Skip to content

bahay kubo

báhay kúbo with stress marks

nipa hut

noun BA-hay KU-bo Compound origin Common

Usage Note

Bahay kubo is the iconic traditional Filipino dwelling made of bamboo and nipa palm, elevated on stilts. It is also the title of a beloved Filipino folk song listing vegetables grown around the hut. The image of the bahay kubo represents rural simplicity and is a strong symbol of Filipino cultural identity taught to every schoolchild.

Examples

Beginner

" May bahay kubo sa bukid. "

Natural Translation

There is a nipa hut in the field.

Literal Translation

Have nipa-hut in field.

Intermediate

" Itinayo nila ang isang bahay kubo sa may lawa. "

Natural Translation

They built a nipa hut near the lake.

Literal Translation

Built they the a nipa-hut at near lake.

Advanced

" Sa probinsiya ng lola ko, may lumang bahay kubo na yari sa kawayan na tinitirhan pa rin nila tuwing tag-araw. "

Natural Translation

In my grandmother's province, there is an old nipa hut made of bamboo that they still live in every summer.

Literal Translation

In province of grandmother my, have old nipa-hut that made of bamboo that lived-in still they every summer.

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

Explore Tagalog by topic

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