Skip to content

masaya

happy

adjective ma-sa-YA DERIVED Common
Illustration of "masaya" (happy)

From root: saya

Usage Note

Masaya is the most common adjective for happiness, applicable to people, events, and atmospheres alike. Filipino culture attaches great value to communal joy, so masaya frequently describes collective experiences — fiestas, reunions, and holidays — as much as personal states of feeling.

Examples

Beginner

" Masaya kami ngayon. "

Natural Translation

We are happy today.

Literal Translation

Happy we today.

Intermediate

" Masaya ako ngayon. "

Natural Translation

I am happy today.

Literal Translation

Happy I today.

Advanced

" Tuwing may piyesta sa aming bayan, masaya ang lahat dahil nagtitipon ang buong pamilya mula sa iba't ibang lugar. "

Natural Translation

Whenever there's a fiesta in our town, everyone is happy because the whole family gathers from different places.

Literal Translation

Every-time has fiesta in our town, happy the all because gathers the whole family from different places.

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

Word family

saya has 9 related forms built from the same root.

See all

Explore Tagalog by topic

Free guides on grammar, vocabulary, and culture to take you past single-word lookups.