Skip to content

usad

usád with stress marks

slow movement forward; crawl

noun verb u-SAD Native origin Less Common

Usage Note

Usad describes very slow, deliberate forward movement — like a snail's crawl or bumper-to-bumper traffic inching along. The phrase 'pag-usad' captures gradual progress, and it is frequently used in traffic reports and expressions of frustration with slow pace.

Examples

Beginner

" Mabagal ang usad ng kotse. "

Natural Translation

The car moves slowly.

Literal Translation

Slow the crawl of car.

Intermediate

" Mabagal ang usad ng trapiko ngayon. "

Natural Translation

The movement of traffic is slow today.

Literal Translation

Slow the crawl of traffic today.

Advanced

" Ganoon na lang kabagal ang usad ng trapiko kaya naabutan kami ng dilim sa daan. "

Natural Translation

The traffic was crawling so slowly that nightfall caught us on the road.

Literal Translation

That-just slow the crawl of traffic so caught us by darkness on road.

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

Actor Focus Verbs

Explore Tagalog by topic

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