Meaning & use
bilingual
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivenot comparable
Able to use two languages fluently or with practical ease.
Grammar: Usually follows be/seem or comes before a noun; pattern bilingual in two languages.
Patterns
- bilingual in two languages
- become bilingual
- bilingual speaker
She is bilingual in English and Tagalog.
He grew up bilingual and switches easily at home.
adjectivebefore a noun
Using or involving two languages.
Grammar: Often placed directly before the noun it describes: bilingual education, bilingual forms.
Patterns
- bilingual education
- bilingual dictionary
- bilingual community
The clinic provides bilingual forms in Spanish and English.
They hired a bilingual assistant for the market stall.
Common combinations
- bilingual in something
- Mina is bilingual in Arabic and English.
- bilingual education
- The school offers bilingual education in Finnish and Swedish.
- bilingual dictionary
- Keep a bilingual dictionary beside the workbook.
- bilingual community
- The island has a proud bilingual community.
Synonyms and how they differ
Opposites
Word family
- bilingualism noun
- The ability to use two languages, or a system that uses two languages.
Commonly confused: bilingual or multilingual?
bilingual vs multilingual
Bilingual means exactly two languages; multilingual means three or more.
Practice
She is bilingual ___ French and Arabic.
Choose one answer.
The fixed pattern is “bilingual in” two languages. “With” suggests tools, “between” suggests separating things, and “of” is not used here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bilingual”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.