From root: luwa
Conjugations
Past (Completed)
niluwa
ni-lu-WA
expelled
Present (Incomplete)
niluluwa
ni-lu-lu-WA
expelling
Future (Contemplated)
luluwain
lu-lu-wa-IN
will expel
Usage Note
Luwain is used when one needs to expel something solid from the mouth, such as a seed, a bone, or food that is unpalatable. It specifically focuses on the object being ejected rather than the act of spitting liquid.
Examples
" Luwain mo ang buto. "
Natural Translation
Spit out the seed.
Literal Translation
Expel by-you the seed.
" Huwag mong subukang luwain ang gamot. "
Natural Translation
Don't try to expel the medicine.
Literal Translation
Do-not by-you to-expel the medicine.
" Niluwa ng bata ang gulay na ayaw niya kahit paulit-ulit na sinabi ng kanyang ina na masustansya ito. "
Natural Translation
The child spat out the vegetable he disliked even though his mother repeatedly said it was nutritious.
Literal Translation
Expelled by child the vegetable that dislike he even repeatedly said by his mother that nutritious it.
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 workWord family
luwa has 6 related forms built from the same root.
Related Words
Explore Tagalog by topic
Free guides on grammar, vocabulary, and culture to take you past single-word lookups.
Languages of the Philippines: Tagalog, Cebuano, and More
Languages of the Philippines: one national language (Filipino) plus 180+ regional languages. Here's who speaks what, where, and why it matters to you.
Philippines Geography for Learners: Islands & Language
Philippines geography for Tagalog learners: 7,641 islands, three island groups, and the Southern Luzon heartland where the Tagalog language was born.
May vs Mayroon vs Meron: Have & There Is
May vs mayroon in Tagalog finally made simple: one rule decides which to use, plus how meron and wala fit the same have and there-is family.
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.