母語（ぼご、bogo）
- mother tongue

The Japanese word 母語 ぼご (bogo) directly translates to "mother tongue" or "native language" in English. It refers to the first language a person learns from birth or early childhood. This is the language a person is most fluent in and thinks in most naturally. It is deeply connected to a person's cultural identity.

⚫︎私の母語は日本語です。 Translation: My native language is Japanese. ⚫︎彼は母語で話すとき、とても流暢です。 Translation: He is very fluent when he speaks in his native language. ⚫︎ 彼女の母語は中国語と英語です。 Translation: Her mother tongues are Chinese and English.

母語 is used in various contexts to talk about someone's primary language. ⚫︎ It is often used in educational settings, such as when discussing language acquisition or language proficiency. ⚫︎ It is also common in discussions about culture, identity, and globalization. ⚫︎ You can use it in everyday conversation to ask someone what their first language is.

母語 is written as: ⚫︎ Kanji: 母語 ⚫︎ Hiragana (reading): ぼご ⚫︎ There are no other common ways to write this word. ⚫︎ There is no variation in the okurigana.

⚫︎ ネイティブ言語 (neitibu gengo) - "Native language" (loanword) ⚫︎ 第一言語 (daiichi gengo) - "First language"

⚫︎ 外国語 (gaikokugo) - "Foreign language" ⚫︎ 第二言語 (daini gengo) - "Second language"

彼は母語の授業でとても良い成績を取った。 ・Translation: He got very good grades in his native language class. ・Explanation: This sentence describes someone's performance in a class dedicated to their first language.

彼女は母語が話せる先生になりたいです。 ・Translation: She wants to become a teacher who can speak her native language. ・Explanation: This sentence expresses a desire to teach one's native language.

The word 母語 is a compound word formed from two kanji: ⚫︎ 母 (haha) - "mother" ⚫︎ 語 (go) - "language" The combination of these two characters creates the meaning of a language acquired as if from one's mother, a person's first or native language.