How to say "bilingual" in Japanese

• バイリンガルCommon
  no-adjectiveCovers the sense of a person who speaks two languages. A loanword commonly used for individuals, e.g. describing someone as bilingual, and the safest everyday choice in that meaning.
• バイリン
  nounAn abbreviation of バイリンガル, covering the same person-related sense. Being a shortened form and less common, it is seldom the word you want; prefer the full form in most writing.
• 二ヶ国語にかこくご
  no-adjectiveMeans 'two languages' and matches 'in two languages': use it for things like texts, editions or ability expressed in two languages rather than for labeling a person.
  アメリカ人あめりかじんの父親ちちおやとフランス人ふらんすじんの母親ははおやを持もつので、彼女かのじょは２カ国かこく語ごを話はなせる。↗

  With an American father and a French mother, she is bilingual.

Use 「バイリンガル」 for a bilingual person; 「二ヶ国語」 for something in or involving two languages; 「バイリン」 is just a casual abbreviation of 「バイリンガル」 and is rarely the word you need.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• バイリンガルbilingual
• バイリンbilingual
• 二ヶ国語にかこくごbilingual