mestiso
mestíso with stress marks
male person of mixed ethnicity; fair-skinned man
Usage Note
Mestiso was a colonial label for a man of mixed racial background — typically Spanish-Filipino or Chinese-Filipino — but in modern everyday speech it frequently describes any fair-skinned man, mirroring the shift in meaning that mestisa has also undergone. Both words carry the legacy of colonial-era racial hierarchies even as their everyday use has broadened.
Examples
" Mestiso ang bagong estudyante. "
Natural Translation
The new student is fair-skinned.
Literal Translation
Fair-skinned the new student.
" Mestiso siya kaya maputi ang balat. "
Natural Translation
He is of mixed ethnicity so his skin is fair.
Literal Translation
Mixed-ethnicity he so fair the skin.
" Madalas akalain ng mga tao na dayuhan ang aking pinsan dahil mestiso siya at may kakaiba siyang punto sa pagsasalita. "
Natural Translation
People often assume my cousin is a foreigner because he is fair-skinned and has an unusual accent when he speaks.
Literal Translation
Often assume the people that foreigner the my cousin because mixed-ethnicity he and has unusual he accent in speaking.
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
- AWOL absence without leave
- Amboy short for American boy
- Ati ethnolinguistic group in Panay
- Balbalan ethnolinguistic group (Kalinga)
- Hiligaynon ethnolinguistic group/language
- Ilokana female native of the Ilocos region; Ilokana woman
- Ilokano Ethnolinguistic group in Ilocos
- Ilonggo Language/People of Western Visayas
Explore Tagalog by topic
Free guides on grammar, vocabulary, and culture to take you past single-word lookups.
Ng vs Nang in Tagalog: The Spelling Rule
Ng vs nang sound identical but spell differently. Use ng to mark nouns (of, the object), and nang for how, when, repetition, and counting time.
Philippine Christmas Traditions: World's Longest Holiday
Philippine Christmas traditions run four months — from Ber-month carols to Simbang Gabi dawn masses, Noche Buena feasts, and parol lanterns lighting every street.
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.
Tagalog vs Filipino: What's the Difference & Which to Learn
Tagalog and Filipino aren't the same language — but they overlap almost completely. Here's the real difference and which one you should actually learn.