Skip to content

opereta

operéta with stress marks

operetta; short musical drama

noun o-pe-RE-ta Spanish origin Rare

Usage Note

Opereta is borrowed from Spanish 'opereta' and refers to a light, short opera with spoken dialogue and comic elements. Operetas were popular in Philippine theater during the Spanish colonial period and early American era, making the term a marker of the country's rich theatrical heritage.

Examples

Beginner

" Maganda ang opereta kagabi. "

Natural Translation

The operetta last night was lovely.

Literal Translation

Beautiful the operetta last-night.

Intermediate

" Nanuod kami ng isang nakakatuwang opereta. "

Natural Translation

We watched an entertaining operetta.

Literal Translation

Watched we of one entertaining operetta.

Advanced

" Noong panahon ng Espanyol, pinanonood ng mga maykaya ang opereta sa mga teatro ng Maynila tuwing piyesta. "

Natural Translation

During the Spanish era, the well-off watched operettas at the theaters of Manila during every fiesta.

Literal Translation

During time of Spanish, watched the well-off the operetta at the theaters of Manila every fiesta.

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.