Meanings
nounforeign language (plural foreign languages)
plural foreign languages
- A language that is not widely or officially spoken in a particular place.
Irish courts will hear cases in English or Gaelic, but speakers of foreign languages must find an interpreter.
- A language that is not one's native tongue.
The children struggled in their Welsh lessons because they didn't have any experience of foreign languages.
Translations
Arabic لُغَة أَجْنَبِيَّة
- لُغَة أَجْنَبِيَّة (luḡa ʔajnabiyya)any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Basque erdara, erdera
- erdaraany language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
- erderaany language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Bulgarian чужд ези́к
- чужд ези́к (čužd ezík)any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Catalan llengua estrangera
- llengua estrangeraany language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Chinese Cantonese 外語 /外语, 外國語 /外国语
- 外語 /外语 (ngoi⁶ jyu⁵)any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
- 外國語 /外国语 (ngoi⁶ gwok³ jyu⁵)any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
- 番話 /番话any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Chinese Mandarin 外語 /外语, 外國語 /外国语
- 外語 /外语 (wàiyǔ)any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
- 外國語 /外国语 (wàiguóyǔ)any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
- 外文 (wàiwén)any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Czech cizí jazyk
- cizí jazykany language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Danish fremmedsprog
- fremmedsprogany language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Dutch vreemde taal
- vreemde taalany language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Esperanto fremda lingvo
- fremda lingvoany language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Estonian võõrkeel
- võõrkeelany language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Finnish vieras kieli
- vieras kieliany language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
French langue étrangère
- langue étrangèreany language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
German Fremdsprache
- Fremdspracheany language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Hebrew שָׂפָה זָרָה, לַעַז
- שָׂפָה זָרָה (safá zará)any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
- לַעַז (lá'az)any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Hindi विदेशी भाषा
- विदेशी भाषा (videśī bhāṣā)any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Hungarian idegen nyelv
- idegen nyelvany language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Icelandic útlenska
- útlenskaany language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Indonesian bahasa asing
- bahasa asingany language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Irish teanga iasachta
- teanga iasachtaany language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Italian lingua straniera
- lingua stranieraany language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Japanese 外国語
- 外国語 (gaikokugo)any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Korean 외국어, 외어
- 외국어 (oegugeo)any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
- 외어 (oeeo)any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Latvian svešvaloda
- svešvalodaany language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Lithuanian užsienio kalba
- užsienio kalbaany language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Malay bahasa asing
- bahasa asingany language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Norwegian Bokmål fremmedspråk
- fremmedspråkany language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Persian زبان خارجی
- زبان خارجی (zabân-e xâreji)any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Polish język obcy
- język obcyany language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Portuguese idioma estrangeiro, língua estrangeira
- idioma estrangeiroany language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
- língua estrangeiraany language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Romanian limbă străină
- limbă străinăany language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Russian иностра́нный язы́к
- иностра́нный язы́к (inostránnyj jazýk)any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Slovak cudzí jazyk
- cudzí jazykany language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Spanish lengua extranjera
- lengua extranjeraany language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Swedish främmande språk
- främmande språkany language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Tamil அயல்மொழி, வேற்றுமொழி
- அயல்மொழி (ayalmoḻi)any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
- வேற்றுமொழி (vēṟṟumoḻi)any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Thai ภาษาต่างประเทศ
- ภาษาต่างประเทศ (paa-sǎa-dtàang-bprà-têet)any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Turkish yabancı dil
- yabancı dilany language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Ukrainian інозе́мна мо́ва
- інозе́мна мо́ва (inozémna móva)any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Urdu پَرْدیسی زَبان, غیر مُلْکی زَبان
- پَرْدیسی زَبان (pardesī zubān)any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
- غیر مُلْکی زَبان (ġair mulki zubān)any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
- بِدیسی زَبان (bidesī zubān)any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Vietnamese ngoại ngữ
- ngoại ngữany language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Yiddish פֿרעמדע שפּראַך
- פֿרעמדע שפּראַך (fremde shprakh)any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Cite this entry
APA
foreign language. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/foreign%20language
MLA
“foreign language.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/foreign%20language. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “foreign language,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/foreign%20language.
Source: foreign language on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.