Verb Reference: dinig | Filipino Grammar

The perception root traditionally cited as dinig has a conventional d/r alternation in several common forms: marinig, narinig, naririnig, maririnig and makarinig, nakarinig, nakakarinig, makakarinig. The family contrasts a heard sound as pivot with a hearer as pivot, and it extends to making remarks or recordings heard.

Contemporary speakers also use established d-retaining variants such as madinig, nadinig, nadidinig, madidinig and makadinig, nakadinig, nakadidinig, makadidinig. They keep the same voice and marker frames. The r forms are the more frequent neutral default in Manila-based standard Filipino, so this page uses them in its main examples while recognizing the d series as genuine variation.

English hear hides this organization. Narinig ni Liza ang kampana selects the sound, while nakarinig si Liza ng kampana selects the experiencer. Neither construction implies deliberate attention; that belongs mainly to the separate kinig family, such as makinig “listen” and pakinggan “listen to.”

Core forms and functions

Family	Basic	Completed	Incompleted	Contemplated	Typical pivot
patient/undergoer voice perception	marinig	narinig	naririnig	maririnig	sound, speaker, or content perceived
actor voice perception	makarinig	nakarinig	nakakarinig	makakarinig	hearer or experiencer
causative actor voice	magparinig	nagparinig	nagpaparinig	magpaparinig	person making something audible or making pointed remarks
benefactive/instrumental i- voice (caused audibility)	iparinig	ipinarinig	ipinaparinig / ipinaririnig	ipaparinig / iparirinig	sound, recording, or message made audible

These surface forms must be learned as established members of the family. A learner cannot derive narinig by simply attaching a prefix to the visible citation root dinig. This is exactly the kind of morphophonemic alternation discussed in the ma- stative and ability family.

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Use narinig ni Ana ang tunog when the sound is pivot; use nakarinig si Ana ng tunog when the hearer is pivot. The difference is participant selection, not active versus passive in the English sense.

Marinig: select what becomes audible

The ma- family selects the sound, speech, person, or content perceived. The experiencer takes an ng-series form. These verbs often express ordinary perception and do not always imply accident, effort, or special ability.

Narinig ni Joel ang mahinang katok mula sa kusina.

Joel heard the faint knock from the kitchen.

Naririnig ng mga kapitbahay ang ensayo tuwing hapon.

The neighbors hear the rehearsal every afternoon.

Maririnig natin ang anunsiyo kapag binuksan ang bintana.

We will be able to hear the announcement when the window is opened.

The perceived participant may be human when what is meant is the person's voice or speech.

Hindi kita marinig dahil malakas ang ulan sa bubong.

I cannot hear you because the rain on the roof is loud.

Here fused kita combines a first-person singular experiencer with a second-person singular pivot. The construction does not mean that the speaker refuses to listen.

Makarinig: select the hearer

The maka- family selects the sentient experiencer. The perceived stimulus normally takes ng. Completed nakarinig often reports one achieved perception; incompleted nakakarinig covers recurring perception or continuing auditory ability.

Nakarinig si Bea ng kaluskos sa likod ng pinto.

Bea heard a rustling sound behind the door.

Nakakarinig pa si Lolo kapag malinaw at mabagal ang pagsasalita.

Grandfather can still hear when speech is clear and slow.

Makakarinig kayo ng tatlong maikling hudyat bago magsimula ang pagsusulit.

You will hear three short signals before the examination begins.

Contemporary conversation widely uses nakakarinig/makakarinig. Root-copy nakaririnig/makaririnig is also accepted, especially in (formal) and (literary) writing. This is lexicalized variation within the family, not permission to invent parallel forms for every verb.

Controlled comparison: sound pivot and hearer pivot

Narinig ni Lito ang sipol mula sa pantalan.

Lito heard the whistle from the harbor. (The whistle is the pivot.)

Nakarinig si Lito ng sipol mula sa pantalan.

Lito heard a whistle from the harbor. (Lito is the pivot.)

The first often suits a context where a particular whistle is already identifiable. The second introduces or reports Lito's perceptual experience. Specificity is not mechanically determined by ang versus ng, but discourse status often supports this contrast.

Making something heard

Iparinig selects a recording, voice, message, or other sound that an actor causes someone to hear. The actor takes an ng form and the listener normally takes sa/kay.

Pa-copy ipinaparinig/ipaparinig is widespread in contemporary speech. Root-copy ipinaririnig/iparirinig is also accepted and is especially visible in careful, (formal), or (literary) usage. Both strategies preserve the same pivot and participant frame; mixed forms should not be invented.

