The choice has two separate stages. First choose the meaning family: din/rin adds a parallel fact, while daw/raw attributes information to another source. Only then choose the member whose initial consonant fits the sound immediately before it. Treating all four as interchangeable “small words” hides both decisions.
The two-step decision
Use this sequence every time:
- If the meaning is also, too, or either after a negative, choose din/rin.
- If the meaning is reportedly, they say, or according to what I heard, choose daw/raw.
- Within that family, use rin/raw after a vowel or w/y, and din/daw after other consonants. This is the careful standard default.
| Meaning | After vowel, w, or y | After another consonant |
|---|---|---|
| also / too / either | rin | din |
| reportedly / it is said | raw | daw |
The same event can support either family, depending on what the speaker is doing with the information:
Darating din si Maya mamayang hapon.
Maya will also arrive later this afternoon.
Darating daw si Maya mamayang hapon.
Maya will reportedly arrive later this afternoon.
Here darating ends in the consonant g, so the careful forms are din and daw. With a vowel-final host, the forms change but the meanings do not:
Sasama rin si Maya sa pagpupulong.
Maya will join the meeting too.
Sasama raw si Maya sa pagpupulong.
Maya will reportedly join the meeting.
For fuller treatment of the meanings, see din and rin and daw and raw.
Listen to the immediate host
The relevant sound is the end of the word directly before the particle in the actual sentence—not the end of a distant verb, noun, or dictionary form. Ikaw and bahay pattern with vowels for this alternation, even though they are written with final consonant letters.
Ikaw rin ang hinahanap ng tagapangasiwa.
You are also the one the administrator is looking for.
Sa bahay raw sila maghihintay.
They will reportedly wait at the house.
By contrast, most other consonants select d:
Tahimik din ang silid sa likod.
The room at the back is quiet too.
Bukas daw ang tanggapan hanggang alas-singko.
The office is reportedly open until five o'clock.
Natural informal speech shows variation, especially after w/y and across regional or individual patterns. You will hear forms that do not match the careful default. That variation is real, not evidence that the meanings have merged. In edited prose, assessments, and situations where you want a broadly taught norm, apply the vowel/w/y versus other-consonant rule consistently.
When both meanings occur
Filipino can express “also reportedly” in one particle cluster. The usual neutral order is additive din/rin before reportive daw/raw. Then apply the sound rule separately to each particle. The first form responds to its lexical host; the second responds to the particle immediately before it.
Sasama rin daw si Maya sa pagpupulong.
Maya will reportedly join the meeting too.
Why rin daw? Sasama ends in a vowel, which selects rin. That rin ends in n, which in turn selects daw. Choosing both forms from sasama would miss the fact that enclitics form a sequence.
Nagpadala rin daw ng kopya ang kalihim.
The secretary reportedly sent a copy too.
Hindi rin daw magagamit ang silid bukas.
They say the room will not be usable tomorrow either.
Position and scope
Both families are enclitics: they normally occur in the early particle cluster after the first suitable constituent. They do not simply sit beside the noun they translate in English. Their scope comes from clause structure and context.
Nakita mo rin daw ang bagong iskedyul.
You reportedly saw the new schedule too.
The short pronoun mo precedes rin daw in the early cluster. With a polar question, ba joins that cluster rather than forcing the reportive particle to the end:
Darating din daw ba ang doktor ngayong umaga?
Is the doctor reportedly coming this morning too?
In a negative clause, din/rin often corresponds to English either, not also:
Hindi rin sumagot si Leo sa mensahe ko.
Leo did not reply to my message either.
Do not infer that rin itself is negative. Hindi supplies negation; rin adds Leo's non-response to another parallel negative fact.
Choosing by communicative purpose
Ask what commitment the speaker is making. Din/rin presents the proposition as an additional parallel item. Daw/raw lowers direct-source commitment by locating the information in someone else's report. It can convey responsible source-marking, rumor, skepticism, or simple hearsay; tone and context determine which.
Mura rin ang almusal sa kanto.
Breakfast at the corner place is inexpensive too.
Mura raw ang almusal sa kanto.
They say breakfast at the corner place is inexpensive.
English speakers sometimes expect a full phrase such as “according to Ana.” Filipino can add one, but daw/raw already marks the information as reported:
Ayon kay Ana, ililipat daw ang pulong sa Biyernes.
According to Ana, the meeting will reportedly be moved to Friday.
The apparent repetition is possible when the source phrase identifies who said it and daw maintains reportive framing. In tight prose, one marker may be enough if the other adds no value.
Common Mistakes
Choosing by sound before choosing by meaning
❌ Uuwi raw ako pagkatapos ng klase.
Incorrect for the intended meaning 'I will go home too'; raw marks reported information.
✅ Uuwi rin ako pagkatapos ng klase.
I will go home too after class.
Treating daw as a translation of “also”
❌ Malamig daw ang silid sa itaas.
Incorrect if you mean the upstairs room is also cold; this says the coldness was reported.
✅ Malamig din ang silid sa itaas.
The upstairs room is cold too.
Ignoring the immediately preceding sound
❌ Sasama din si Liza sa hapunan.
Nonstandard in the careful default because sasama ends in a vowel.
✅ Sasama rin si Liza sa hapunan.
Liza will come to dinner too.
Selecting a second particle from the main verb
❌ Sasama rin raw si Liza sa hapunan.
Nonstandard in the careful default: raw follows rin, which ends in n.
✅ Sasama rin daw si Liza sa hapunan.
Liza will reportedly come to dinner too.
Reversing the neutral cluster order
❌ Nagdala daw rin siya ng tubig.
Awkward for the neutral meaning 'reportedly brought water too' because reportive precedes additive.
✅ Nagdala rin daw siya ng tubig.
They say they brought water too.
Key Takeaways
- Choose din/rin for additive meaning and daw/raw for reportive meaning.
- After that semantic choice, use r after a vowel or w/y, and d after another consonant as the careful default.
- In clusters, work from left to right: rin daw, not a pair mechanically selected from the main verb.
- Expect informal and regional variation, but do not confuse variation in form with a change in meaning.
Now practice Filipino
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Filipino →Related Topics
- din and rin: Also and TooB1 — Choose din or rin by the preceding sound and place this additive enclitic where its scope over a participant, action, or negative clause is clear.
- daw and raw: Reported InformationB1 — Use daw or raw to attribute information, questions, or instructions to another source while following careful allomorphy and enclitic order.
- Particle Ordering OverviewA2 — Arrange common Filipino enclitic particles and pronouns in natural early-clause clusters while preserving scope and register.
- Two-Particle ClustersC1 — Interpret and build common two-particle clusters by combining phase, scope, evidence, questions, uncertainty, and social stance.
- daw and raw and Evidential DistanceB2 — Use daw and raw to attribute information while managing source, commitment, and social distance.