Meaning
native speaker
- a person who speaks a language as their first language
- mother tongue, native language
In a sentence
La mia insegnante è madrelingua spagnola.
My teacher is a native Spanish speaker.
Sei madrelingua inglese o bilingue?
Are you a native English speaker or bilingual?
Luca non è madrelingua italiano.
Luca is not a native speaker of Italian.
Word forms (3)
| Word | Word forms |
|---|---|
| madrelingua | singular |
| madrelingua | plural |
| madrelingua | Masc|Fem · plural |
Usage notes
- Invariable in the plural: i madrelingua, le madrelingua.
- Often used with a language adjective: madrelingua inglese.
- Can refer to both men and women.