Skip to content

tapang-tapangan

pretending to be brave

adjective ta-pang-ta-PA-ngan DERIVED Less Common

From root: tapang

Usage Note

Tapang-tapangan implies a false front or facade of courage, often used in a mocking way.

Examples

Beginner

" Tapang-tapangan lang ang bata. "

Natural Translation

The child is just pretending to be brave.

Literal Translation

Pretending-to-be-brave just the child.

Intermediate

" Tapang-tapangan lang ang lalaki. "

Natural Translation

The man is just pretending to be brave.

Literal Translation

Pretending-to-be-brave just the man.

Advanced

" Tapang-tapangan lang siya sa harap ng iba, pero natatakot pala talaga kapag mag-isa na sa bahay. "

Natural Translation

He just pretends to be brave in front of others, but he is actually scared when he is alone at home.

Literal Translation

Pretending-to-be-brave just he in front of others, but scared apparently really when alone already in house.

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

tapang has 5 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.