Question 1 · Quick check
speak
CEFRA1
/spiːk/
verb
Türkçe translations
Translating…
In plain English
- 01
verb
To use your voice to say words or express ideas.
- 02
verb
Extra detailTo communicate or converse by some means other than orally, such as writing or facial expressions.
Examples
My mom doesn't speak English very well.
The President refused to speak to reporters.
At a glance
Sits at A1 on the CEFR scale
- Senses
- 5
- Parts of speech
- 1
- Citations
- 5
- Synonyms
- 5
Also pronounced
- /spik/
Deep Dive
verb
Extra meaningsTo have a conversation.
To communicate with one's voice, to say words out loud.
To deliver a message to a group; to deliver a speech.
More examples
In contextI don't speak French well enough!
I was so surprised I couldn't speak.
It's been ages since we've spoken.
Related
Quick test
Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.
Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.
Nearby
Origin
verb
From Middle English speke, speken (“to speak”), from Old English specan (“to speak”). This is usually taken to be an irregular alteration of earlier sprecan, spreocan (“to speak”), from Proto-West Germanic *sprekan, from Proto-Germanic *sprekaną (“to speak, make a sound”), from Proto-Indo-European *spreg- (“to make a sound, utter, speak”). Finding this proposed loss of r from the stable cluster spr unparalleled, Hill instead sets up a different root, Proto-West Germanic *spekan (“to negotiate”) from Proto-Indo-European *bʰégʾ-e- (“to distribute”) with *s-mobile, which collapsed in meaning with *sprekan ("to speak" < "to crackle, prattle") and so came to be seen as a free variant thereof. Co...