Skip to content

mano

máno with stress marks

gesture of respect to elders

noun MA-no Spanish origin Common

Also means

Mano also means hand in some regional Filipino languages and in Spanish.

Usage Note

Mano involves taking an elder's right hand and touching the back of it to one's forehead as a sign of respect and to receive a blessing. It is one of the most visible expressions of Filipino filial piety and is still widely practiced, especially during family gatherings and when greeting older relatives.

Examples

Beginner

" Mano ka muna sa lola. "

Natural Translation

Pay respect to grandma first.

Literal Translation

Respect-gesture you first to grandma.

Intermediate

" Ang mano ay isang mahalagang tradisyon ng mga Pilipino. "

Natural Translation

The mano gesture is an important tradition of Filipinos.

Literal Translation

The mano is one [ng] important [ng] tradition of-the [mga] Filipino.

Advanced

" Tuwing umuuwi kami sa probinsya, tinuturuan ko ang mga anak ko na mag-mano sa kanilang mga lolo't lola bilang tanda ng paggalang. "

Natural Translation

Whenever we go home to the province, I teach my children to do the mano gesture to their grandparents as a sign of respect.

Literal Translation

Every go-home we to province, teach I the children my to do-respect-gesture to their grandfather-and grandmother as sign of respect.

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.