basketbol
/ˈbasketbol/
The Tagalog word for basketball is basketbol.
basketbol refers to the sport of basketball.
Meaning: the sport (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word is a loanword from the English 'basketball', adapted to Tagalog orthography.
How does it change in a sentence?
To refer to a person who plays basketball, you can use the noun basketbolista. If you want to express the action of playing the sport, use the verb phrase maglaro ng basketbol.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈbasketbol/
Did you know?
- In the Philippines, you will often find basketbol hoops improvised from scrap wood and recycled rims in the smallest village alleys, known as 'barangays'.
- The suffix '-ista' in basketbolista is not native to Tagalog but was adopted from Spanish to create nouns for people who perform specific activities.
- The 'basket' part of basketbol traces its distant roots back to the Proto-Celtic word *baskis.
Examples in context
- Coach ako dati ng basketbol.I used to be a basketball coach.This sentence is useful for talking about being a former basketball coach.Tatoeba #11902371 by qwertzu, translation #6810529 by CK
- Hindi ako masyadong magaling sa basketbol.I'm not very good at basketball.This sentence is useful for describing one's skill level at basketball.Tatoeba #11464202 by qwertzu, translation #5804103 by CK
- Hindi masyadong magaling maglaro ng basketbol si TomTom isn't very good at playing basketball.This sentence is useful for describing someone else's ability to play basketball.Tatoeba #13823041 by kangkong, translation #6125511 by CK
- Tara, maglaro tayo ng bola!Let's play ball!
- 17 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Maria and Ricardo are talking about their favorite sports.
- MariaMahilig ka ba maglaro ng basketbol?Do you like playing basketball?
- RicardoOo, paborito kong sport ang basketbol.Yes, basketball is my favorite sport.
- MariaSaan ka madalas maglaro ng basketbol?Where do you usually play basketball?
- RicardoNaglalaro ako ng basketbol sa parke.I play basketball at the park.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “basketball” translations and entries basketbol, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries basketbol, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
