tungkol sa and hinggil sa: About | Filipino Grammar

Tungkol sa and hinggil sa introduce the topic, subject matter, or reference of speech, writing, thought, policy, and information. Both often translate as English about, concerning, or regarding. Tungkol sa is the neutral everyday choice; hinggil sa is more strongly associated with careful, official, and (formal) writing.

The final sa is not optional before a common noun. It is the broad relational marker refined by lexical tungkol or hinggil. Before personal names, however, the personal counterparts kay/kina replace sa.

Core forms and register

Pattern	Use	Register
tungkol sa + common phrase	neutral topic or subject matter	neutral across speech and writing
hinggil sa + common phrase	formal topic or matter under consideration	(formal/academic/administrative)
tungkol/hinggil kay + name	topic is one named person	same register contrast
tungkol/hinggil kina + names	topic is a named group	same register contrast
tungkol sa + sa-form pronoun	topic is a pronoun referent	tungkol sa kaniya
tungkol saan / tungkol kanino	ask for the topic	neutral

Another form, ukol sa, occurs especially in official, legal, and elevated prose (formal). It overlaps with hinggil sa, but learners can use neutral tungkol sa broadly and reserve the alternatives for register-sensitive writing.

Tungkol sa as the neutral topic phrase

Nag-usap kami tungkol sa bagong iskedyul ng mga klase.

We talked about the new class schedule.

The phrase identifies what the conversation concerned. It does not become the pivot and does not alter actor-voice nag-usap or pivot kami.

May tanong ako tungkol sa bayaring nakasaad sa liham.

I have a question about the fee stated in the letter.

Here tungkol sa modifies the domain of tanong. English question about, talk about, and article on may all use the same Filipino relator because the topic relation, not the English preposition, is decisive.

Sumulat si Mara ng maikling sanaysay tungkol sa buhay sa baybayin.

Mara wrote a short essay about life on the coast.

The first relation after sumulat is non-pivot patient ng maikling sanaysay; tungkol sa buhay... separately supplies its topic. Repeated markers need not mirror English syntax.

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Translate the whole topic relation, not the English preposition by itself. If something is being discussed, written about, or treated as a subject, tungkol sa is a dependable neutral choice.

Hinggil sa in formal discourse

Hinggil sa is semantically close to tungkol sa but often sounds institutional, deliberative, or written.

Naglabas ang pamahalaang lungsod ng pabatid hinggil sa pagsasara ng tulay.

The city government issued a notice regarding the closure of the bridge. (formal)

Tatalakayin ng lupon ang mga mungkahi hinggil sa kaligtasan sa paaralan.

The committee will discuss the proposals concerning safety at school. (formal)

Using tungkol sa in these sentences would remain grammatical and neutral. Choosing hinggil sa signals register, not a different marker case or a stronger degree of factuality. In relaxed conversation, repeated hinggil sa can sound bureaucratic.

Personal and pronominal topics

Before one personal name, use kay rather than sa:

May balita ka ba tungkol kay Joel at sa kaniyang bagong trabaho?

Do you have any news about Joel and his new job?

Joel takes personal kay; the common noun phrase kaniyang bagong trabaho takes sa. One relator can therefore coordinate complements from different marker series.

For a named group, use kina:

Huwag muna tayong magpasya hinggil kina Lira at Tomas hangga't hindi natin naririnig ang paliwanag nila.

Let's not decide anything regarding Lira and Tomas until we hear their explanation. (formal)

Pronouns retain the sa-form series:

Hindi tungkol sa iyo ang reklamo; tungkol iyon sa paraan ng pamamahala.

The complaint is not about you; it is about the way the work is managed.

Use tungkol sa kaniya, not tungkol niya. Ng-form niya serves other roles such as possessor or non-pivot actor; it is not the complement form selected here.

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Common nouns keep sa, personal names replace it with kay/kina, and pronouns use the full sa-form: tungkol sa kaniya.

Nouns, nominalizations, and clauses

The complement of tungkol sa/hinggil sa is normally noun-like. To make an action the topic, Filipino often uses a pag- nominalization or another noun phrase.

Nagpulong ang mga magulang tungkol sa paglipat ng mga klase sa umaga.

The parents met to discuss rescheduling the classes for the morning.

Paglipat ng mga klase packages the event as a topic. A finite question can also occur after kung when its interrogative structure matters:

Nag-usap sila tungkol sa kung paano hahatiin ang gastusin.

They talked about how the expenses would be divided.

The sequence tungkol sa kung paano... is grammatical but can sound heavy in formal prose. A writer may recast it as hinggil sa paraan ng paghahati ng gastusin. That is a stylistic choice, not a ban on embedded questions.

Do not double-mark a verb's direct topic

Some Filipino verbs already select the matter discussed as their pivot. Talakayin is a key example.

Tinalakay ng konseho ang kakulangan ng tubig sa pulong.

The council discussed the water shortage at the meeting.

Because patient-voice tinalakay already selects ang kakulangan ng tubig, adding tungkol sa before that pivot would copy English discuss about and misbuild the Filipino frame. By contrast, Nag-usap ang konseho tungkol sa kakulangan ng tubig is correct because mag-usap uses a separate topic phrase.

See sa as a general relator for why lexical predicates, not English prepositions, decide the relation.

Questions and a short exchange

Tungkol saan ang pagpupulong mamayang hapon?

What is the meeting about this afternoon?

For a human topic, use kanino:

—Tungkol kanino ang liham? —Tungkol kay Gng. Santos at sa reklamong ipinadala niya.

—Who is the letter about? —It is about Mrs. Santos and the complaint she sent.

The short answer preserves personal kay for the name and common sa for the complaint. Ba is unnecessary because the question words already request information.

Common Mistakes

Omitting sa before a common noun

❌ Nagbasa ako ng ulat tungkol pagbabago ng ruta.

Incorrect — tungkol requires sa before this common noun phrase.

✅ Nagbasa ako ng ulat tungkol sa pagbabago ng ruta.

I read a report about the route change.

Using sa before a personal name

❌ May artikulo sa pahayagan tungkol sa Teresa Magbanua.

Incorrect standard personal marking — a singular name takes kay.

✅ May artikulo sa pahayagan tungkol kay Teresa Magbanua.

There is a newspaper article about Teresa Magbanua.

Adding tungkol sa after talakayin

❌ Tinalakay nila tungkol sa bagong patakaran.

Incorrect English-style ‘discuss about’ frame — tinalakay selects the matter as an ang pivot.

✅ Tinalakay nila ang bagong patakaran.

They discussed the new policy.

Placing a finite statement directly after sa

❌ Nagtanong siya tungkol sa aalis ang direktor.

Incorrect — an ordinary finite statement cannot serve directly as this sa complement.

✅ Nagtanong siya tungkol sa pag-alis ng direktor.

He/She asked about the director's departure.

If the intended question is whether the director will leave, use Nagtanong siya kung aalis ang direktor.

Key Takeaways

Use neutral tungkol sa for a topic or subject matter and more formal hinggil sa in institutional, academic, and administrative contexts. Replace sa with kay/kina before personal names, but retain sa-form pronouns such as sa kaniya. Topic relators usually take noun-like complements; finite embedded questions use kung. Most importantly, learn the selecting predicate: mag-usap tungkol sa... is natural, while talakayin ang... does not take an added about phrase.

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