, repetition, and counting time.

Ang, Ng, Sa: The 3 Tagalog Case Markers Explained
Ang, ng, sa are the three Tagalog case markers every noun takes. Learn what each does, the personal forms si/ni/kay, plurals with mga, and clear examples.

Philippines Geography for Learners: Islands & Language
Philippines geography for Tagalog learners: 7,641 islands, three island groups, and the Southern Luzon heartland where the Tagalog language was born.