母 語(ぼご)

ぼご

noun

mother tongue, native language

formalacademiclanguage

See also: 母国語(ぼこくご) (native language (of homeland))

1. mother tongue, native language, first language

The language a person acquires naturally from birth; one's first language. Used in academic and formal contexts to refer to native linguistic competence.

私(わたし)の母語(ぼご)は日本語(にほんご)です。

My mother tongue is Japanese.

母語(ぼご)の影響(えいきょう)で発音(はつおん)に癖(くせ)がある。

Due to the influence of my mother tongue, I have a quirk in my pronunciation.

母語(ぼご)が異(こと)なる人々(ひとびと)が共通(きょうつう)言語(げんご)として英語(えいご)を使(つか)っている。

People with different mother tongues use English as a common language.

Usage

A somewhat academic term. In everyday conversation, 母国語(ぼこくご) (national language of one's home country) is often used interchangeably, though strictly speaking 母語(ぼご) refers to the language acquired from birth regardless of nationality, while 母国語(ぼこくご) refers to the language of one's homeland.

Common collocations

母語(ぼご)話者(わしゃ): native speaker
母語(ぼご)の影響(えいきょう): influence of one's mother tongue
母語(ぼご)で話(はな)す: to speak in one's mother tongue
母語(ぼご)教育(きょういく): mother tongue education

Related Words

Compare: 公用語(こうようご) (official language)

Compare: 第一言語(だいいちげんご) (first language)

Compare: 第二言語(だいにげんご) (second language)

general

Added 2026.2.24 15:42 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:01

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