ENGLISH
REFERENCE

filipino

n. countable
A2 Elementary US //ˌfɪɫəˈpinoʊ// fil·ipino Archaic
Definition

n. a person from the Philippines or a citizen of that country.

n. a native or inhabitant of the Philippines, or a person of Filipino descent.


SIMPLE

My friend is a Filipino who lives in Manila.

CONTEXTUAL

The local community center is hosting an event to celebrate Filipino culture and history this weekend.

COMPLEX

As a proud Filipino, she often shares traditional recipes and stories from her childhood in Quezon City with her colleagues.

Origin

From Spanish filipino m, from Felipe + -ino, demonym to Spanish las Islas Filipinas (“The Philippine Islands (P.I.); The Philippines”), after Spanish El Rey Felipe II de España (“King Philip II of Spain”). The Spanish term formerly only referred to a male Philippine-born person of pure or majority Spanish descent, synonym to Spanish insular (“islander”) (plural insulares) in the Spanish Colonial Era of the Philippines, before it was applied as a nationality for every citizen of the Philippines from the First Philippine Republic during the Philippine Revolution.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Usage

The word is always capitalized. While 'Filipino' refers to the people and the language, the feminine form 'Filipina' is also commonly used for women.

Pitfall

He is a philippino.He is a Filipino.While the country is spelled 'Philippines' with a 'Ph', the people and language are spelled 'Filipino' with an 'F'.

Word family
  • Verbflip
  • Nounfilipino

Last updated May 3, 2026