speak someone's language
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Understand and share someone's thoughts or feelings
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
Hiểu và chia sẻ suy nghĩ hoặc cảm xúc của ai đó
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Literally: communicate in someone's verbal language
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
The therapist spoke her patient's language, calming his fears
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “speak someone's language” mean?
Understand and share someone's thoughts or feelings Literally: communicate in someone's verbal language
Is “speak someone's language” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.