03/10/2022
TA-RA-KI \'ta - rΙ - kΔ\
adjective
: extremely good
Taraki is not gender-specific. It can be used to describe a man or a woman. Say you just met a girl and you find her attractive, you can describe her as taraki or na-taraki. The same can be said if you are a girl and you met or saw a guy you are attracted to. The term is also commonly used to describe a thing or an animal. For example, you can use it do describe a painting or any work of art that you like.
When used on people, taraki isn't used directly by the speaker to the person who is the recipient of his/her affections. It would be very awkward to simply walk up to someone and say he/she is taraki. It doesn't work this way. It's used in the same way as telling a friend that you have a huge crush on someone. You don't say it directly to the person. Instead, you mention it to a third party, out of earshot of the person who is the subject of your compliments.
There doesn't seem to be a direct English translation of taraki. This is because it can be used as a substitute for a myriad of adjectives like beautiful, good-looking, confident, talented, intelligent, handsome, artistic, industrious, etc. You can very well substitute the word for all positive adjectives in the book. The English word that comes closest to it is the loose word "cool". When you describe someone as taraki, you are saying that that someone is "cool".
It's much easier to translate taraki into Tagalog. It fits rather accurately with the Tagalog slang word "astig". However, the word astig carries a tinge of aggressiveness in it which is minimal if not absent in taraki.
Source: http://www.cordilleransun.com/2014/11/what-does-kankana-ey-word-taraki-mean.html?m=1&fbclid=IwAR1WdbYmDSMBnUKO-eSDmBKm6sBqb9BtpjihewBx9wTV85lg0NPUEo70GLE
(c) Jonathan Caparas
