Skip to content

magtabas

magtabás with stress marks

to cut or trim

verb mag-ta-BAS AF VERB Native origin Rare

From root: tabas

Conjugations

Past (Completed)

nagtabas

nag-ta-BAS

cut

Present (Incomplete)

nagtatabas

nag-ta-ta-BAS

is cutting

Future (Contemplated)

magtatabas

mag-ta-ta-BAS

will cut

Usage Note

Magtabas is the actor-focus form of tabas, centering the tailor, barber, or gardener doing the cutting. The root tabas carries a dual sense — cutting fabric to a pattern and hacking off vegetation — so context determines which domain is intended. The object-focus counterpart is tabasin.

Examples

Beginner

" Magtabas tayo ng papel. "

Natural Translation

Let's cut some paper.

Literal Translation

Cut we of paper.

Intermediate

" Gusto kong magtabas ng tela para sa bagong damit. "

Natural Translation

I want to cut fabric for a new dress.

Literal Translation

Want I to-cut of fabric for for new clothing.

Advanced

" Bago magtabas ng tela ang mananahi, sinusukat muna niyang mabuti ang katawan ng kliyente upang walang masayang. "

Natural Translation

Before the seamstress cuts the fabric, she first measures the client's body carefully so that nothing goes to waste.

Literal Translation

Before to-cut of fabric the seamstress, measure first she well the body of client so that none go-to-waste.

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

tabas has 2 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.