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.

---

mother tongue British  

noun

1. the language first learned by a child

2. a language from which another has evolved

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• mother tongues
  plural

Etymology

Origin of mother tongue

1350–1400; Middle English moder tonge

Example Sentences

"So I usually switch between my mother tongue, which is Marathi, and English," she said.

From BBC • Apr. 25, 2026

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

For Esau, not being able to speak her mother tongue was "a wound".

From Barron's • Oct. 10, 2025

But still I couldn’t enter any tribal university because I had failed my mother tongue.

From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane

Related Words

• first language