Is it easier to learn French or Spanish?
However, for many English speakers, Spanish is often considered slightly easier to learn than French. Here's why: Phonetics and pronunciation: Spanish has a MUCH more straightforward phonetic system, with consistent letter-to-sound correspondence, making it easier to pronounce words correctly.
Spanish may be easier to learn at first , but the vowels, past tense rules, and conjugation can make it more challenging as you progress in your learning journey. On the other hand, once you get the basics of French down, like consonants and accent, it may be just as easy as Spanish to you.
Spanish is simpler to pronounce and most English speakers will find it easier to learn speaking fluently Spanish than to learn speakinf fluently in French. In terms of vocabulary, French and English are very close due to their shared history.
In Europe, French is an official language in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Switzerland, making it widely spoken. Spanish is mainly spoken in Spain. For broader communication within Europe, French may have a slight edge, but both languages are highly respected and useful, especially in business and tourism contexts.
- Frisian. Frisian is thought to be one of the languages most closely related to English, and therefore also the easiest for English-speakers to pick up. ...
- Dutch. ...
- Norwegian. ...
- Spanish. ...
- Portuguese. ...
- Italian. ...
- French. ...
- Swedish.
However, for many English speakers, Spanish is often considered slightly easier to learn than French. Here's why: Phonetics and pronunciation: Spanish has a MUCH more straightforward phonetic system, with consistent letter-to-sound correspondence, making it easier to pronounce words correctly.
Here in the United States, when you know French, you could become a French teacher, an interpreter or a translator. Studying French increases your appreciation of other people and their cultures.
Which Foreign Language Is Best. In general, colleges want to see foreign language proficiency, and they don't really care which language you study. Most students, in fact, have few choices. Many schools offer just a couple of languages such as French and Spanish.
One 2011 study from the Université de Lyon looked at 7 languages, which reported the order as Japanese (7.84 syllables per second), Spanish (7.82), French (7.18), Italian (6.99), English (6.19), German (5.97) and Mandarin (5.18).
French was considered more prestigious than languages such as Chinese and Spanish which have more speakers. This was due to the French language's historic prominence and its link to luxury goods and high culture.
Which is harder Italian or Spanish?
However, for many English speakers, Spanish is often considered slightly easier to learn than Italian due to its simpler pronunciation and more straightforward grammar. Additionally, Spanish is more widely spoken globally, which can provide more opportunities for practice and immersion.
Which language is more useful to know? If you're looking at sheer demographics and geography, French is probably the more useful language to know. There are 267 million French speakers in the world, compared to 66 million Italian speakers.
If you are an English speaker, learning French requires 575-600 hours of study (or 23-24 weeks full- time). It is the same for other European Romance languages (French, Italian, Spanish etc) and the Germanic ones (Danish, Swedish, Dutch/Afrikaans Norwegian – not German).
Mandarin Chinese
Interestingly, the hardest language to learn is also the most widely spoken native language in the world. Mandarin Chinese is challenging for a number of reasons. First and foremost, the writing system is extremely difficult for English speakers (and anyone else) accustomed to the Latin alphabet.
- Slang and Regionalisms. ...
- Gendered Words. ...
- False Friends. ...
- Por y Para. ...
- Irregular Verbs. ...
- All The Tenses. ...
- The R and J and G Sounds. ...
- Understanding Natives.
If you are working in the United States, Spanish is a very useful language to learn. If you expect your industry or company will do a lot of international business, learn languages that will be useful in your field. It could be Chinese, Japanese, Italian, or German.
Spanish is a top business language thanks to how widely spoken it is, but if you're working in, say, fashion, it might make much more sense to learn Italian. All in all, deciding Italian vs Spanish might be an easy or tough call once you consider all the factors. But this is hardly a one-size-fits-all decision.
However, German grammar tends to be difficult, and more complicated than that of Romance languages like French, for a lot of learners. It is consistent in following its own rules, but the problem is that there are a lot of rules, and the rules themselves are rather complex.
If you are an English speaker, one of your concerns may be whether French or German is easier to learn through English. German and English are both Germanic languages, so they have more in common than French and English — and in fact, German is considered one of the easiest languages for English speakers to learn.
The city with the largest concentration of people of French extraction is Madawaska, Maine, while the largest French-speaking population by percentage of speakers in the U.S. is found in St. Martin Parish, Louisiana.
Should I learn French or Mandarin?
