Skip to content

siwal

síwal with stress marks

perversion; obstinacy

noun SI-wal Native origin Rare

Usage Note

Siwal is an older native Tagalog word describing willful deviance from what is right or expected — stubbornness rooted in moral misdirection. It appears in formal and literary contexts and carries a strong negative moral connotation, implying both obstinacy and impropriety rather than mere childish stubbornness.

Examples

Beginner

" Hindi maganda ang siwal niya. "

Natural Translation

His obstinacy is not good.

Literal Translation

Not good the obstinacy his.

Intermediate

" Hindi tama ang kanyang siwal. "

Natural Translation

His/her obstinacy is not right.

Literal Translation

Not right the his/her obstinacy.

Advanced

" Dahil sa kanyang siwal, ayaw niyang tanggapin ang katotohanan kahit malinaw na siya ang nagkamali. "

Natural Translation

Because of his obstinacy, he refuses to accept the truth even when it is clear that he was the one at fault.

Literal Translation

Because of his obstinacy, refuses he to-accept the truth even-if clear that he the one-erred.

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.