Learn Tagalog here!

He called me his coworker three months ago. Now he's my boyfriend — and he's learning how to say "I love you" in Tagalog. In this episode of Tagalog Tea Time, I teach my boyfriend Michael (Sri Lankan, raised in Dubai, now living in Thailand) the most romantic Tagalog words and phrases — from "Mahal kita" to "Aking Sinta" — and we talk about what dating across cultures actually looks like. We also dig into traditional Filipino courtship (ligaw, harana, asking the parents), Tagalog grammar quirks like turning English words into verbs, and end with a real Tagalog dialogue straight from the Ling app.

If you're dating a Filipina, married to one, or just curious about how romance sounds in Tagalog — this one's for you.

Tara let's!

Learn Tagalog here ➡️ https://ling-app.onelink.me/Ue3y/3qut1n5r

Why do Filipinos switch between English and Tagalog mid-sentence? In this episode of Tagalog Tea Time, Kloe and Melissa break down Taglish — the everyday blend of English and Tagalog that powers conversations across the Philippines.From counting money in English to dreaming in Tagalog, from "conyo" stereotypes to workplace code-switching, this is a real, unscripted look at what it actually means to grow up bilingual (and sometimes trilingual) in the Philippines.T

Tara let's!

Our first Filipino-Indonesian language video hit 10.1 million views on TikTok. This is the deeper conversation behind it.

Kloe (🇵🇭) and Asa (🇮🇩) are back for Part 2 of Tagalog Tea Time —

unpacking why two countries that aren't even next to each other ended up with languages that sound like cousins. From Austronesian migration and Malay trade routes to the curse words you only learn from playing Roblox with Southeast Asians, this episode covers the cultural and linguistic ground a textbook can't.

Tara let's!

In this episode:

- Why Filipino and Indonesian sound so similar (it's older than you think)

- Counting 1–10 in Tagalog, Indonesian, and Javanese — and what the numbers reveal

- How prefixes and suffixes work the same way in both languages

- The "sayang" problem — one word, two completely different meanings

- Curse words, fanfiction vocabulary, and Roblox slang

- A live Tagalog immersion read-through where Asa hunts for Indonesian cognates

- Why Filipinos and Indonesians always seem to click

Whether you're Filipino curious about Indonesian, Indonesian curious about Filipino, or just here for the language nerdery — pull up a chair.

-

Tagalog Tea Time is the official podcast of Ling, a language learning app for the languages most apps ignore — Tagalog, Indonesian, Javanese, Thai, Khmer, Burmese, and 60+ more. Lessons are written by native speakers, including Asa herself.

—

Chapters:

00:00 We're back (and our first video hit 10.1M views)

01:50 Why Filipino and Indonesian sound similar

04:15 Indonesia has 700+ languages

06:30 Language vs dialect

07:55 Counting in Tagalog, Indonesian & Javanese

12:30 Learning languages through Roblox

14:00 K-pop fanfiction vocabulary

16:00 The two meanings of "sayang"

17:30 Curse words: bobo, tolol, babi

20:00 What's a "bebot"?

23:30 How word conjugation works

26:00 The kantut moment

28:30 Why Filipinos and Indonesians get along

32:00 Tagalog immersion challenge

36:30 Outro

An Indonesian speaker told her Filipino colleague "Aku suka kamu" — and accidentally said "I vomit you." 😂 That's the magic of Tagalog and Indonesian: two languages with the same Austronesian roots, hundreds of shared words, and some very dangerous false friends.Join Kloe (native Tagalog speaker) and Monika (Indonesian learning Tagalog) as they break down the real similarities and differences between Filipino and Indonesian — words, culture, and everything in between.

Tara let's!

Filipino dating has its own vocabulary, and most of it didn't come from a textbook.

Ligaw is the old art of courting someone, sometimes by literally serenading them outside their window. MU means "mutual understanding," that situationship phase before anyone dares say the words boyfriend or girlfriend.

In this episode, Kloe shares the phrases Filipinos actually use when flirting, crushing, and catching feelings, plus the cultural rules that still shape dating today.

Tara let's, maglambingan na tayo!

Some feelings only exist in Tagalog.

Gigil is the urge to squeeze something unbearably cute, like a chubby baby's cheeks. Tampo is that quiet sulking when someone hurts your feelings but you refuse to say why.

In this episode, Kloe unpacks the Tagalog words that English borrows awkwardly or can't say at all, with stories from growing up in Manila that show you exactly when Filipinos reach for them. Learn the words, feel the culture, and start noticing gigil in your own life.

Tara let's!

Kumusta!

It's the first word every Tagalog learner hears, and it already has a secret: it came from the Spanish ¿cómo está? and Filipinos made it our own.

In this episode, Kloe walks you through the greetings she actually uses in Manila, from magandang umaga to the casual ba-bye! you'll hear between friends. You'll learn how to say hello, ask how someone is, and respond naturally with lessons you won't find in a textbook.

Slow paced, beginner friendly, and ready for your first real conversation.

Tara let's!