sungka
súngka with stress marks
a local pebble-dropping game
Usage Note
Sungka is a traditional Filipino board game played on a carved wooden board (the sungkaan) with shells or pebbles distributed into cups. It is a mancala-type game that has been played in the Philippines for centuries. Recognized as a traditional cultural game, it is sometimes taught in schools to preserve indigenous heritage.
Examples
" Maglaro tayo ng sungka. "
Natural Translation
Let's play sungka.
Literal Translation
Play we of sungka.
" Naglalaro sila ng sungka. "
Natural Translation
They are playing a local pebble-dropping game.
Literal Translation
Playing they of local pebble-dropping game.
" Tuwing bakasyon, naglalaro kami ng mga pinsan ko ng sungka sa bahay ng aming lola sa probinsya. "
Natural Translation
Every vacation, my cousins and I play sungka at our grandmother's house in the province.
Literal Translation
Every vacation, playing we and the cousins my of sungka at house of our grandmother in province.
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 workRelated Words
Explore Tagalog by topic
Free guides on grammar, vocabulary, and culture to take you past single-word lookups.
Tagalog Verb Focus System Explained (It's Not Active vs. Passive)
The Tagalog verb focus system isn't active vs. passive. Learn actor focus, object focus, and more with clear examples that finally make it click.
Seasons in the Philippines: A Tagalog Guide
The Philippines has two seasons, not four. Learn tag-araw, tag-ulan, and taglamig, the generative tag- prefix, and the weather vocabulary to match.
How to Say Sorry in Tagalog: Patawad vs Pasensya
How to say sorry in Tagalog: patawad, pasensya na, and paumanhin compared on a simple severity-and-formality ladder so you pick the right word every time.
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.