D-retaining ipadinig/ipinadinig is another established alternative with the same caused-audibility frame. By contrast, magparinig has strongly lexicalized the sense “make an indirect or pointed remark,” so the d/r choice is not always a purely mechanical spelling substitution across every member of the family.

Ipinarinig ni Dina sa mga saksi ang orihinal na mensahe.

Dina played the original message for the witnesses.

Ipaparinig ng guro sa klase ang dalawang magkaibang bigkas.

The teacher will play or demonstrate the two different pronunciations for the class.

Actor-voice magparinig selects the person who makes something audible. In everyday conversation it very often means making an indirect, pointed remark intended to be overheard. That pragmatic reading is (informal-neutral) and depends on context.

Nagparinig si Tessa tungkol sa mga hindi tumulong, pero wala siyang pinangalanan.

Tessa made pointed remarks about those who did not help, but she named no one.

Formal or literary dinggin means hear out, heed, or give consideration to an appeal, prayer, or petition. It implies receptive attention more strongly than neutral perception marinig and should not replace it in everyday reports of sounds.

Hinihiling ng mga residente na dinggin ng konseho ang kanilang petisyon.

The residents ask the council to hear and consider their petition. (formal)

Hear versus listen

English learners often blur perception and intentional attention. Use marinig/makarinig for sounds that reach someone's hearing. Use makinig when a person intentionally listens, and pakinggan when the selected content or speaker receives that attention.

Narinig ko ang talumpati, pero hindi ako nakinig nang mabuti.

I heard the speech, but I did not listen carefully.

The first clause reports auditory access; the second denies focused attention. Filipino makes the distinction lexically rather than relying only on adverbs.

Questions, negation, and a short exchange

In (informal) conversation, bare rinig can act as an audibility predicate: Rinig mo ba ako? “Can you hear me?” The fully inflected Naririnig mo ba ako? is neutral across conversation and careful writing. Do not treat the shorter pattern as a complete replacement for the aspectual family.

Rinig mo ba ako kahit nasa labas ka?

Can you hear me even though you are outside? (informal)

Wala akong narinig na alarma kagabi.

I heard no alarm last night.

This existential negative says there was no perceived alarm in the speaker's experience. Hindi ko narinig ang alarma instead negates hearing a particular alarm.

—Naririnig mo ba ako mula riyan? —Oo, pero hinaan mo nang kaunti ang tugtog.

—Can you hear me from there? —Yes, but lower the music a little.

The question selects the speaker as the perceived participant through ako, while mo marks the addressee as experiencer. Ba follows the first predicate unit, as expected in a neutral question.

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Do not force an ability translation onto every ma-/maka- perception form. In ordinary contexts, narinig and nakarinig often translate simply as “heard”; their main contrast is which participant is pivot.

Common Mistakes

Keeping the hearer as pivot with narinig

❌ Narinig si Bea ang ingay sa bubong.

Incorrect — narinig selects the sound, so Bea takes ni.

✅ Narinig ni Bea ang ingay sa bubong.

Bea heard the noise on the roof.

Marking the sound with ang after nakarinig

❌ Nakarinig si Bea ang ingay sa bubong.

Incorrect — actor-oriented nakarinig selects Bea, and the perceived sound takes ng.

✅ Nakarinig si Bea ng ingay sa bubong.

Bea heard a noise on the roof.

Using hear for deliberate attention

❌ Marinig ka sa tagapagsalita nang mabuti.

Incorrect for a command to listen — marinig does not select an intentional listener this way.

✅ Makinig ka nang mabuti sa tagapagsalita.

Listen carefully to the speaker.

Using a listening verb for unintentional perception

❌ Nakinig ako ng biglang kalabog sa garahe.

Wrong for an unexpectedly perceived sound — nakinig describes intentional listening and does not take this stimulus frame.

✅ Nakarinig ako ng biglang kalabog sa garahe.

I heard a sudden crash in the garage.

Key Takeaways

Marinig/narinig/naririnig/maririnig select the perceived sound, person, or content.
Makarinig/nakarinig/nakakarinig/makakarinig select the hearer.
Iparinig selects what is made audible; magparinig often means make pointed remarks in conversation.
Makinig/pakinggan express intentional listening and belong to the separate kinig family.
The accepted dinig/rinig and nakakarinig/nakaririnig variants must be learned with the root family rather than generated by one automatic rule.

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