Skip to content

onesto

onésto with stress marks

honest; truthful

adjective o-NES-to Spanish origin Rare

Usage Note

Onesto is borrowed from Spanish 'honesto' and describes a person of integrity. While tapat is the native Tagalog equivalent, onesto remains in use, especially among older generations and in formal or written contexts, reflecting Spanish colonial influence on Filipino moral vocabulary.

Examples

Beginner

" Onesto siyang tao. "

Natural Translation

He/she is an honest person.

Literal Translation

Honest he/she person.

Intermediate

" Isang onesto at mabait na manggagawa si Juan. "

Natural Translation

Juan is an honest and kind worker.

Literal Translation

One honest and kind worker Juan.

Advanced

" Kahit mahirap, nanatiling onesto ang matandang mangangalakal at hindi niya dinaya ang kanyang mga suki. "

Natural Translation

Even though it was hard, the old merchant remained honest and did not cheat his regular customers.

Literal Translation

Even hard, remained honest the old merchant and not he cheated the his regular-customers.

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.