Colors, weather, and clothing — describing the world around you
With your grammar toolkit in place, it's time to add the everyday words that make conversations come alive. This lesson gives you three practical bundles — colors, weather, and clothing — so you can describe what you see, comment on the day, and talk about what people are wearing. These are pure vocabulary you'll use constantly.
1. Mga Kulay — Colors
Tagalog
English
pula
red
asul
blue
dilaw
yellow
berde
green
puti
white
itim
black
kahel
orange
kulay-rosas
pink
Anong kulay ito? — Pula ito. (What color is this? — It's red.)
Asul ang langit. (The sky is blue.)
Gusto ko ang berdeng damit. (I like the green dress.) — note the linker -ng
Tip: to say "the color ___," you can put kulay in front — kulay pula (red-colored), kulay asul (blue-colored). Handy when a color has no single short word.
2. Ang Panahon — Weather
Many weather words are just ma- adjectives (Lesson 7) built on a noun — araw (sun) → maaraw (sunny):
Tagalog
English
mainit
hot
malamig
cold / cool
maaraw
sunny
maulan
rainy
umuulan
it's raining
bagyo
storm / typhoon
tag-init
hot/dry season
tag-ulan
rainy season
Kumusta ang panahon? — Mainit ngayon. (How's the weather? — It's hot today.)
Umuulan, magdala ka ng payong. (It's raining, bring an umbrella.)
May bagyo daw bukas. (There's a storm tomorrow, they say.)
Two seasons, not four: the Philippines has tag-init (the hot, dry season) and tag-ulan (the rainy season) — so weather talk usually centers on heat and rain.
3. Mga Damit — Clothing
Tagalog
English
damit
clothes / dress
kamiseta
shirt / t-shirt
pantalon
pants / trousers
sapatos
shoes
medyas
socks
sombrero
hat
bestida
dress
palda
skirt
Bago ang sapatos ko. (My shoes are new.)
Ano ang suot mo? (What are you wearing?) — suot = worn/wearing
Suot niya ang pulang kamiseta. (He's wearing the red shirt.)
Putting It Together
Notice how these bundles combine with grammar you already know — colors describe clothing with the linker, and weather uses ma- adjectives and the may from Lesson 10:
Gusto ko ng asul na pantalon. (I want blue pants.)
Malamig ngayon, magsuot ka ng jacket. (It's cold today, wear a jacket.)
May puting sombrero siya. (She has a white hat.)
Practice — Describe It
Exercise 1: Name the color
Fill in the Tagalog color:
"The sky is blue." → "_____ ang langit." (Answer: asul)
"It's red." → "_____ ito." (Answer: pula)
"I like the green dress." → "Gusto ko ang _____ng damit." (Answer: berde)
Exercise 2: What's the weather?
Fill with mainit, malamig, or umuulan:
"It's hot today." → "_____ ngayon." (Answer: mainit)
"It's raining." → "_____." (Answer: umuulan)
"It's cold, wear a jacket." → "_____, magsuot ka ng jacket." (Answer: malamig)
Exercise 3: Clothing
Fill in the clothing word:
"My shoes are new." → "Bago ang _____ ko." (Answer: sapatos)
"He's wearing a red shirt." → "Suot niya ang pulang _____." (Answer: kamiseta)
Why This Lesson Matters
Colors, weather, and clothing are the small-talk backbone — you'll comment on the rain, ask a price for the blue shirt, describe someone in a crowd. These everyday words plug straight into the grammar you've built, so each one instantly becomes dozens of sentences. Next: the body, health, and the calendar — the words for taking care of yourself and keeping track of the days.