puwing
púwing with stress marks
speck of foreign matter in the eye
Usage Note
Puwing is a precise, everyday noun referring specifically to a speck of dust, sand, or other foreign particle lodged in the eye and causing irritation. It has no close synonym in Tagalog and is extremely common in informal speech whenever eye irritation is described.
Examples
" May puwing sa mata ko. "
Natural Translation
There's a speck in my eye.
Literal Translation
Has speck in eye my.
" Napaluha sila dahil sa puwing sa mata. "
Natural Translation
They teared up because of a speck in the eye.
Literal Translation
Teared-up they because of speck in eye.
" Huwag mong kuskusin ang mata kapag may puwing, dahil baka lalo mo lang itong masugatan sa halip na matanggal. "
Natural Translation
Don't rub your eye when there's a speck in it, because you might just injure it more instead of getting it out.
Literal Translation
Don't you rub the eye when has speck, because maybe more you only it injure instead of removed.
Tagalog builds thousands of words from a few hundred roots.
How Tagalog words workRelated Words
Explore Tagalog by topic
Free guides on grammar, vocabulary, and culture to take you past single-word lookups.

Po and Opo in Tagalog: Where to Put Them Right
Po and opo confuse learners — but placement follows one rule. Where po goes in a sentence, why it's opo not 'oo po', and the pronoun shift to learn.

How to Say "I Love You" in Tagalog: Phrases & Meaning
Learn how to say I love you in Tagalog. Mahal kita, Iniibig kita, and Filipino terms of endearment for partners, family, and friends — with cultural notes.

Tagalog Greetings: How to Say Hello, Goodbye & Po/Opo
Master Tagalog greetings with pronunciation: kumusta, magandang umaga, po and opo polite forms, time-of-day phrases, and the mano po tradition.

Magkano: How to Ask "How Much" in Tagalog
Magkano means how much in Tagalog. Learn to ask a price, tell it apart from ilan and gaano, sound polite with po, and haggle at the palengke.