Question: What’s the difference between “kung” and “kapa

di ko alam kaibigan, gusto natututo ako rin!

Yes, both of them do have that “if” meaning, which stipulates a condition. However, “kung” is just “if” that is purely conditional while “kapág (some might say it as kapagkâ)” is used to mean “when” or “if and when”, i.e., there is some degree of certainty that the conditional event is likely to happen.“Kung” is like saying “if/in case something happens...” and “kapag/kapagka” is like saying “when/once something happens...”. That difference can have an effect on the verb conjugation that will be used with it. Ex.KUNG UUWÍ ka nang maaga, ibili mo akó ng sandwich sa McDonald’s. = IF/IN CASE you WILL GO HOME early, buy me a sandwich at McDonald’s. - The condition is that it has to be “early”.KAPÁG UMUWÍ ka, ibili mo ako ng sandwich sa McDonald’s. = WHEN you GO HOME, buy me a sandwich at McDonald’s. - The condition only is that it has to be done on one’s way home since “going home” is expected to happen regardless of the time.

Just to make my earlier response clearer. Here's another example using both words with reference to the same condition.KUNG ÚULAN bukas, huwág tayong lumabás. = IF/IN CASE IT WOULD RAIN tomorrow, let’s not go out. KAPAG UMULÁN bukas, huwág tayong lumabas. = IF AND WHEN IT RAINS tomorrow, let’s not go out. - Kapag is used here because in the past days it had rained quite often. Hence the probability of rain again tomorrow exists.

@Juantutri Thank you. This helps. I also read ”kung” is used before who, what, when, where, why, how phrases. Halimbawa, hindi ko alam kung paano gamitin ito. Tama ba? Is it always kung? Never kapag? Also, is the phrase, “kung hindi lang” mean: if it weren’t for?It seems kapag is used when there is a higher probability …di ba?

@Alexbradfield Oo, tama ‘yun. (Yes, that’s right.)It is always “kung” and never “kapag” because “kung” there means something else.When a Tagalog sentence contains a phrase that begins with an interrogative pronoun (who, what, where, etc.), “kung” is REQUIRED before that pronoun. In such sentences “kung” functions as the preposition “as to/about” and not the conjunction “if”.Hindi ko alám KUNG PAANO gamitin itó. = I don’t know (AS TO) HOW to use this.Alam mo ba KUNG SINO siyá? = Do you know (AS TO) WHO he is?Hindi nila alám KUNG KANINONG libró ‘yan. = They don’t know (AS TO) WHOSE book that is. (“Kaninong” is “kanino na” where “na” links “whose” to “book” since the ownership of the book is the concern). KUNG ANÓ ang sinabi niya, hindi ko sasabihin sa iyo. = (ABOUT) WHAT she told me, I won’t tell you.

Tinanóng ako ni John KUNG BAKIT hindi mo na siya kinakausap. = John asked me (ABOUT) WHY you are no longer talking to him. Yes, it does, but it might be better to use the literal translation of “kung hindi lang (if not only)” as your guide when using it. Translating it as “if it weren’t for” would be a grammatically correct translation, but may only be applicable to a particular Tagalog sentence. Thinking of it instead as the raw “if not only” might make it more adaptable or adjustable to whatever should be its appropriate English translation.For example:
Kung hindi lang kita kaibigan, sinakál na kita. 😅 = IF IT WEREN’T FOR the fact that you are my friend, I would have already strangled you. -> IF ONLY you were NOT my friend, I would ... Oo. The probability of the “if” happening is more likely when we use “kapag”. That’s why it is more of the “when” than the “if” in “if and when”.

@Juantutri wow wow! Maraming Salamat! Malinaw !

@Alexbradfield Mabuhay! “Kung” is more like “if”, whereas “kapag” is more like “when”. This indicates that “kapag” is used for situations that are likely to happen. Hope that clears things out.