Day 12: Oro, Plata, Mata on the Stairs
On the site of a two-story house in Antipolo, Marlon (A), the foreman, asks Wilson (B), the young architect, why the stair plan has changed again.
How to study this lesson 3 steps
- Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
- Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense.
- Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native Tagalog. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.
Dialogue
Audio for this lesson is coming soon. For now, read the dialogue and its translation.
Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day
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A
Arki, binago na naman ang hagdan? Kahapon labinlima ang baitang, ngayon labintatlo na lang.
Arki, did the stairs change again? Yesterday it was fifteen steps, and now it's only thirteen.
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B
Opo, Kuya, binibilang po kasi ni Ma'am: oro, plata, mata. Sa labinlima po, mata ang huli.
Yes, Kuya. The client counts them: oro, plata, mata, gold, silver, death. With fifteen, the last one lands on mata.
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A
Sige, oro ang huling baitang, para mayaman ang madadapa.
Sure, make the last step oro, so whoever trips will be rich.
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B
Bakit naman po madadapa, Kuya? Dalawa lang po ang ibinawas.
Why would anyone trip, Kuya? We only took off two.
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A
Tatlong metro pa rin ang taas, kaya lampas bente-tres sentimetro ang bawat baitang, pang-bundok na.
It's still three meters high, so every step is over twenty-three centimeters. That's for climbing mountains.
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B
Lampas na po pala sa code. E kung labing-anim po, oro pa rin, at mas mababa ang baitang.
So it's over the code. What if it's sixteen? Still oro, and the steps are lower.
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A
Labing-anim? E 'di hahaba ang hagdan at tatama sa pinto ng banyo.
Sixteen? Then the staircase gets longer and runs into the bathroom door.
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B
Gagawin ko pong L ang hagdan, may landing sa ikawalong baitang, kaya kasya pa rin po.
I'll make it an L-shaped staircase with a landing at the eighth step, so it still fits.
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A
Aba, oro sa may-ari, pasado sa code, at buo pa ang tuhod ng aakyat. Ganyan ang arkitekto.
Well, now. Oro for the owner, passes the code, and the climbers keep their knees in one piece. That's an architect.
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B
Salamat po, Kuya. At kung madapa pa rin po kayo, mayaman naman po kayo.
Thank you, Kuya. And if you still trip, well, at least you'll be rich.
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