Skip to content

liham

líham with stress marks

letter; written message

noun LI-ham Native origin Rare

Usage Note

Liham is the formal Tagalog word for a written letter, used in literary, academic, and official contexts. While sulat is more common in everyday speech, liham carries a more formal or poetic register and appears frequently in Philippine literature and formal correspondence.

Examples

Beginner

" Sumulat ako ng liham. "

Natural Translation

I wrote a letter.

Literal Translation

Wrote I of letter.

Intermediate

" Basahin mo ang liham. "

Natural Translation

Read the letter.

Literal Translation

Read you the letter.

Advanced

" Ipinadala niya ang isang taos-pusong liham sa kanyang ina bago siya umalis patungong ibang bansa. "

Natural Translation

He sent a heartfelt letter to his mother before he left for another country.

Literal Translation

Sent he the one heartfelt letter to his mother before he left going-to other country.

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.