Meaning & use
bi-literate
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivenot comparable
Able to read and write fluently in two languages.
Grammar: Describes a person or group, not a thing: a bi-literate student, bi-literate children.
Patterns
- be bi-literate in something
- become bi-literate
She grew up in Toronto and is bi-literate in English and French.
The school aims to send every pupil out bi-literate in two languages.
adjectivebefore a noun
Written or produced in two languages so that readers of either can use it.
Grammar: Used before a noun to describe texts, signs or materials, not people.
Patterns
- a bi-literate document
- bi-literate materials
The hospital provides bi-literate forms so that every patient can read them.
They published a bi-literate edition of the poems.
Common combinations
- bi-literate in two languages
- Many children in the region are bi-literate in two languages by age ten.
- fully bi-literate
- Few adults become fully bi-literate without regular practice.
- bi-literate education
- The province introduced a bi-literate education program for primary schools.
- become bi-literate
- With daily reading, she became bi-literate within a few years.
- bi-literate workforce
- A bi-literate workforce is a real advantage for international trade.
Synonyms and how they differ
- bilingual
- Use 'bilingual' for speaking two languages; 'bi-literate' specifically means reading and writing them well.
- literate
- 'Literate' means able to read and write in one language, so it is weaker than 'bi-literate'.
Opposites
Word family
- biliteracy noun
- the ability to read and write in two languages
- literate adjective
- able to read and write
- literacy noun
- the ability to read and write
Commonly confused: bi-literate or bilingual?
bi-literate vs bilingual
'Bilingual' usually means speaking two languages, which may be true even for someone who cannot read or write one of them; 'bi-literate' adds reading and writing.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'bi-literate' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Bi-literate' describes a person who can read and write two languages, so it fits 'he was bi-literate in Spanish and English'. The trade deal option describes an agreement, not a person's literacy, and the other two use the word with nouns it cannot describe.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bi-literate”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.