Skip to content

pabini

pabíni with stress marks

refrain of a song or poem

noun pa-BI-ni DERIVED Derived origin Rare

From root: bini

Usage Note

Pabini refers to the repeating refrain or chorus section of a song or poem. It is a literary and musical term used in traditional Filipino poetry and folk songs, connecting to the broader oral storytelling traditions of the Philippines.

Examples

Beginner

" Maganda ang pabini ng awit. "

Natural Translation

The refrain of the song is beautiful.

Literal Translation

Beautiful the refrain of song.

Intermediate

" Kinanta nila ang pabini nang sabay-sabay. "

Natural Translation

They sang the refrain simultaneously.

Literal Translation

Sang they the refrain in simultaneously.

Advanced

" Tuwing umaabot sa pabini ang kanta, sabay-sabay na umaawit ang buong pamayanan. "

Natural Translation

Whenever the song reaches the refrain, the whole community sings along together.

Literal Translation

Every-time reaches at refrain the song, all-together sing the whole community.

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

Word family

bini has 2 related forms built from the same root.

See all

Explore Tagalog by topic

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