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lengua

nounBeginnerHigh frequency

What does “lengua” mean in English?

  1. 1.tongue

    tongue (the body part)

  2. 2.language

    language (lengua materna, lengua extranjera)

Example sentences

  • Me quemé la lengua con el café caliente.

    I burned my tongue with the hot coffee.

  • Hablo tres lenguas.

    I speak three languages.

  • Sácame la lengua.

    Stick out your tongue.

How to use it

Lengua means 'tongue' (body part) AND 'language'. Feminine: la lengua. Same word, two senses — context disambiguates.

Common mistake

Spanish uses lengua for both the body part and the language; idioma is a synonym for the language sense only. 'Lengua materna' = 'native language'.

Topics

Related Beginner words

Reference

This entry’s teaching guidance follows A New Reference Grammar of Modern Spanish (Butt, Benjamin & Moreira Rodríguez, Routledge), 8.