Thesaurus.com
Dictionary.com

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.

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

The Welsh Not - or Welsh Stick - was employed across schools in the 19th Century to discourage children from speaking in their native tongue.

From BBC • Dec. 7, 2025

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

He can’t help us with Irish because he’s from the North and lacking in the native tongue.

From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt