Skip to content

obligado

obligádo with stress marks

obligated; indebted for a favor

adjective ob-li-GA-do Spanish origin Less Common

Usage Note

Obligado is borrowed from Spanish and describes a person who feels duty-bound or indebted, often due to a favor received. In Filipino culture, the concept of utang na loob makes this feeling particularly significant — one often feels obligado after receiving help from family or community.

Examples

Beginner

" Obligado akong tumulong. "

Natural Translation

I am obligated to help.

Literal Translation

Obligated I to-help.

Intermediate

" Obligado siyang magbayad ng kanyang utang. "

Natural Translation

He/she is obligated to pay his/her debt.

Literal Translation

Obligated he/she to-pay of his/her debt.

Advanced

" Pakiramdam niya ay obligado siyang suklian ang kabutihan ng mga kaibigang tumulong sa kanya noong wala siyang makakain. "

Natural Translation

He feels obligated to repay the kindness of the friends who helped him when he had nothing to eat.

Literal Translation

Feeling his is obligated he to-repay the kindness of the friends who-helped to him when none he had-to-eat.

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.