---
title: "Kouyu Meaning: 口语 (kǒuyǔ) Means “spoken language”"
description: "口语 (traditional 口語, kǒuyǔ) means “spoken language; colloquial speech; speaking (skill)”. Hear its tones, see what 口 and 语 each mean and a real sentence that uses it."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/kouyu"
published: "2026-10-21"
updated: "2026-11-06"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

[What does it mean in Chinese?](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning)

# What does 口语 mean?

猫头鹰māotóuyīngowl

口语 kǒuyǔ

## spoken language; colloquial speech; speaking (skill)

## Its characters

1. 口 kǒu mouth
2. 语 yǔ language

## In a sentence

虽然他考得很好，他口语的汉语不见得比你的好。 Although he did well in the exam, his spoken Chinese is not necessarily as good as yours.

光棍”，字面意思是光秃秃的棍子，**口语**里指没结婚的男人，现在也常常用来指单身的人。

From [双十一是怎么来的？ · Where did Singles Day come from?](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/singles-day-11-11-origin#library-word-95-97)

[More about 口语](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E5%8F%A3%E8%AF%AD)

## More words with 口 or 语

- [标语 biāoyǔ](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/biaoyu)
- [成语 chéngyǔ](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/chengyu)
- [窗口 chuāngkǒu](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/chuangkou)
- [出口 chūkǒu](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/chukou)
- [词语 cíyǔ](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/ciyu)
- [港口 gǎngkǒu](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/gangkou)
- [汉语 hànyǔ](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/hanyu)
- [话语 huàyǔ](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/huayu)
- [借口 jièkǒu](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/jiekou)
- [进口 jìnkǒu](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/jinkou)

## Keep 口语 for Review

A free account keeps it, and Review brings it back just before you’d forget it.

## Look up another word

## See any word in its sentence

Get a card like this for every word on any page or YouTube subtitle.

[Add to Chrome](https://mandarinthewild.com/go/chrome?from=%2Fmeaning%2Fkouyu) [Read in the Library](https://mandarinthewild.com/library)

[Type pinyin with tone marks](https://mandarinthewild.com/pinyin-tone-marks)

[How it compares with Pleco](https://mandarinthewild.com/compare/pleco)