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Stress and Accent Marks in Filipino Words

Mark Complete

When you listen to Filipino words, you should pay attention not only to the sounds of each letter, but also to where the stress or emphasis lies in a word.

This is an essential part of learning the Filipino language for two reasons:

 
1.) Changing where the stress is in a word will sometimes change the meaning of the word.

 
2.) By putting the stress on the wrong syllable, you make it a lot harder for native Filipino speakers to understand what you're saying.


How the Accent Marks Work:

Accent marks written over vowels are used to indicate the syllable that is stressed in each Filipino word, so you can learn how to say the a properly. The rest of this page will explain how to interpret those accent marks correctly.

The accent mark system explained here is the official accenting system of the Tagalog/Filipino language for educational materials. Other resources may use a different accent mark systems, but we feel the official system is the best and most practical for students to learn.

This website also underlines stressed vowels to make things especially clear, even though this is not part of the standard accent mark system.

Please note that accent marks are not used most in non-educational Filipino written materials. If you pick up a newspaper or a novel written in Filipino, for example, you won't see these accent marks. Language students need accent marks, but fluent Filipino speakers do not.

As a side note: you really shouldn't try to learn the Filipino language from educational materials that don't include accent/stress marks! If you do, you'll end up learning how to pronounce words incorrectly, and you'll have to endure the unpleasant task of unlearning and relearning all the words you thought you once knew.


The Default Stress Syllable

According to standard Filipino accent mark rules, accent marks are not written if the 2nd-to-the-last syllable is the one that is stressed. This is referred to as the Default Stress Syllable. The marks are omitted in this case because the 2nd-to-the-last syllable is the one that is most commonly stressed, and by leaving the mark off in those cases it simplifies the writing of stress marks significantly. So, if we talk about the "Default Stress", we're talking about stressing the 2nd-to-the-last syllable; and in that case, the accent mark is usually omitted / not written.


The Three Types of Accent Marks:

The ˊ Accent Mark
Trivia:
The root word of pahilís is “hilís,” which means “slanted”

This accent mark is known as a pahilís and is a slanted accent mark that leans up and to the right. It is written above vowels, and indicates that the syllable under the mark should be stressed.

If you don't see a pahilís mark on a word on this web site, you should assume that the "Default Stress Syllable" is the one that is stressed (the 2nd-to-last syllable).

Markup
Examples:
malamíg Play audio #369
malamíg (stress on last syllable)
hapág Play audio #634Play audio #869
hapág (stress on last syllable)
Sábado Play audio #5943
Sábado (stress on first syllable)
magandá Play audio #313
magandá (stress on last syllable)
kuya Play audio #622Play audio #862
kuya (stress on first syllable. Note that the pahilis mark is missing because the accented syllable is the 2nd-to-the-last syllable.)
+ more examples
Hunyo Play audio #5951
Hunyo (stress on first syllable. Note that the pahilis mark is missing because the accented syllable is the 2nd-to-the-last syllable.)
kapatíd Play audio #631Play audio #865
kapatíd (stress on last syllable)
ate Play audio #621Play audio #863
ate (stress on first syllable. Note that the pahilis mark is missing because the accented syllable is the 2nd-to-the-last syllable.)
bahay Play audio #18151
bahay (stress on first syllable. Note that the pahilis mark is missing because the accented syllable is the 2nd-to-the-last syllable.)
pribiléhiyo Play audio #1043
pribiléhiyo (stress on third syllable)
Markup
Examples:
malamig Play audio #369
malamig (stress on last syllable)
hapag Play audio #634Play audio #869
hapag (stress on last syllable)
Sabado Play audio #5943
Sabado (stress on first syllable)
maganda Play audio #313
maganda (stress on last syllable)
kuya Play audio #622Play audio #862
kuya (stress on first syllable. Note that the pahilis mark is missing because the accented syllable is the 2nd-to-the-last syllable.)
+ more examples
Hunyo Play audio #5951
Hunyo (stress on first syllable. Note that the pahilis mark is missing because the accented syllable is the 2nd-to-the-last syllable.)
kapatid Play audio #631Play audio #865
kapatid (stress on last syllable)
ate Play audio #621Play audio #863
ate (stress on first syllable. Note that the pahilis mark is missing because the accented syllable is the 2nd-to-the-last syllable.)
bahay Play audio #18151
bahay (stress on first syllable. Note that the pahilis mark is missing because the accented syllable is the 2nd-to-the-last syllable.)
pribilehiyo Play audio #1043
pribilehiyo (stress on third syllable)
The ˋ Accent Mark
Trivia:
Paiwà came from the word “iwa” or “hiwa” that literally means “cut” or “slash”

This accent mark is known as a paiwà and is a slanted accent mark that leans down and to the right.

This mark signifies two things: 1.) That the vowel the accent mark is over should not be stressed but that it should be "cut short." This is known as a "stop" (or "glottal stop"). It's the same sound you make between syllables in English when you say "uh-oh". This is really best understood by listening to example audio clips included below. 2.) This accent mark also means the vowel immediately before the paiwa mark is the stressed syllable.

