Skip to content

elementarya

elementárya with stress marks

elementary

adjective e-le-men-TAR-ya Spanish origin Less Common

Usage Note

Elementarya is used almost exclusively in the context of primary education; paaralang elementarya is the standard phrase for grades 1–6 in the Philippine public school system. The word is borrowed from Spanish elemental and is familiar to every Filipino who has gone through the school system.

Examples

Beginner

" Nasa elementarya pa ang anak ko. "

Natural Translation

My child is still in elementary.

Literal Translation

At elementary still the child my.

Intermediate

" Nasaan ang paaralang elementarya? "

Natural Translation

Where is the elementary school?

Literal Translation

Where the school-that elementary?

Advanced

" Sa paaralang elementarya pa lang natututo ang mga bata ng pagbabasa at pagsusulat sa wikang Filipino. "

Natural Translation

It is in elementary school that children first learn reading and writing in the Filipino language.

Literal Translation

In school-that elementary still only learning the children of reading and writing in language Filipino.

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.