From root: bawang
Usage Note
Mabawang describes food with a strong garlic flavor or aroma. It is often used for dishes like fried rice or dipping sauces.
Examples
" Masarap ang mabawang na sinangag. "
Natural Translation
Garlicky fried rice is delicious.
Literal Translation
Delicious the garlicky fried-rice.
" Ang paborito kong ulam ay mabawang. "
Natural Translation
My favorite dish is garlicky.
Literal Translation
The favorite my dish is garlicky.
" Mas gusto ko ang sawsawang mabawang dahil mas tumatalab ang lasa nito sa inihaw na liempo. "
Natural Translation
I prefer a garlicky dipping sauce because its flavor pairs better with grilled pork belly.
Literal Translation
More want I the dipping-sauce garlicky because more takes-effect the flavor its on grilled pork-belly.
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 workWord family
bawang has 6 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.
Tagalog Affixes Explained: A Beginner's Guide to Word Building
Tagalog affixes turn one root word into dozens of meanings. Learn prefixes, infixes, suffixes, and circumfixes with clear examples for beginners.
Seasons in the Philippines: A Tagalog Guide
The Philippines has two seasons, not four. Learn tag-araw, tag-ulan, and taglamig, the generative tag- prefix, and the weather vocabulary to match.
Tagalog Numbers 1-100: Counting, Time & Money Explained
Learn Tagalog numbers 1-100 and beyond. Master both native and Spanish-derived counting systems, plus telling time, reading prices, and ordinals.
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.