Skip to content

petmalu

petmalú with stress marks

extremely amazing; outstanding

adjective pet-ma-LU Colloquial origin Less Common

Usage Note

Petmalu is a Filipino millennial/Gen Z slang term formed by reversing syllables of 'malupet' (awesome, badass). It is used to describe something or someone impressively excellent or extraordinary. The syllable-reversal wordplay style is part of a broader Filipino youth slang phenomenon called 'binaliktad na salita' (reversed words).

Examples

Beginner

" Petmalu ang kanta mo! "

Natural Translation

Your song is awesome!

Literal Translation

Extremely-amazing the song your!

Intermediate

" Ang ginawa nila sa entablado ay petmalu. "

Natural Translation

What they did on stage was extremely amazing.

Literal Translation

The did they on stage is extremely-amazing.

Advanced

" Sabi ng mga kabarkada, petmalu daw ang bagong proyekto na ipinakita namin sa kompetisyon. "

Natural Translation

According to our barkada, the new project we showed at the competition was apparently outstanding.

Literal Translation

Said of the plural friend-group, extremely-amazing reportedly the new project that showed we at-the competition.

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.