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# colloquial

«colloquial» in Mova's school dictionary: **the informal, everyday way people talk with friends and…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

adjective (colloquial; more colloquial); adverb form colloquially

### meaning for a pupil

1) Colloquial language is the informal, everyday way people talk with friends and family, not the careful language of books, letters and exams. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/colloquial/#m1)

2) A colloquial word or phrase is one used mainly in casual speech, such as «gonna», «telly» or «kids». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/colloquial/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In English lessons pupils learn to tell colloquial language from formal language and to choose the right one: colloquial for chats and stories with dialogue, formal for reports and exam answers. Dictionaries mark such words «informal» or «colloquial». Phrases: colloquial speech, colloquial English, colloquial expression.

### examples

- «Kids» is a colloquial word for children. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/colloquial/#x1)
- In your report, avoid colloquial words like «stuff» and «loads». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/colloquial/#x2)
- The characters in the story speak in colloquial English. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/colloquial/#x3)
- «Arvo» is a colloquial Australian word for afternoon. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/colloquial/#x4)
- Our teacher explained that «gonna» is colloquial for «going to». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/colloquial/#x5)
- Colloquially, people say «cheers» to mean «thank you». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/colloquial/#x6)
- The book is written in a chatty, colloquial style. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/colloquial/#x7)
- The colloquial manner rarely rises to the dignified, and the essence of the folk-tale manner in English is colloquial. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/colloquial/#x8)

### note

Spelling: double «l» — col-LO-qui-al. It does not mean rude or wrong; colloquial language is normal for talking, just not for formal writing. Opposite: formal. Related noun: colloquialism (a colloquial word or phrase).

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «colloquial» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/colloquial/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.