Illustration: At a low dining table in a Japanese home, a toddler tries to ask a grandparent for a peeled mandarin segment. The child points at the fruit, shapes their mouth with exaggerated effort, then pauses with lips still parted and eyebrows raised, waiting to be understood.

JLPT N1nounLevel estimated by Bebop

片かた言こと

katakoto

broken speech, a smattering

Example sentences

  1. トムは片言かたことのフランス語ごしか話はなせない。

    Tom can speak only a little French.

    Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FR · Source

  2. 彼かれはほとんど理解りかいできない片言かたことの英語えいごで話はなした。

    He spoke in a broken English that was hard to understand.

    Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FR · Source

  3. 僕ぼくの片言かたことの英語えいごがなんとか通つうじたのでほっとしました。

    I was relieved that I could make my broken English understood.

    Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FR · Source

Kanji in 片言

  • 片one-sided; leafOnヘンKunかた-・かた
  • 言say; wordOnゲン・ゴンKunいう・こと

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