Prices are one of the clearest places where Filipino's numeral traditions coexist. Native forms such as dalawampung piso are fully standard; Spanish-derived beynte pesos and singkuwenta are deeply established in market speech; English number readings are common for large, technical, or digitally displayed amounts (code-switched). The currency is the Philippine piso, divided into sentimo.
Core price patterns
| Function | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ask a price | Magkano…? | Magkano ang mangga? |
| state a native-number price | number + linker + piso | dalawampung piso |
| state centavos | number + linker + sentimo | limampung sentimo |
| written amount | ₱ + digits | ₱250.00 |
| per-unit price | kada/bawat + unit | ₱80 bawat kilo |
| approximation | mga + numeral | mga dalawang daang piso |
Magkano po ang isang kilong kamatis?
How much is one kilo of tomatoes, please? (polite neutral)
Walumpung piso bawat kilo ang kamatis ngayon.
Tomatoes are eighty pesos per kilo today. (neutral)
In isang kilong kamatis, isa + -ng links to kilo, and kilo + -ng links to kamatis in this compact market phrase. The alternative isang kilo ng kamatis is also neutral. Price expressions do not determine the voice or definiteness of the noun phrase around them.
Piso, pesos, and numeral choice
In standard Filipino with native numbers, piso remains unchanged: isang piso, dalawang piso, isang daang piso. Pesos occurs conventionally with many Spanish-derived numbers and in commercial usage: beynte pesos, singkuwenta pesos. The pairing is lexical and domain-shaped, not grammatical gender agreement.
The full native system is reviewed under Native Cardinal Numbers. Choosing it does not make a price unusually formal; native amounts remain natural in careful conversation, announcements, and prose.
Dalawampung piso ang pamasahe sa traysikel mula rito.
The tricycle fare from here is twenty pesos. (neutral native-number pattern)
Beynte pesos lang ang sukli mo.
Your change is only twenty pesos. (informal market speech; Spanish-derived number)
These sentences can describe the same amount. The first sounds fully Filipino and careful; the second is extremely common in everyday transactions. English twenty pesos is also common (code-switched), especially when a seller and buyer are already speaking mixed Filipino-English. Do not splice systems inside one numeral, such as twenty't lima.
Reading written prices
The symbol ₱ precedes the digits: ₱75, ₱1,250.50. In formal financial contexts, PHP 1,250.50 avoids ambiguity across currencies. A speaker may read the same display using native, Spanish-derived, or English numbers according to setting.
Isang libo dalawang daan at limampung piso ang kabuuang bayad.
The total payment is one thousand two hundred fifty pesos. (formal-neutral native reading)
May dagdag na limampung sentimo sa bawat supot.
There is an additional fifty centavos on each bag. (neutral)
Decimal currency is normally written with two digits. In everyday speech, whole-peso amounts are often rounded; when the centavo amount matters, state piso at sentimo explicitly or read the written amount in the institutional convention being used.
Comparing and changing prices
Price predicates behave like other property and quantity predicates: no English copula is required. Mas mahal compares prices, pinakamura ranks options, and tumaas ng… states the amount of an increase.
Limampung piso ang matitipid kapag maaga kang nagpareserba.
You will save fifty pesos when you book early. (neutral)
Tumaas ng sampung piso ang pamasahe nitong buwan.
The fare increased by ten pesos this month. (neutral)
In tumaas ng sampung piso, ng + amount measures the increase. It does not mean possession, and it must not be replaced by adverbial nang.
Asking, bargaining, and paying
May mas mura po ba kung dalawa ang bibilhin ko?
Is there a cheaper price if I buy two? (polite market question)
Wala akong eksaktong bayad; may panukli po ba kayo sa limang daan?
I do not have exact change; do you have change for five hundred? (polite neutral)
Bayad is the payment; sukli is change returned; panukli is money available for making change. English change collapses the last two, so learn the Filipino distinction.
Hindi kasama sa presyo ang bayad sa paghahatid.
The delivery fee is not included in the price. (neutral)
Unit prices and approximation
Bawat is a neutral “per/each.” Kada is widespread in contemporary Filipino and convenient in posted prices, though bawat often sounds more careful in prose.
Tatlumpung piso bawat piraso, pero limampung piso ang dalawa.
They are thirty pesos each, but two cost fifty pesos. (neutral sales talk)
Mga before a numeral means “about”: mga limang daang piso is approximately ₱500. It does not merely pluralize piso.
Mga dalawang libong piso ang aabutin ng pagkukumpuni.
The repair will cost about two thousand pesos. (neutral estimate)
A short exchange
— Magkano po itong payong? — Tatlong daan po. — Puwede bang dalawang daan at limampu?
— How much is this umbrella? — Three hundred. — Could it be two hundred fifty? (polite market exchange)
The currency noun is omitted after the amount because the context makes piso obvious.
Common Mistakes
1. Adding an English plural to piso
❌ Dalawang pisos ang bayad sa bangka noon.
Incorrect in the native-number pattern—piso stays unchanged.
✅ Dalawang piso ang bayad sa bangka noon.
The boat fare was two pesos then. (neutral)
2. Omitting the numerical linker
❌ Dalawampu piso ang bayad.
Incorrect — dalawampu must link to piso.
✅ Dalawampung piso ang bayad.
The fee is twenty pesos. (neutral)
3. Treating mga as ordinary plural before a price
❌ Mga limang daang piso ang eksaktong halaga.
Contradictory if the amount is exact—mga makes it approximate.
✅ Limang daang piso ang eksaktong halaga.
The exact amount is five hundred pesos. (neutral)
4. Mixing numeral systems inside one amount
❌ Nagbayad ako ng twenty't limang piso.
Uncontrolled mixing inside a single numeral.
✅ Nagbayad ako ng dalawampu't limang piso.
I paid twenty-five pesos. (neutral native-number pattern)
Key Takeaways
- Piso is standard with native numbers; established pesos pairings occur with Spanish-derived price forms.
- Numerical linkers remain required: dalawampung piso, apat na piso.
- Mga + amount means approximation.
- Written currency may be read through different numeral traditions; choose according to domain and label code-switching honestly.
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Start learning Filipino →Related Topics
- Native Cardinal NumbersA1 — Count and build exact quantity phrases with native Filipino cardinals, their compound forms, and required linkers.
- Spanish-Derived Numbers in Everyday UseA1 — Use Filipino-adapted Spanish numbers naturally in clock time, prices, ages, dates, and conventional labels.
- English Numbers in Contemporary FilipinoA1 — Recognize and use English number phrases in code-switched Filipino while keeping neutral Filipino and mixed-register boundaries clear.
- Counters, Measure Phrases, and Numerical LinkersA1 — Build quantities with a number, the correct linker, a counter or measure unit, and an ng-marked substance or contents phrase.
- magkano and ilan: How Much and How ManyA2 — Choose magkano for price or monetary value and ilan for counts, then form quantity questions with the correct linkers, markers, and voice.