Is there a noun in English which means "the person to whom the speaker is speaking" ? Addressee only sounds apt for someone written to, interlocutor means anyone taking part in a conversation, and other , as in "replied the other" doesn't seem right, as not having the specific meaning. This arises from trying to explain what a speaker meant; I could attempt to do that by saying "he means that the person spoken to" but was at a loss for one single word for the last three.