Maia

Learn Tagalog.

A structured course in Tagalog built for its real challenges -- the focus-based verb system, complex affixation, and the gap between textbook Tagalog and how people actually speak.

Start your Tagalog course

Why Tagalog

Tagalog is the foundation of Filipino, the national language of the Philippines, spoken by over 80 million people and understood by many more across one of the world's largest diaspora communities. If you have Filipino family, friends, or colleagues, learning Tagalog is one of the most direct ways to deepen those relationships.

Tagalog's grammar is genuinely different from English -- not harder, but organized around different priorities. Its verb system signals something English doesn't: which part of the sentence is in focus. Learning Tagalog means learning to think about actions and their participants in a new way.

What makes Tagalog challenging — and how Maia helps

The focus system

Tagalog verbs mark which noun in the sentence is the topic -- the actor, the object, the location, or the beneficiary. This has no English equivalent. Maia devotes multiple lessons to building an intuitive sense of focus through conversation practice.

Affixation

Tagalog builds words by stacking prefixes, infixes, and suffixes onto roots. The root "lakad" (walk) becomes "maglakad," "nilakad," "lakaran." Maia teaches affix patterns systematically so you decode new words instead of memorizing each one.

Textbook vs. actual speech

Formal Tagalog and conversational Tagalog differ considerably. People drop pronouns, mix in English (Taglish), and use particles that textbooks skip. Maia teaches natural, everyday Tagalog.

Respectful language

Tagalog has particles and forms that mark respect -- po, opo, and certain pronoun choices. Maia teaches these in cultural context, not as vocabulary items to memorize.

What your course includes

  • •Conversational lessons covering pronunciation through complex sentences
  • •AI podcast episodes mixing Tagalog and English naturally
  • •Exercises for verb focus, affixation, and sentence construction
  • •Spaced repetition for vocabulary and grammar patterns
  • •Adaptive curriculum based on your pace

Sample lesson topics

  1. 1.Pronunciation and greetings: kumusta, salamat, and everyday phrases
  2. 2.Sentence basics: ang, ng, and sa -- how Tagalog marks roles
  3. 3.The focus system, part 1: actor focus with mag- verbs
  4. 4.Everyday conversations: questions, needs, and Taglish
  5. 5.The focus system, part 2: object and location focus
  6. 6.Making plans: telling time, dates, and future actions
Start learning Tagalog

Free to start. No credit card required.