Markup
Examples:
pu Play audio #405Play audio #870
puno` (stress on 2nd-to-last syllable + glottal stop on last syllable)
ba Play audio #613Play audio #871
bata` (stress on 2nd-to-last syllable + glottal stop on last syllable)
lu Play audio #286Play audio #872
luto` (stress on 2nd-to-last syllable + glottal stop on last syllable)
tu Play audio #608Play audio #873
tuta` (stress on 2nd-to-last syllable + glottal stop on last syllable)
+ more examples
kandi Play audio #609Play audio #874
kandila` (stress on 2nd-to-last syllable + glottal stop on last syllable)
diwa Play audio #1097Play audio #1114
diwata` (stress on 2nd-to-last syllable + glottal stop on last syllable)
la Play audio #8332Play audio #1113
labi` (stress on 2nd-to-last syllable + glottal stop on last syllable)
su Play audio #351Play audio #1112
susi` (stress on 2nd-to-last syllable + glottal stop on last syllable)
si Play audio #578Play audio #1111
sipa` (stress on 2nd-to-last syllable + glottal stop on last syllable)
mala Play audio #981Play audio #1110
malabo` (stress on 2nd-to-last syllable + glottal stop on last syllable)
Markup
Examples:
puno Play audio #405Play audio #870
puno (stress on 2nd-to-last syllable + glottal stop on last syllable)
bata Play audio #613Play audio #871
bata (stress on 2nd-to-last syllable + glottal stop on last syllable)
luto Play audio #286Play audio #872
luto (stress on 2nd-to-last syllable + glottal stop on last syllable)
tuta Play audio #608Play audio #873
tuta (stress on 2nd-to-last syllable + glottal stop on last syllable)
+ more examples
kandila Play audio #609Play audio #874
kandila (stress on 2nd-to-last syllable + glottal stop on last syllable)
diwata Play audio #1097Play audio #1114
diwata (stress on 2nd-to-last syllable + glottal stop on last syllable)
labi Play audio #8332Play audio #1113
labi (stress on 2nd-to-last syllable + glottal stop on last syllable)
susi Play audio #351Play audio #1112
susi (stress on 2nd-to-last syllable + glottal stop on last syllable)
sipa Play audio #578Play audio #1111
sipa (stress on 2nd-to-last syllable + glottal stop on last syllable)
malabo Play audio #981Play audio #1110
malabo (stress on 2nd-to-last syllable + glottal stop on last syllable)
The ˆ Accent Mark
Trivia:
Pakupyâ is derived from the word “kupya*” which is a type of traditional hat in the Philippines

The pakupyâ stress mark indicates that the last syllable of a word must both be stressed and have a stop.

Markup
Examples:
punô Play audio #600Play audio #882
punô (stress and glottal stop on last syllable)
tulâ Play audio #605Play audio #881
tulâ (stress and glottal stop on last syllable)
pulô Play audio #607Play audio #877
pulô (stress and glottal stop on last syllable)
hindî Play audio #603Play audio #880
hindî (stress and glottal stop on last syllable)
+ more examples
tukô Play audio #601Play audio #878
tukô (stress and glottal stop on last syllable)
matandâ Play audio #704Play audio #1206
matandâ (stress and glottal stop on last syllable)
parihabâ Play audio #686 Play audio #1205
parihabâ (stress and glottal stop on last syllable)
mulî Play audio #762Play audio #1204
mulî (stress and glottal stop on last syllable)
labî Play audio #777Play audio #1115
labî (stress and glottal stop on last syllable)
talâ Play audio #619Play audio #886
talâ (stress and glottal stop on last syllable)
Markup
Examples:
puno Play audio #600Play audio #882
puno (stress and glottal stop on last syllable)
tula Play audio #605Play audio #881
tula (stress and glottal stop on last syllable)
pulo Play audio #607Play audio #877
pulo (stress and glottal stop on last syllable)
hindi Play audio #603Play audio #880
hindi (stress and glottal stop on last syllable)
+ more examples
tuko Play audio #601Play audio #878
tuko (stress and glottal stop on last syllable)
matanda Play audio #704Play audio #1206
matanda (stress and glottal stop on last syllable)
parihaba Play audio #686 Play audio #1205
parihaba (stress and glottal stop on last syllable)
muli Play audio #762Play audio #1204
muli (stress and glottal stop on last syllable)
labi Play audio #777Play audio #1115
labi (stress and glottal stop on last syllable)
tala Play audio #619Play audio #886
tala (stress and glottal stop on last syllable)

Definitions Change When The Stress Is Changed

There are many Filipino words that have the same spellings, but have different meanings depending on where the stress is located.
Markup
Examples:
pu - tree Play audio #598Play audio #870
punô - full Play audio #600Play audio #882
basa - read Play audio #595Play audio #887
basâ - wet Play audio #596Play audio #888
ta - star Play audio #593Play audio #885
talâ - to record Play audio #594Play audio #886
+ more examples
uhaw - thirst Play audio #628Play audio #883
uháw - thirsty Play audio #629Play audio #884
pito - whistle Play audio #630Play audio #890
pitó - seven Play audio #889Play audio #6704
Markup
Examples:
puno - tree Play audio #598Play audio #870
puno - full Play audio #600Play audio #882
basa - read Play audio #595Play audio #887
basa - wet Play audio #596Play audio #888
tala - star Play audio #593Play audio #885
tala - to record Play audio #594Play audio #886
+ more examples
uhaw - thirst Play audio #628Play audio #883
uhaw - thirsty Play audio #629Play audio #884
pito - whistle Play audio #630Play audio #890
pito - seven Play audio #889Play audio #6704

Mark Complete

Next: Stress and Accent Marks Multiple Choice

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