lengua
tongue
Reviewed by: David WestfallCofounder
The tongue in your mouth, and by extension the language it speaks
Encoding Strategies:
linguistic
visual
language
the words people speak
Lengua means tongue and is related to the English word language0, since language is spoken with the tongue. It's also related to "lingual," as in someone who is bilingual.
lengua
tongue
The muscle in your mouth that you taste and speak with.
El niño me sacó la lenguaThe kid stuck his tongue out at me
Me quemé la lengua con el caféI burned my tongue on the coffee
tongue (food)
Tongue as a cut of meat, usually from a cow.
Pedí dos tacos de lenguaI ordered two beef tongue tacos
La lengua se cocina a fuego lento durante horasTongue is cooked over low heat for hours
language, tongue
A language, meaning the words a whole community speaks. English does the same thing when it calls Portuguese someone's "mother tongue."
El árabe es una lengua muy antiguaArabic is a very old language
Su lengua materna es el portuguésHis mother tongue is Portuguese
language arts, Spanish (school subject)
The class at school where you study your own language, the way an American student takes English.
Mañana tengo examen de lenguaI have a language arts test tomorrow
Saqué buena nota en lengua y en historiaI got a good grade in Spanish and in history
strip, spit, tongue
A narrow strip that sticks out from something bigger, like land jutting into the water or a flame rising off a fire. It sticks out the way a tongue does.
Una lengua de tierra separa el mar de la lagunaA strip of land separates the sea from the lagoon
Las lenguas de fuego subían por la paredTongues of flame climbed up the wall
morderse la lengua
to bite one's tongue, to hold one's tongue
Holding back something you were about to say. You bite down on your own tongue so the words cannot get out.
Me mordí la lengua para no discutir con mi jefeI bit my tongue so I wouldn't argue with my boss
Se mordió la lengua y dejó que él terminara de hablarShe held her tongue and let him finish talking
irse de la lengua
to let something slip, to blab
Saying something you were supposed to keep quiet. What you were holding back leaves from your tongue before you can stop it.
Se fue de la lengua y arruinó la sorpresaHe let it slip and ruined the surprise
No te vayas de la lengua con lo del regaloDon't blab about the gift
mala lengua
gossip, big mouth
Someone who talks badly about other people. The tongue is the bad part of them.
No le cuentes nada, es una mala lenguaDon't tell her anything, she's a gossip
Tiene muy mala lengua y siempre habla de los vecinosHe has a big mouth and always talks about the neighbors