In everyday Filipino, ito, iyan, and iyon are often shortened to 'to, 'yan, and 'yon. These forms are (informal): they are natural in conversation, messages, dialogue, and relaxed online writing, but full forms are safer in reports, applications, and other careful prose.
Shortening does not turn the three Filipino distances into English this versus that. 'To remains speaker-near, 'yan remains addressee-near or addressee-associated, and 'yon remains away from both. The apostrophe records the omitted initial vowel; it is not decorative.
The three shortened entity forms
| Distance | Full form | Short form | Typical anchor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proximal | ito | 'to | near the speaker or in the speaker's hand |
| Medial | iyan | 'yan | near, held by, said by, or associated with the addressee |
| Distal | iyon | 'yon | away from both speaker and addressee, or more remote in discourse |
These are shortened entity forms: they can point to a person, object, event, claim, or other identifiable referent. Like full ito/iyan/iyon, they do not need an extra ang when they stand alone.
Hawakan mo muna 'to habang hinahanap ko ang susi.
Hold this for a moment while I look for the key. (informal)
Iabot mo sa akin 'yan, pero iwan mo muna 'yon sa estante.
Hand me that one near you, but leave that one over there on the shelf for now. (informal)
The second sentence is a controlled two-distance contrast. 'Yan selects what is in the addressee's sphere; 'yon selects the more distant item. English may translate both as that, so the Filipino choice depends on the conversational scene, not the English word.
Distance can be conversational or emotional
A demonstrative may point to words and ideas, not just visible objects. 'Yan commonly refers to what the listener has just said, because that contribution belongs to the addressee's conversational sphere. 'Yon can retrieve an earlier, more remote episode or deliberately distance the speaker from it.
Magandang punto 'yan; isama natin sa panukala.
That's a good point; let's include it in the proposal. (informal — 'yan refers to the listener's point)
Ayoko nang balikan 'yon; tapos na ang usapan.
I don't want to go back to that anymore; the discussion is over. (informal — 'yon distances an earlier matter)
'Yan is not inherently dismissive. Tone and context can make it appreciative, neutral, teasing, or critical. Similarly, 'yon may simply retrieve something distant; emotional detachment is a possible effect, not part of its fixed dictionary meaning.
Hindi ba 'to ang resibong hinahanap mo?
Isn't this the receipt you've been looking for? (informal)
This negative question keeps 'to as the entity being identified. Negation and interrogation do not change the demonstrative series.
With nouns: 'tong, 'yang, and 'yong
In conversational transcription and informal messages, the shortened forms can take the linker before a noun: 'tong from itong, 'yang from iyang, and 'yong from iyong. They remain (informal). Full itong/iyang/iyong is preferable in edited prose.
Pakibalot nang maayos 'tong baso para hindi mabasag.
Please wrap this glass carefully so it doesn't break. (informal)
Kanino 'yang payong na nasa tabi mo?
Whose umbrella is that beside you? (informal)
Here nang maayos is an adverbial phrase, while the -ng in 'tong and 'yang is the linker attaching the demonstrative to its noun. The spellings represent different grammatical jobs.
Post-nominal order is also possible: ang basong 'to, ang payong na 'yan, ang gusaling 'yon. The linker immediately before the demonstrative follows the normal rules explained in demonstratives with nouns.
Do not shorten every demonstrative series to these forms
Filipino chooses a series according to grammatical function. 'To/'yan/'yon identify entities; they do not replace the ng-series, locative series, or manner series.
| Function | Proximal | Medial | Distal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entity, informal | 'to | 'yan | 'yon |
| Non-pivot / possessor | nito | niyan | niyon |
| Location | dito | diyan | doon |
| Manner | ganito | ganiyan | ganoon |
May bitak ang takip nito, kaya huwag mo munang gamitin.
Its lid has a crack, so don't use it yet. (neutral — nito marks the proximal possessor)
Diyan ka muna umupo; basa pa ang upuan dito.
