Usage Note
Kurot refers to the act of pinching skin with the thumb and forefinger, often triggered by 'gigil' when something is cute or used by elders as a form of mild discipline. It is a common physical expression of affection or subtle correction in Filipino culture.
Examples
" Masakit ang kurot mo. "
Natural Translation
Your pinch hurts.
Literal Translation
Painful the pinch your.
" Nagbigay siya ng kurot sa aking braso. "
Natural Translation
She pinched my arm.
Literal Translation
Gave she a pinch to my arm.
" Sa sobrang gigil sa mukha ng sanggol, hindi mapigilan ng lola ang magbigay ng marahang kurot sa pisngi nito. "
Natural Translation
Out of sheer adoration for the baby's face, the grandmother could not help giving its cheek a gentle pinch.
Literal Translation
In extreme adoration at face of baby, not able-to-stop of grandmother the give of gentle pinch on cheek its.
Tagalog builds thousands of words from a few hundred roots.
How Tagalog words workDerived Words
Actor Focus Verbs
Object Focus Verbs
Related Words
Explore Tagalog by topic
Free guides on grammar, vocabulary, and culture to take you past single-word lookups.

Filipino Food: 12 Essential Dishes (With Tagalog Names)
Filipino food, from adobo to halo-halo: learn the Tagalog names, pronunciations, and ingredients behind 12 dishes you'll want to try on your first trip.

Po and Opo in Tagalog: Where to Put Them Right
Po and opo confuse learners — but placement follows one rule. Where po goes in a sentence, why it's opo not 'oo po', and the pronoun shift to learn.

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.

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.