The 5 Hardest and 5 Easiest Languages for English Speakers to Learn

There are over 7,000 languages in the world. Quite a few people in the world speak 2-4 languages fluently, usually because they were raised in a multilingual environment. In today’s interconnected, multicultural world, knowing more than one language can be a valuable, marketable skill, as well as a satisfying way to appreciate and experience other cultures and the diverse people we meet.

If you’re an English speaker, you have an advantage, as English is the language of business, academia, and diplomacy in much of the world. And it also gives you an advantage in learning some languages that have similar structure and vocabulary. One of the foremost institutions of language learning in the world is the U.S. Department of State’s Foreign Service Institute . We’ve consulted them to compile for you a list of 5 easy and 5 hard languages to consider for your own language learning needs, depending on how much of a challenge you want.

Ways to Learn a Language

People have different preferred learning styles. Some do better in a traditional classroom setting. Your local community college can provide you with this opportunity at a very affordable cost. Others might like more of a DIY approach. In that case, try the free, fun, and easy app Duolingo or a paid language learning curriculum like Rosetta Stone . Or watch movies on your favorite streaming service and set up subtitles in the same language to work on your grammar and spelling or in English to work on your translation abilities.

Ultimately, you’ll learn a language most quickly if you have the opportunity to use it. Frequenting stores in an ethnic neighborhood, hiring an online tutor on a site like Preply.com , or traveling abroad can all be excellent ways to get more real-life language practice.

The Easiest Languages

The Foreign Service Institute classifies languages into four categories. Those in categories 1 and 2 are the easiest for English speakers to learn, taking anywhere from 24-36 weeks of study (600-900 class hours). We’ve selected 5 Category 1 languages and given you some background to help you decide whether you want to study them.

Norwegian

Norwegian is a Germanic language similar to English. The two languages share a lot of vocabulary. The pronunciation of most Norwegian words is fairly simple. Less than 6 million people speak it, but it is mutually intelligible with Danish and Swedish. Learning it will enable you to vacation or live in Scandinavia, a beautiful region with a culture widely admired around the world.

Italian

About 85 million people speak Italian, mainly in Italy and Switzerland . Italian evolved out of Latin, which was one of the root languages of English and the language of academia in Europe for centuries. This gives it many root words and grammar features similar to English. Italy is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe. Many people consider the Italian language particularly beautiful and romantic. Italian is also an important language in music and opera.

Spanish

About 489 million people in the world speak Spanish as their first language. Spain, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the United States are where most Spanish speakers live. Spanish is a romance language, meaning it derives from Latin. English also has a great many Latin root words. Spanish also has a relatively straightforward grammar with fewer exceptions to the rules than English. For people in the United States, Spanish is likely the most practical and useful foreign language to learn, as there are tens of millions of Spanish speakers in the country, and Latin America is a close and affordable place to travel for business and pleasure.

Portuguese

Portuguese, of course, originated in Portugal, but most of the people who speak it in the world today live in Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, and other former Portuguese colonies. Around 250 million people speak the language. Portuguese speakers, particularly in Brazil, have a reputation for being friendly and outgoing.

French

About 321 million people speak the French language in France, Belgium, Switzerland, North and West Africa, the Caribbean, French Polynesia, and Canada. France has long been associated with high culture. If you enjoy fine French cuisine, you’ll want to be able to pronounce the names of dishes and wines correctly. It’s one of the primary languages of Europe and is considered one of the main diplomatic languages of the world, alongside English. Finally, French is known as the “language of love.” Well-spoken French can sound uniquely light, gentle, and sophisticated, lending itself well to poetry, music, and pledges of undying love.

The Hardest Languages

In the Foreign Service Institute’s language classification system, the most difficult languages are at Category 5. These take 88 weeks or 2,200 hours of classroom time to reach proficiency. Why would anyone want to study a super-hard language? Family connections, fascination with the culture, a desire to challenge oneself, and ambitions to work for the government or in international business are a few of the reasons there is a demand for learning these languages. We’ve selected 5 Category 5 languages and have a few ideas about why they’re worth your while to learn.

Arabic

Arabic speakers live mainly in North Africa and the Middle East. The language spread with the expansion of the Islamic caliphate starting in the 600s AD. Now, approximately 422 million Arabic speakers live all over the world. Given the political turmoil in Arabic-speaking countries, learning this language can make a person valuable as a member of the U.S. diplomatic corps or military, to humanitarian organizations working in the region, and to think tanks trying to envision solutions to the different Middle East crises.

Japanese

Japanese, of course, is the language of Japan, but there are substantial numbers of people who speak it as their first language in California, Hawaii, Brazil, and Peru. In fact, from 1990-2000 Alberto Fujimori, a Japanese-Peruvian citizen, served as the country’s president. Japan has one of the largest and strongest economies in the world and enjoys close ties with the United States. Tourism and cultural influence flow between the countries in both directions. Japanese anime is particularly popular among American young people. A person who takes the time to learn the language will be better positioned for employment and simply to enjoy at a deeper level the many valuable and beautiful aspects of Japanese culture. And you’ll have access to about 125 million potential new friends.

Korean

North and South Korea are the primary locations where you’ll find the 81 million Korean speakers in the world. But there are also about 2 million speakers in northeast China and about 1.1 million in the United States who speak Korean at home. K-pop music and K-drama films have become quite popular with global youth, leading to increased interest in learning the language and traveling to Korea. Interestingly, about 20-30% of South Korea’s population is Christian, and it is one of the most active countries sending Christian missionaries to other parts of the world. This creates another point of cultural contact between Koreans and Americans, who are also actively engaged in religious outreach in some of the same countries.

Mandarin

Mandarin is the Chinese dialect spoken by approximately 900 million people in most of mainland China and Taiwan. This means it is the most widely spoken first language in the world. That alone is a good reason to learn it. But beyond this, China itself is a rising great power that may, in the coming decades, become the chief rival of the United States and other Western powers. Disputes over the status of Taiwan, ownership of islands in the South China Sea, and rules regarding freedom of the seas, as well as the perennial issue of trade imbalances, mean that someone who speaks fluent Mandarin and English can expect many employment opportunities with the government, military, or private sector.

Cantonese

In the southern Chinese provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi as well as the cities of Hong Kong and Macau, Cantonese is the main language. One of the main differences of this Chinese language variant from Mandarin is that Cantonese uses traditional Chinese characters and the Jyutping romanization system, while Mandarin uses simplified Chinese characters and the Pinyin system. The two languages are not mutually intelligible when spoken, but speakers can understand, for the most part, writing in each other’s languages. The reason to learn Cantonese is if you intend to spend time in the southern part of China or with a diaspora community in another part of the world from this region. Altogether, you’ll have about 50 million people to talk to!

Up Next:

• Explore the 14+ Germanic Languages That Exist Today
• There Are Over 160 Dialects of English. Which Do You Speak?
• The 6 Most Common Languages Spoken in the United States

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