Sit there by you for now; the seat here is still wet. (neutral — locations require diyan and dito)
Conversational speakers also use reductions such as ganyan for ganiyan, ganun or gano'n for ganoon, and sometimes d'yan for diyan. These are (informal) and vary by speaker and editorial convention. They are separate reductions, not evidence that 'yan itself means “there” or “like that.” See the full locative series and manner series.
'To is not the same as eto
Eto, ayan, and ayun are (informal) presentatives: they draw attention to something as it is presented or noticed. By contrast, 'to, 'yan, and 'yon occupy the entity slot in an ordinary clause.
— Nasaan ang lapis ko? — Eto, nasa mesa. Gamitin mo muna 'to.
— Where's my pencil? — Here it is, on the table. Use this one for now. (informal)
Eto performs the presentation “here it is”; 'to is the thing used after gamitin. The distinction is functional even though the forms can point to the same object. The presentatives page explains the complete contrast.
Common Mistakes
1. Treating English “that” as one Filipino distance
❌ Iabot mo 'yon.
Wrong for an object beside the listener — 'yon places it away from both participants.
✅ Iabot mo 'yan.
Hand me that beside you. (informal)
Choose by the Filipino spatial anchor, even when English uses that for both medial and distal reference.
2. Using an entity form as a location
❌ Maghintay ka 'to sa may pinto.
Incorrect — 'to identifies an entity; it cannot mean ‘here.’
✅ Maghintay ka rito sa may pinto.
Wait here by the door. (neutral)
Rito is the careful r-initial variant of proximal locative dito after vowel-final ka; contemporary speakers also commonly use dito there in informal speech. The choice is phonologically conditioned, not simply post-verbal. The clause asks where to wait, not which thing to wait.
3. Using an entity form for manner
❌ 'Yan mo tiklupin ang kumot.
Incorrect for ‘Fold the blanket like that’ — the manner series is required.
✅ Ganiyan mo tiklupin ang kumot.
Fold the blanket like that, the way you're showing. (neutral)
The corrected sentence describes how to perform the action. 'Yan could identify a thing or action, but it cannot directly fill this manner slot.
4. Losing the apostrophe in a deliberate short-form spelling
❌ Kunin mo to bago tayo umalis.
Nonstandard spelling when to is intended as shortened ito; the omitted vowel should be marked.
✅ Kunin mo 'to bago tayo umalis.
Take this before we leave. (informal)
Casual messages often omit punctuation, but careful representation of the conversational form retains the apostrophe. In formal prose, write ito instead.
Key Takeaways
- 'To, 'yan, and 'yon are (informal) reductions of ito, iyan, and iyon, with the same three-way distance contrast.
- Distance can be physical, anchored to the listener's words, or used to create conversational and emotional distance.
- The short forms identify entities. Use nito/niyan/niyon for relevant non-pivot functions, dito/diyan/doon for location, and ganito/ganiyan/ganoon for manner.
- Eto/ayan/ayun present something; they are not simply alternative spellings of 'to/'yan/'yon.
Related Topics
- Three-Way Demonstrative SystemA1 — Choose Filipino demonstratives by distance from speaker and addressee, then select the entity, ng-form, locative, or manner series required by the construction.
- ito, iyan, and iyon as Ang-FormsA1 — Use ito, iyan, and iyon as entity demonstratives and pivots, with distance anchored to the speaker, addressee, or both.
- nito, niyan, and niyon as Ng-FormsA1 — Use nito, niyan, and niyon for non-pivot themes, possessors, actors, and other ng-form relations across Filipino's three deictic distances.
- dito, diyan, and doon as LocativesA1 — Use dito, diyan, and doon for places and destinations near the speaker, near the addressee, or away from both, with established r-initial variants.
- ganito, ganiyan, and ganoon as Manner FormsA1 — Use ganito, ganiyan, and ganoon to point to manners, qualities, and situations associated with the speaker, addressee, or a remote context.
- heto, hayan, and ayun as PresentativesA1 — Use heto, hayan, and ayun to present or point out something near the speaker, near the addressee, or farther from both.