estudyante
/ʔestudˈjante/
In Filipino, the English word "student" can be translated as estudyante or mag-aaral.
Meaning: person enrolled at a school, university or other education institution (noun)
Ways to say it
| Filipino | IPA |
|---|---|
| estudyante | /ʔestudˈjante/ (Standard Tagalog) /studˈjante/ (Standard Tagalog) |
| mag-aaral | /maɡʔaˈʔaɾal/ /maɡˌʔaˈʔaɾal/ |
Both terms refer to a person enrolled at a school, university or other educational institution.
What does it mean word for word?
The term mag-aaral is derived from the root aral, meaning "study", combined with the prefix mag-, which indicates a person performing an action. Therefore, it literally means "one who studies".
Which one should you use?
While both words mean student, mag-aaral is the more formal or academic term, frequently appearing in news, textbooks or official school documents.
How does it change in a sentence?
To make either estudyante or mag-aaral plural, add the particle mga before the word, resulting in mga estudyante or mga mag-aaral.
How do you pronounce it?
/ʔestudˈjante/
Did you know?
- The root aral in mag-aaral is believed to have evolved from the Sanskrit word ācārya, meaning teacher.
- In the Philippines, students often use the English word 'student' in casual conversation, creating a trilingual mix of Filipino, Spanish and English.
- The formal term mag-aaral uses a linguistic process called 'reduplication', where the first syllable of the root word 'aral' is repeated to form the word.
Examples in context
- Hayskul na estudyante siya.He's a high school student.This sentence uses estudyante to describe a high school student.Tatoeba #1865120 by nonong, translation #521976 by CK
- Mabuting estudyante si John.John is a good student.This sentence uses estudyante to describe a good student.Tatoeba #5214004 by kanlaon, translation #52725 by CN
- Nasa silid-aralan ang mag-aaral.The student is in the classroom.This sentence uses mag-aaral to indicate a student is in the classroom.Tatoeba #5296235 by katalex, translation #5294789 by JGWS
- Ang mga mag-aaral ay mahalaga sa lipunan.Students are important in society.
- Bilang mag-aaral, dapat maging masinop sa pag-aaral.As a student, one should be diligent in studying.
- Sino ang mga estudyante na kasama mo sa paaralan?Who are the students you're with in school?
- Paborito kong asignatura bilang estudyante ay Sining.My favorite subject as a student is Art.
- 20 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Angela and Antonio meet for the first time at a cafe.
- AngelaKumusta! Estudyante ka rin ba rito?Hello! Are you also a student here?
- AntonioOo, first year estudyante ako ng nursing.Yes, I am a first year nursing student.
- AngelaPareho tayo, estudyante rin ako ng nursing.We are the same, I am also a nursing student.
- AntonioMabuti naman at may nakilala akong kapwa estudyante.It's good that I met a fellow student.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “student” translations and entries estudyante, mag-aaral, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries estudyante, mag-aaral, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
