gipit
gipít with stress marks
lacking space/time; difficult
Usage Note
Gipit describes a state of being cramped, pressed for time, or in financial difficulty. 'Gipit sa pera' (tight on money) is extremely common in everyday speech. It can also describe physical tightness — a cramped space or a pinched feeling. The word captures multiple dimensions of constraint and is one of the most frequently used adjectives in informal Tagalog.
Examples
" Gipit kami ngayon sa pera. "
Natural Translation
We're tight on money right now.
Literal Translation
Tight we now in money.
" Gipit kami ngayon — pasko pa lang tapos na ang budget. "
Natural Translation
We're tight on money right now — it's only Christmas and the budget is already gone.
Literal Translation
Tight we now — Christmas yet only done the budget.
" Kahit gipit kami sa panahon, sinikap pa rin naming dumalo sa kasal ng aking pinsan. "
Natural Translation
Even though we were pressed for time, we still made the effort to attend my cousin's wedding.
Literal Translation
Even-though tight we in time, strived still also our attend in wedding of my cousin.
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.
Mano Po and Filipino Etiquette: A Visitor's Guide
Mano po presses an elder's hand to your forehead as a blessing. Learn who to mano, how to lip-point, and the etiquette that wins over a Filipino family.
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.
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.
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.