Asking people to do things — from blunt to beautifully polite
You can ask about things now (Lesson 13). This lesson lets you ask people to do things — pass the salt, close the door, help you, wait a moment. Tagalog has a lovely built-in "politeness dial," and the single most useful tool on it is the little prefix paki-, which turns almost any verb into "please do it."
1. Plain Commands
A direct command uses the verb's command form plus ka (you, the doer) or mo (you, when the focus is the thing acted on):
Careful: a bare command can sound bossy. To a stranger or elder you'll almost always soften it — that's what the rest of this lesson is for.
2. paki- — the "please do" prefix
Attach paki- to the front of a verb and you've made a polite request. The doer, if named, is mo:
Pakisara ang pinto. (Please close the door.)
Pakiabot mo ang asin. (Please pass the salt.)
Pakibuksan mo ang bintana. (Please open the window.)
Pakitulungan mo ako. (Please help me.)
Add po for respect and nga to soften even further:
Pakiabot po ng tubig. (Please pass some water — respectful.)
Pakisara nga ang pinto. (Please do close the door — gentle.)
3. Asking Permission & Favors
To ask whether you may do something, reach back for pwede / maaari (Lesson 11) plus ba:
Pwede ba akong humingi ng tubig? (May I ask for some water?)
Pwede bang pakibuksan ang bintana? (Could you please open the window?)
Maaari po bang makiraan? (May I please pass through? — formal)
Handy openers that mean "excuse me / sorry":
Phrase
Use
Paumanhin po
Excuse me (formal, getting attention)
Pasensya na po
Sorry / pardon me
Sandali lang po
Just a moment, please
Pakiusap
Please / a request (I'm asking a favor)
4. Telling Someone NOT To — huwag
The negative command comes straight from Lesson 12: use huwag, never hindi, for "don't."
Huwag kang umalis. (Don't leave.)
Huwag mong isara ang pinto. (Don't close the door.)
Huwag po. (Please don't. — respectful)
The Politeness Dial
The same request — "close the door" — climbs from blunt to very polite. Pick the rung that fits the person:
graph TD
A[Isara mo ang pinto. Close the door. — blunt] --> B[Isara mo nga ang pinto. + nga — a bit softer]
B --> C[Pakisara ang pinto. paki- — please]
C --> D[Pakisara po ang pinto. + po — respectful]
D --> E[Pwede po bang pakisara ang pinto? pwede + po — most polite]
style A fill:#d63031,color:#fff
style B fill:#e17055,color:#fff
style C fill:#fdcb6e,color:#111
style D fill:#00b894,color:#fff
style E fill:#0984e3,color:#fff
And don't forget to close with salamat (thank you) — Filipinos almost always do.
Practice — Make the Ask
Exercise 1: Add the paki- request
Complete the polite request (write just the missing word):
"Please pass the salt." → "_____ mo ang asin." (Answer: pakiabot)
"Please close the door." → "_____ ang pinto." (Answer: pakisara)
"Please help me." → "_____ mo ako." (Answer: pakitulungan)
Exercise 2: Command or "don't"?
Fill with ka, mo, or huwag:
"Sit down." → "Umupo _____." (Answer: ka)
"Eat it." → "Kainin _____." (Answer: mo)
"Don't leave." → "_____ kang umalis." (Answer: huwag)
Exercise 3: Ask permission politely
Fill in the blank:
"May I ask for water?" → "_____ ba akong humingi ng tubig?" (Answer: pwede)
"Excuse me (formal)." → "_____ po." (Answer: paumanhin)
In Filipino culture, how you ask matters as much as what you ask. The same words with paki-, po, and a smile open doors that a blunt command would close. You now have the full range — from a quick Tara na! among friends to a gracious Pwede po bang… with an elder. Together with question words, you can drive a whole conversation: ask about anything, and ask anyone to do anything, kindly.