母国語

Japanese
Kanji in this term
母 国 語
ぼ
Grade: 2		 こく
Grade: 2		 ご
Grade: 2
on’yomi

Etymology

Compound of 母国 (bokoku, “motherland, mother country, country of one's birth”) +‎ 語 (-go, “language”).[1]

Pronunciation

Noun

母国語 (shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai kanji 母國語, hiragana ぼこくご, rōmaji bokokugo)

  1. the language of the country of one's birth
  2. native language, mother tongue, first language
    Synonym: 母語 (bogo)
    Antonym: 外国語 (gaikokugo)

Usage notes

In common Japanese usage, this term is synonymous with 母語 (bogo, “mother tongue, first language”). However, bokokugo and bogo may refer to different things, such as in the context of a country with more than one language (such as Canada or South Africa), or in the context of someone having moved to a different country.

References
  1. 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
  2. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
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