noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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General-American:/fɔːɹɪn lɛŋɡwɪd͡ʒ/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A language that is not widely or officially spoken in a particular place.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
Irish courts will hear cases in English or Gaelic, but speakers of foreign languages must find an interpreter.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A language that is not one's native tongue.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
The children struggled in their Welsh lessons because they didn't have any experience of foreign languages.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
No etymology was provided for this word.
Across languages
Translations
89 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Albanian:
gjuhë e huaj
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Arabic:
لُغَة أَجْنَبِيَّة
(luḡa ʔajnabiyya)
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Armenian:
օտար լեզու
(ōtar lezu)
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Azerbaijani:
xarici dil
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Basque:
erdara
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Basque:
erdera
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Belarusian:
заме́жная мо́ва
(zamjéžnaja móva)
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Bulgarian:
чужд ези́к
(čužd ezík)
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Burmese:
ဘာသာခြား
(bhasahkra:)
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Burmese:
ဘာသန္တရ
(bhasanta.ra.)
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Catalan:
llengua estrangera
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Chinese Cantonese:
外語 /外语
(ngoi6 jyu5)
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Chinese Cantonese:
外國語 /外国语
(ngoi6 gwok3 jyu5)
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Chinese Cantonese:
番話 /番话
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Chinese:
вэйү
(veyü)
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Hakka Chinese:
番話 /番话
(fan1 fa4)
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Chinese:
外語 /外语
(gōa-gú / gōa-gí)
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Chinese Mandarin:
外語 /外语
(wàiyǔ)
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Chinese Mandarin:
外國語 /外国语
(wàiguóyǔ)
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Chinese Mandarin:
外文
(wàiwén)
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Teochew:
番話 /番话
(huang1 uê7)
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Teochew:
番话
(huang1 uê7)
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Crimean Tatar:
ecnebiy til
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Czech:
cizí jazyk
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Danish:
fremmedsprog
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Dutch:
vreemde taal
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Esperanto:
fremda lingvo
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Estonian:
võõrkeel
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Finnish:
vieras kieli
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
French:
langue étrangère
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Galician:
lingua estranxeira
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Georgian:
უცხო ენა
(ucxo ena)
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
German:
Fremdsprache
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Hebrew:
שָׂפָה זָרָה
(safá zará)
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Hebrew:
לַעַז
(lá'az)
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Hindi:
विदेशी भाषा
(videśī bhāṣā)
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Hungarian:
idegen nyelv
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Icelandic:
útlenska
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Indonesian:
bahasa asing
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Irish:
teanga iasachta
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Italian:
lingua straniera
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Japanese:
外国語
(gaikokugo)
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Kazakh:
шет тілі
(şet tılı)
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Khmer:
ភាសាបរទេស
(phiəsaa bɑɑrĕəʼteih)
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Korean:
외국어
(oegugeo)
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Korean:
외어
(oeeo)
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Northern Kurdish:
zimanê biyanî
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Northern Kurdish:
zimanê ejnebî
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Kyrgyz:
чет тили
(cet tili)
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Kyrgyz:
чет элдик тили
(cet eldik tili)
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Lao:
ພາສາຕ່າງປະເທດ
(phā sā tāng pa thēt)
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Latvian:
svešvaloda
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Lithuanian:
užsienio kalba
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Macedonian:
странски јазик
(stranski jazik)
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Malay:
bahasa asing
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Nahuatl:
pinotlahtōlli
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Norwegian Bokmål:
fremmedspråk
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Old English:
feorcumen
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Persian:
زبان خارجی
(zabân-e xâreji)
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Pirahã:
’apagáiso
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Polish:
język obcy
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Portuguese:
idioma estrangeiro
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Portuguese:
língua estrangeira
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Romanian:
limbă străină
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Russian:
иностра́нный язы́к
(inostránnyj jazýk)
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Serbo-Croatian:
страни језик
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Serbo-Croatian:
strani jezik
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Slovak:
cudzí jazyk
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Slovene:
tuji jezik
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Lower Sorbian:
cuza rěc
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Upper Sorbian:
cuza rěč
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Spanish:
lengua extranjera
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Swedish:
främmande språk
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Tajik:
забони хориҷӣ
(zabon-i xoriji)
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Tamil:
அயல்மொழி
(ayalmoḻi)
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Tamil:
வேற்றுமொழி
(vēṟṟumoḻi)
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Tatar:
чит тел
(çit tel)
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Thai:
ภาษาต่างประเทศ
(paa-sǎa-dtàang-bprà-têet)
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Turkish:
yabancı dil
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Turkmen:
daşary ýurt dili
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Ukrainian:
інозе́мна мо́ва
(inozémna móva)
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Urdu:
پَرْدیسی زَبان
(pardesī zubān)
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Urdu:
غیر مُلْکی زَبان
(ġair mulki zubān)
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Urdu:
بِدیسی زَبان
(bidesī zubān)
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Uyghur:
چەت تىلى
(chet tili)
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Uzbek:
chet dil
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Vietnamese:
ngoại ngữ
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Volapük:
foginänapük
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
Yiddish:
פֿרעמדע שפּראַך
(fremde shprakh)
— any language other than that spoken by the people of a specific place
