Meaning & use
bilingual skills
Last updated
Meanings
nounplural
The ability to speak, understand, read or write well in two languages.
Grammar: Always plural in this meaning; it takes a plural verb, as in 'Bilingual skills open doors.'
Patterns
- have bilingual skills
- develop bilingual skills
- bilingual skills in something
- use your bilingual skills
Her bilingual skills helped her get a job at the airport.
The course is designed to build bilingual skills in young children.
He lists bilingual skills on his résumé because he speaks English and Mandarin.
nounpluraltechnical
The practical abilities a bilingual person uses to switch between two languages in real situations.
Grammar: Plural and often used after verbs like 'assess', 'test' or 'measure'.
Patterns
- assess someone's bilingual skills
- test bilingual skills
- measure bilingual skills
Teachers assess bilingual skills by asking students to explain ideas in both languages.
The test measures bilingual skills such as translating and switching quickly between languages.
Researchers compare bilingual skills in children who started learning a second language at different ages.
Common combinations
- have bilingual skills
- Many employers want staff who have bilingual skills.
- develop bilingual skills
- Living abroad for a year helped her develop bilingual skills.
- strong bilingual skills
- The agency is looking for someone with strong bilingual skills.
- bilingual skills in English and Spanish
- His bilingual skills in English and Spanish are a real advantage here.
- put your bilingual skills to use
- She moved into customer support to put her bilingual skills to use.
Synonyms and how they differ
- language skills
- Broader: it covers ability in any language, including just one, while 'bilingual skills' specifically means ability in two.
- fluency
- Focuses on speaking smoothly and easily; 'bilingual skills' also includes reading, writing and switching between languages.
- bilingualism
- Names the general condition or situation of knowing two languages, not the particular abilities a person has.
Word family
Commonly confused: bilingual skills or bilingual ability? bilingual skills or biliteral?
bilingual skills vs bilingual ability
Very close in meaning, but 'ability' is often singular and uncountable, while 'skills' is plural and suggests several separate things a person can do.
bilingual skills vs biliteral
A rare word meaning 'written with two letters'; it has nothing to do with speaking two languages.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'bilingual skills' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Bilingual skills' is a plural noun phrase, so it takes a plural verb and no article: 'His bilingual skills helped him...' Option A wrongly adds 'a', option B uses a singular verb, and option D puts the phrase in a position where it cannot work as the subject.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bilingual skills”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.