"Wir lernen Sprachen."

Translation: We study languages.

[airelibre]

Without the capital S, would this be "We learn to speak"?

[-Copernicus-]

"Speak" is "sprechen." Also, if you're not using a modal or auxiliary verb (like "can," "may," "want to"), you need to put "zu" before the infinitive and add a comma: "Wir lernen zu sprechen."

[V2Blast]

I'm not sure you need a comma there if there's no object for the verb "sprechen". I could be wrong...

[-Copernicus-]

You're right, thanks. I've deleted it. The comma isn't wrong, but most people wouldn't put it there. It's only necessary for longer "zu" clauses--like you said, it's usually omitted if there's just a verb or a verb and an object.

[LukaZaplat]

My first language (Slovenian), also uses tongue for language, so you say "my mother tongue is Slovenian".

[Ehsan]

Likewise in Persian, the word "zabân" means both "Language" and "Tongue".

[MardukSky]

And in Spahish: lengua can also mean language even that we have a word for that also: lenguaje.

[KarolZikow]

And same story in Polish: język means both language and tongue :)

[WLB357314]

"We learn languages" is a wrong translation of "Wir lernern Sprachen"? Really?

[staraprukwa]

I hear
"Wir lernen SPAREN"...

[Abdelrahma221818]

It reminds me with arabic.
in arabic, tongue means a language as well.

[Jamie529197]

'Wir lernen Sprach' is in the audio not wir lernen Sprachen

[KiwiCymraeg]

Why is "we learn languages" wrong? I put that and was told it should be "we study languages"

[peepyna]

my native language also use it for both senses, but in English sound strange...

[kar_oshi]

lernen means "to study" too. "We study languages" should be accepted.

[LangForThought]

I thought "study" was "studieren".

[juanrj]

why not ''we learn idioms''?

[airelibre]

That would be wir lernen Redensarten. "Idiom" in English does not mean "language". It means "expressão idiomática".

[juanrj]

thks a lot!!