From root: ate
Usage Note
Ate-atehan describes a person who assumes the role or authority of an older sister without actually being one, often used in a playful or slightly mocking way.
Examples
" Ate-atehan ko siya sa grupo. "
Natural Translation
She is my pretend older sister in the group.
Literal Translation
Pretend-older-sister my she in group.
" Siya ang aking ate-atehan sa opisina. "
Natural Translation
She is my pretend older sister at the office.
Literal Translation
She the my pretend-older-sister at office.
" Tinatawag namin siyang ate-atehan dahil lagi siyang nag-uutos sa amin kahit wala naman siyang karapatang gawin iyon. "
Natural Translation
We call her our pretend older sister because she is always bossing us around even though she has no right to do that.
Literal Translation
Call we her pretend-older-sister because always she bossing to us even-though none actually she right to-do that.
Tagalog builds thousands of words from a few hundred roots.
How Tagalog words workWord family
ate has 2 related forms built from the same root.
Related Words
Explore Tagalog by topic
Free guides on grammar, vocabulary, and culture to take you past single-word lookups.

How to Say "I Love You" in Tagalog: Phrases & Meaning
Learn how to say I love you in Tagalog. Mahal kita, Iniibig kita, and Filipino terms of endearment for partners, family, and friends — with cultural notes.

Is Tagalog Hard to Learn? An Honest Answer
Tagalog takes around 1,100 hours to reach professional proficiency. Here is what is easy, what is hard, and what to expect at 3, 6, and 12 months.

Tagalog vs Filipino: What's the Difference & Which to Learn
Tagalog and Filipino aren't the same language — but they overlap almost completely. Here's the real difference and which one you should actually learn.

Magkano: How to Ask "How Much" in Tagalog
Magkano means how much in Tagalog. Learn to ask a price, tell it apart from ilan and gaano, sound polite with po, and haggle at the palengke.