Skip to content

sanaw

sánaw with stress marks

puddle; shallow pool of water

noun SA-naw Native origin Less Common

Usage Note

Sanaw describes a small, shallow accumulation of water — typically a puddle left after rain. It is commonly used in everyday speech when describing flooded streets or wet ground after rainfall, a very familiar sight during the Philippine rainy season. Children are often warned not to play in a sanaw for hygiene reasons.

Examples

Beginner

" May sanaw sa kalsada. "

Natural Translation

There is a puddle on the street.

Literal Translation

There-is puddle on street.

Intermediate

" May sanaw ng tubig sa daan. "

Natural Translation

There is a puddle of water on the road.

Literal Translation

There-is puddle of water on road.

Advanced

" Pagkatapos ng malakas na ulan, puno ng sanaw ang buong daan papuntang paaralan. "

Natural Translation

After the heavy rain, the entire road to school was full of puddles.

Literal Translation

After of strong rain, full of puddle the whole road going-to school.

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.