dahak
dahák with stress marks
loud expectoration
Usage Note
Dahak refers to phlegm or mucus that is coughed up and expelled, and also to the act of loud throat-clearing and expectoration. It is a frank, uneuphemistic term used in medical and everyday contexts. The loud public spitting it describes is socially frowned upon in urban settings but remains common in rural areas.
Examples
" Marami siyang dahak kahapon. "
Natural Translation
He coughed up a lot of phlegm yesterday.
Literal Translation
Many he phlegm yesterday.
" Malakas ang dahak ng maysakit. "
Natural Translation
The sick person's loud expectoration is loud.
Literal Translation
Strong the loud-expectoration of sick-person.
" Ipinapayo ng doktor na huwag itago ang dahak kapag may sakit upang lumabas ang impeksyon sa baga. "
Natural Translation
The doctor advises not to hold back the phlegm when sick so the infection can leave the lungs.
Literal Translation
Advises by-the doctor that don't keep the phlegm when there-is sickness so-that comes-out the infection from lung.
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 workRelated Words
Explore Tagalog by topic
Free guides on grammar, vocabulary, and culture to take you past single-word lookups.
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.
Spaced Repetition for Tagalog: How Flashcards Make Words Stick
Cramming Tagalog vocabulary fails. See how spaced repetition — the science behind smart flashcards — makes words stick for the long term.
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 Greetings: How to Say Hello, Goodbye & Po/Opo
Master Tagalog greetings with pronunciation: kumusta, magandang umaga, po and opo polite forms, time-of-day phrases, and the mano po tradition.