native tongue

NOUN

mother tongue

Synonyms

STRONGEST

first language

WEAK

natal tongue native speech parent language vernacular

NOUN

speech

Synonyms

STRONGEST

conversation dialogue discussion expression language tone voice

STRONG

accent articulation communication dialect diction doublespeak elocution enunciation idiom intercourse jargon lingo locution palaver parlance prattle pronunciation prose speaking spiel tongue utterance verbalization vernacular vocalization vocalizing voicing

WEAK

double talk expressing mother tongue oral communication vocal expression

Antonyms

STRONGEST

quiet silence

STRONG

standard

WEAK

listening

NOUN

verbalization

Synonyms

STRONG

accent articulation communication conversation dialect dialogue diction discourse discussion doublespeak elocution enunciation expression idiom intercourse jargon language lingo locution palaver parlance prattle pronunciation prose speaking spiel talk tone tongue utterance vernacular vocalization vocalizing voice voicing

WEAK

double talk expressing mother tongue oral communication vocal expression

Antonyms

STRONG

quiet silence standard

NOUN

vernacular

Synonyms

STRONGEST

argot dialect idiom jargon lingo parlance patois slang

STRONG

cant language patter phraseology speech tongue

WEAK

jive talk lingua franca street talk

Antonyms

STRONGEST

standard

STRONG

quiet silence

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The result is that these Iranian characters, when talking among themselves in their native tongue, sound awfully like Americans having a conversation in the mall or at a nearby table at a restaurant.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 11, 2026

For the first time in their history, the English possessed, in their own hands and in their native tongue, the entire New Testament.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026

For me, as a third-culture kid navigating multiple identities, I always felt torn—caught between the cultural world my parents raised me in and the white Pennsylvania suburb that rejected our customs and native tongue.

From Salon • Feb. 22, 2025

She has no background in instruction, and the only language that she and her pupils share is English, which is not a native tongue for any of them.

From New York Times • Nov. 21, 2024

Use a language other than your native tongue.

From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby

native tongue

Example Sentences

Related Words