How to Say "Sauce" in Tagalog

sarsa

/ˈsaɾsa/

In Tagalog, the English word "sauce" is translated as sarsa.

sarsa refers to a liquid condiment. Note that if you are specifically referring to soy sauce, the Tagalog word is toyo.

Meaning: liquid condiment (noun)

What does it mean word for word?

sarsa is a loanword from the Spanish word salsa, meaning sauce.

While sarsa refers to a cooked sauce, sawsawan is the term used for a dipping sauce or condiment used at the table.

To make the noun plural, add the marker mga before the word.

/ˈsaɾsa/

The Tagalog sarsa is a linguistic relative of the English word 'salary', as both derive from the Latin word for salt.
In the Philippines, the concept of a sawsawan is a communal social ritual where diners customize their own flavor profiles to balance the taste of the main dish.
While sarsa refers to the sauce itself, the word sawsawan describes both the dipping sauce and the small bowl it is served in.

Hinanda niya ang sarsang bluberi para bigyan ng lasa ang lutong pato.
He prepared the blueberry sauce with which to flavor the duck.
This sentence shows how to use sarsa when describing a blueberry sauce for duck.
Tatoeba #1854787 by nonong, translation #2283174 by ichivivi20
Ang sarsa ay mahalaga sa pagpapalasa ng mga pagkain.
Sauce is important in flavoring dishes.
Ihain mo na ang inihaw na isda kasama ang iba't ibang sawsawan.
Serve the grilled fish with various sauces.
Ang sarsa ay masyadong maalat.
The sauce is too salty.

Mark and Angela are eating dinner together.

Sources

Wiktionary, “sauce” translations and entries sarsa, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
Word origins: Wiktionary entries sarsa, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.

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