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Glite Dictionary
to mind one's language

to mind one's language

1 7.2
Be careful not to use rude or hurtful words
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : cuidar el lenguaje
  • Mind your language.

Examples

  • Mind your language, Beryl.

    Avengement (2019)

  • Please mind your language around children; we don't want them to pick up bad habits.

  • Mind your language, young man.

    Redemption (2020)

  • Mind your language in front of my boy.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • Hey, mind your language!

    The Abandoned (2006)

  • Oi, mind your language, little sod.

    Secrets & Lies (1996)

  • Mind your language.

    Michael Collins (1996)

  • MIND YOUR LANGUAGE.

    Tumbleweeds (1999)

  • You should mind your language when speaking to guests at the dinner table.

  • If you want to be taken seriously, you need to mind your language during meetings.

Synonyms

to watch your language
vsto mind one's language
19 7.2

To avoid saying rude or offensive words when you speak

is a general caution rather than a direct spoken warning
to watch one's mouth
vsto mind one's language
  • Informal
1 7.5

Be careful what you say to avoid offending someone

focuses more narrowly on avoiding rude or offensive words
to mind one's Ps and Qs
vsto mind one's language
  • Archaic
1 8.6

Be careful about how you behave and what you say to be polite

is mainly about avoiding rude or offensive words rather than general manners

Antonyms

vulgarity
  • NSFW
18 7.4

A lack of good taste and politeness in speech or behavior

coarseness
2 6.4

Rudeness or crude behavior that shows little politeness

How Polite

to mind one's language
  • Informal
1 7.2
to swear
  • Offensive
253 4.3

Surface Forms

mind one's language infinitive
minded one's language past
minded one's language past participle
minding one's language present participle
minds one's language third person singular

Morphology

mind + one's + language

The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'mind' (to be careful) with 'one's' (possessive) and 'language' (words/speech); a B1 learner who knows these words will understand it as 'be careful about your speech'. The construction is a straightforward imperative/compositional pattern found across many languages, so the possessive placeholder does not reduce transparency.

Etymology

The phrase mind one's language comes from old warnings where people were told to mind their language, meaning to watch the words they used so they would not upset others. So today it means 'be careful not to use rude or offensive words'.