maintindihan
/maʔintindiˈhan/
To understand in Tagalog is to say maintindihan. Wiktionary also lists batirin.
Meaning: to grasp the meaning of (verb)
Ways to say it
| Tagalog | IPA |
|---|---|
| maintindihan | /maʔintindiˈhan/ (Standard Tagalog) /ˌmaʔintindiˈhan/ (regional) |
| batirin |
The verb is used to express the act of grasping the meaning of something or someone.
What does it mean word for word?
The prefix ma- in maintindihan indicates the ability or possibility to understand.
Which one should you use?
While maintindihan focuses on the ability to understand, unawain is a more formal term used for deep comprehension or empathy.
How does it change in a sentence?
The form naiintindihan is used to express the present tense or the ongoing state of understanding.
How do you pronounce it?
/maʔintindiˈhan/
Did you know?
- In casual conversation, Filipinos often use the English word 'get' as a loanword to express understanding, such as asking Gets mo? to mean 'Do you get it?'
- The word maintindihan is a linguistic traveler that arrived in the Philippines via Spanish entender, which originally came from the Latin intendere.
- Tagalog utilizes 'focus' grammar, meaning the form of the verb changes depending on whether the 'person understanding' or the 'thing being understood' is the subject of the sentence.
Examples in context
- Hindi nila maintindihan ang Pranses.They didn't understand French.This sentence shows how to express a lack of understanding regarding a language using maintindihan.Tatoeba #8635678 by artemio, translation #8415710 by CK
- Anong sinasabi mo? Di ko maintindihan!What are you saying? I don't understand!This sentence is useful for expressing a sudden lack of understanding of what someone is saying using maintindihan.Tatoeba #1708265 by nonong, translation #9795879 by eleutherothentes1
- Kung minsan, hindi ko siya maintindihan.I don't understand him sometimes.This sentence demonstrates using maintindihan to describe a difficulty in understanding a person.Tatoeba #1607452 by nonong, translation #716115 by papabear
- 12 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Mark and Maria are discussing a difficult book in a cafe.
- MarkMaintindihan mo ba ang libro?Do you understand the book?
- MariaHindi ko maintindihan ang kwento.I cannot understand the story.
- MarkMasyadong malalim ang mga salita.The words are too deep.
- MariaOo, mahirap talaga maintindihan ito.Yes, it is really hard to understand this.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “understand” translations and entries maintindihan, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries maintindihan, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
