Sana all is Filipino slang for “if only everyone could have that too.” It is Taglish: Tagalog sana (“hopefully; I wish”) plus English all (Wiktionary). People say it, usually jokingly and sometimes enviously, when someone else has good luck, a partner, a gift or a perk. It is often spelled the way it sounds: sana ol, sanaol or just naol.
Origin
The phrase is built from an ordinary Tagalog word. Sana expresses a hope or wish, “hopefully; I wish that”, and after a verb it also marks an unrealized intention (“would have”), per Wiktionary, which lists sana all as a derived term. Pairing it with English “all” gives a compact, code-switched wish that the good thing being described were shared by everyone.
No fetched source dates its first use. Wiktionary’s dated usage examples include Inquirer quotes from 2020 and 2021, and academic interest followed: a 2020 DLSU Research Congress paper titled “Sana all: Filipino teenagers’ indirectness of today’s time” is cited in a later IJRISS study.
How It’s Used
Philnews called it “perhaps the most popular Filipino online slang”, explaining the extended meaning as “hoping everyone is experiencing such” (Philnews). Usage examples recorded by Wiktionary:
| Example | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Namigay ang tanod ng ayuda sa barangay ninyo? Sana all. | The chief gave relief goods for your barangay? I wish everyone got it too. | Envious, about relief goods |
| Sanaol may boyfriend. | If only everybody had a boyfriend. | Joking, about relationships |
| Ang swerte naman ni Girl. Sana all. | The girl is so lucky. I wish everyone is. | Quoted from Inquirer, 2020 |
| Sana all may trabaho at maayos na kita. | I wish everyone has a job and a decent income. | Quoted from Inquirer, 2021 |
Spellings and Forms
| Form | What it is |
|---|---|
| sana all | Standard spelling: Tagalog sana + English all |
| sana ol / sanaol | Pronunciation spelling |
| naol | Clipped pronunciation spelling |
What Researchers Found
Two Philippine studies have looked at why people say it:
- A study by Venus Faith Mika V. Javellana and Ma. Theresa L. Eustaquio of Isabela State University, published January 4, 2025 in IJRISS, interviewed 15 Gen Z participants (men, women and LGBTQIA+). Across groups the phrase was read mainly as envy with a positive connotation. Women said they use it because it is concise and easily understood, LGBTQIA+ participants said it helps minimise offensiveness, and men said it lets them hide their true feelings (IJRISS).
- A 2024 study in IJMABER found students use it on social media, at school and at home, and that it “connotes admiration, appreciation, wishing for something to happen, and strengthening relationships with others” (IJMABER).
Sources
- https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sana_all
- https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sana
- https://philnews.ph/2023/07/15/11-most-popular-filipino-internet-slangs-their-meaning/
- https://rsisinternational.org/journals/ijriss/articles/sana-all-a-critical-discourse-analysis-on-its-popularity-among-filipino-generation-z/
- https://www.ijmaberjournal.org/index.php/ijmaber/article/view/1479