Word.ws English Dictionary

speak someone's language

speak someone's language verb: to speak about concerns, feelings, ideas, etc. which someone understands well and can relate to intimately.

Verb

speak someone's language (third-person singular simple present speaks someone's language, present participle speaking someone's language, simple past spoke someone's language, past participle spoken someone's language)

  1. (idiomatic) To speak about concerns, feelings, ideas, etc. which someone understands well and can relate to intimately.
    • "When I'm with you I seem to get back to my natural conditions—the conditions in which I can live and work." . . . He turned to her eagerly. "You're the only one, Lois, who knows what I mean—who can speak my language."1915, Basil King, chapter 15, in The Side Of The Angels
    • Mr. Dole, a Republican from neighboring Kansas who made more than a dozen trips to Iowa last year is, according to Calvin O. Hultman, Republican leader of the State Senate, "one of us - he speaks our language."1987 January 22, Bernard Weinraub, “Dole tests Iowa political waters, preparing '88 state organization”, in New York Times, retrieved 13 May 2014

Forms of speak someone's language

third-person singular presentspeaks someone's language
present participlespeaking someone's language
pastspoke someone's language
past participlespoken someone's language

Questions about speak someone's language

What does speak someone's language mean?
Speak someone's language means to speak about concerns, feelings, ideas, etc. which someone understands well and can relate to intimately.
What part of speech is speak someone's language?
Speak someone's language is a verb.
What is the past tense of speak someone's language?
The past tense of speak someone's language is spoke someone's language.

Words near speak someone's language in the dictionary

  1. speak one's conscience
  2. speak one's mind
  3. speak out
  4. speak out of turn
  5. speak softly and carry a big stick
  6. speak someone's language
  7. speak to
  8. speak too soon
  9. speak truth to power
  10. speak up
  11. speak volumes

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: speak someone's language (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-speak someone's language.ogg.

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