Mainit ang araw ngayon.

The sun is hot today.

Breakdown of Mainit ang araw ngayon.

• ay: to be
• ngayon: today
• mainit: hot
• araw: the sun

Questions & Answers about Mainit ang araw ngayon.

What does each word in Mainit ang araw ngayon. mean literally?

Word-by-word:

• mainit – hot, warm
• ang – marker that usually points to the grammatical topic/subject; often translates roughly as the (but it’s not exactly the same as English the)
• araw – sun / day (exact meaning depends on context)
• ngayon – now / today

So a very literal breakdown is:

mainit (hot) ang (topic marker) araw (sun/day) ngayon (now/today)
→ “Hot the sun/day now”

Why does the sentence start with mainit and not with the subject, like in English?

Filipino is often predicate‑initial. That means the part that says something about the topic (the predicate) usually comes first.

• Mainit = predicate (what is being said)
• ang araw = topic/subject (what we’re talking about)
• ngayon = time expression

So the structure is:

[Predicate] + [ang + topic] + [time]
Mainit + ang araw + ngayon

English prefers Subject + Verb/Predicate:

• The sun/day is hot today.

But in Filipino, putting mainit first is the most natural, everyday pattern. You can think of it as:

“As for the sun today, it is hot.”

Where is the verb “is”? Why is there no equivalent to is in the sentence?

In Filipino, sentences like this don’t need a verb like “is”. The adjective mainit directly functions as the predicate:

• Mainit ang araw ngayon.
  Literally: Hot [ang] sun/day now.

Filipino can make equational or descriptive sentences without a separate “to be” verb:

• Siya ay guro. / Guro siya. – He/She is a teacher.
• Pagod ako. – I am tired.

In Mainit ang araw ngayon, mainit already does the job of “is hot”.

What exactly does ang do in this sentence?

ang is a marker, not a word with its own meaning like “the”, but it often feels similar.

In this sentence, ang:

• marks araw as the topic/subject of the sentence
• tells you “this is the thing we’re talking about”

Basic pattern:

• [Predicate] + ang + [Noun]

Examples:

• Mainit ang araw. – The sun/day is hot.
• Mahal ang kape. – The coffee is expensive.
• Mabilis ang sasakyan. – The vehicle is fast.

So ang points out which noun the predicate is describing.

Does araw here mean sun or day?

araw can mean sun or day. The exact sense depends on context:

• sun: when you’re clearly talking about sunlight, weather, brightness

  • Mainit ang araw ngayon. – Often understood as “The sun is hot today.”
  • Ang liwanag ng araw. – The sun is bright.

• day: when you’re talking about the date, a period of 24 hours, or “daytime” in contrast to night

  • Magandang araw. – Good day.
  • Ilang araw pa? – How many days more?

In weather talk, araw is often understood as sun/heat of the sun, so Mainit ang araw ngayon. is very naturally “The sun is hot today” or more loosely “It’s really hot (because of the sun) today.”

Could this sentence also just mean “It’s hot today” in general, not specifically “the sun is hot”?

Yes. In real-life conversation, Mainit ang araw ngayon. will often be taken as a comment on the weather:

• “It’s hot today.”
• “The sun is really hot today.”
• “It’s really sunny and hot today.”

If you want to be more clearly about overall weather and not the sun itself, you can also say:

• Mainit ngayon. – It’s hot today / It’s hot right now.
• Mainit ang panahon ngayon. – The weather is hot today.

But in practice, Mainit ang araw ngayon. is fine and commonly used in casual speech.

Is ngayon “now” or “today”? How flexible is this word?

ngayon can mean both now and today. Context decides which feels more natural in English:

• Ano’ng ginagawa mo ngayon? – What are you doing now?
• Mainit ang araw ngayon. – It’s hot today.
• May klase ka ba ngayon? – Do you have class today / right now?

So in Mainit ang araw ngayon., ngayon is best understood as today, but it keeps the sense of “at this time / at the present.”

Can ngayon go somewhere else in the sentence, or must it always be last?

You can move ngayon around; Filipino word order with time expressions is fairly flexible. Some natural variants:

• Ngayon, mainit ang araw.
• Mainit ngayon ang araw.
• Mainit ang araw ngayon. ✅ (your original)

All are understandable, but:

• Mainit ang araw ngayon. is very common and neutral.
• Ngayon, mainit ang araw. slightly emphasizes “today/now” (“As for today, the sun is hot”).
• Mainit ngayon ang araw. puts a bit of stress on ngayon (“it’s today that the sun is hot”).

For a beginner, Mainit ang araw ngayon. is a very safe, natural pattern.

What is the difference between Mainit ang araw. and Maaraw.?

They focus on slightly different things:

• Mainit ang araw.

  • Literally: “The sun/day is hot.”
  • Focuses more on heat (temperature, how hot it feels).

• Maaraw.

  • Literally: “(It is) sunny.”
  • Focuses on sunny/bright weather (clear sky, lots of sunlight).

So:

• Maaraw pero hindi masyadong mainit. – It’s sunny but not very hot.
• Mainit ang araw kahit maulap. – The sun is hot even though it’s cloudy.

In everyday talk, people sometimes mix them loosely, but the nuance is:

• mainit = hot
• maaraw = sunny

Is there a version of this sentence that uses ay, like in formal Filipino?

Yes. You can transform it into a more formal / written style with ay:

• Ang araw ngayon ay mainit.

Structure:

• Ang araw ngayon – topic/fronted noun phrase
• ay – linker often used in formal or written Filipino
• mainit – predicate

Meaning is the same. Differences:

• Mainit ang araw ngayon.

  • Common in spoken Filipino
  • Predicate-first, feels natural and conversational

• Ang araw ngayon ay mainit.

  • Sounds more formal, textbook-like, or narrative
  • Topic-first structure

Both are grammatically correct.

How would I say “The days are hot these days / recently the days are hot”?

You need to make araw plural and adjust the time expression:

• Mainit ang mga araw ngayon.
  
  • Literally: Hot ang PLURAL-day now.
  • “The days are hot these days / The days are hot now.”

Breakdown:

• mainit – hot
• ang mga araw – the days (mga marks plural)
• ngayon – now / these days

If you want to stress the idea of recently / lately, you can also say:

• Mainit ang mga araw nitong mga nakaraang linggo. – The days have been hot these past weeks.
• Mainit ang mga araw ngayon, lalo na sa hapon. – The days are hot now, especially in the afternoon.

What is the root of mainit, and can I use it in other forms?

The root is init, which means heat or hotness. From init, you get several related words:

• init – heat, hotness, warmth

  • Nararamdaman ko ang init. – I feel the heat.

• mainit – hot (adjective)

  • Mainit ang araw. – The sun/day is hot.

• painit / magpainit – to heat (something)

  • Magpainit ka ng tubig. – Heat some water.

• umiinit – is getting hot / becomes hot

  • Umiinit na ang panahon. – The weather is getting hot.

Knowing the root init helps you recognize related words built around the same idea of heat.

How do you pronounce mainit and araw?

Pronunciation (in simple terms):

• mainit – ma-I-nit

  • 3 syllables: ma-i-nit
  • Stress on the second syllable: ma-I-nit
  • The a is like in “father”, the i like in “machine.”

• araw – A-raw

  • 2 syllables: a-raw
  • Stress on the first syllable: A-raw
  • aw is like the “ow” in “cow”, but a bit shorter/smoother.

So the whole sentence:

ma-Í-nit ang Á-raw nga-YÓN.
(mainit ang araw ngayon.)