mother tongue

American  

[muhth-er tuhng, muhth-er tuhng] / ˈmʌð ər ˈtʌŋ, ˈmʌð ər ˌtʌŋ /

noun

• mother tongues
  plural

1. the language first learned by a person; native language.

2. mother language.

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mother tongue British  

noun

1. the language first learned by a child

2. a language from which another has evolved

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• mother tongues
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of mother tongue

1350–1400; Middle English moder tonge

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mother tongue

“But when you speak in your mother tongue, your body tenses up a bit because you think, ‘I understand the full emotional spectrum of what I’m talking about.’

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026

The Kenyan's work spanned six decades and two languages - first English, and then his mother tongue, Kikuyu.

From BBC ● Dec. 31, 2025

He dropped his English name, James, and resolved to write only in the language of the Kikuyu people, his mother tongue.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 23, 2025

It just created this real, almost, like, subconscious intimacy because it’s the mother tongue.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 18, 2025

It was like switching from passively watching a film in a foreign language to actively debating in one’s mother tongue.

From "The Annotated Mona Lisa" by Carol Strickland and John Boswell

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Related Words

• first language

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