Mandarin Chinese is generally considered to be easier to learn than French due to its simpler grammar, phonetic writing system, simpler vocabulary, and more logical structure. Of course, every learner is different, and some may find French easier to learn than Mandarin Chinese.
French made it to our ranking of the 15 easiest languages to learn for English speakers! Besides its many available resources and language communities, French is a phonetic language. Once you understand French phonetic rules, reading and pronouncing words correctly becomes more predictable.
However, most colleges require a minimum of two years of a foreign language to be considered for admission. Many colleges recommend at least three years of the same world language in high school for a student to be competitive in the admissions pool. Four years makes a student more attractive.
There are many reasons why French is considered an easy language to learn. For starters, French is a Romance language, which means that it is derived from Latin – the same language that English is derived from. This makes French much more similar to English than Spanish is, in terms of grammar and vocabulary.
Spanish is in second place with around 8-9 syllables spoken per second, whereas, English is in eight place with around 6-7 syllables spoken per second. In other words, Spanish native speakers speak 25% more quickly than English native speakers.
References
- https://www.theworldinjapanese.com/the-amount-of-daily-study-time-needed-to-learn-japanese/
- https://www.quora.com/How-challenging-is-Spanish-1-as-a-high-school-freshmen
- https://www.spanish.academy/blog/why-can-i-understand-more-spanish-than-i-can-speak/
- https://www.quora.com/Which-language-is-easier-to-learn-Japanese-or-Korean-especially-in-the-grammar
- https://breakthroughspanish.com/which-spanish
- https://www.quora.com/What-is-considered-the-clearest-accent-in-Spanish
- https://www.dialexy.com/en/explore/difficult-words
- https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/learn-a-foreign-language-wellness/index.html
- https://www.superprof.com/blog/how-does-mexican-spanish-differ-from-spain-spanish/
- https://www.berlitz.com/blog/most-spoken-languages-world
- https://www.manhattanmandarin.co.uk/post/why-learning-mandarin-is-easier-to-learn-than-french
- https://www.europassitalian.com/learn/why-italian/
- https://www.berlitz.com/blog/easiest-languages-to-learn-for-english-speakers
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_language
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longest_word_in_Spanish
- https://study.com/academy/lesson/how-to-tell-the-hour-in-spanish.html
- https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-key-tips-and-tricks-to-learn-Spanish-faster
- https://www.gooverseas.com/blog/best-places-to-learn-spanish
- https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/german-vs-french
- https://spanishforyourjob.com/commonwords/
- https://toppandigital.com/translation-blog/grammatical-genders-in-different-languages/
- https://testprepinsight.com/reviews/duolingo-spanish-review/
- https://www.quora.com/How-do-you-say-tree-in-Spanish
- https://global-exam.com/blog/en/general-german-is-german-hard-to-learn-how-to-choose-between-french-or-german/
- https://www.lingq.com/blog/how-hard-is-it-to-learn-japanese/
- https://www.goabroad.com/articles/language-study-abroad/should-i-learn-spanish-or-portuguese
- https://www.languagesalive.com/spanish-values-and-traditions/
- https://www.theguardian.com/notesandqueries/query/0,5753,-57225,00.html
- https://www.thoughtco.com/foreign-language-requirement-college-admissions-788842
- https://testbook.com/articles/most-difficult-language-in-the-world
- https://www.berlitz.com/blog/italian-vs-spanish
- https://www.quora.com/Is-French-the-most-prestigious-language-after-English
- https://japanesekanjivocab.quora.com/Why-do-people-say-it-is-hard-to-learn-to-speak-Japanese-when-its-grammar-is-so-easy
- https://www.japanlivingguide.com/living-in-japan/language/how-difficult-is-learning-japanese/
- https://www.berlitz.com/blog/50-spanish-words-and-phrases-to-start-learning-spanish
- https://lingopie.com/blog/spanish-vs-italian-which-is-easier-to-learn/
- https://www.ef.edu/blog/language/5-easy-languages-to-learn/
- https://www.quora.com/Are-Spanish-verbs-as-hard-as-they-seem
- https://www.goabroad.com/articles/highschool-study-abroad/should-i-take-spanish-or-french
- https://blog.rosettastone.com/spanish-words/
- https://montessori-academy.com/blog/spanish-for-kids/
- https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/6-hardest-languages-for-english-speakers-to-learn
- https://study.com/academy/lesson/how-to-count-to-ten-in-spanish.html
- https://lingopie.com/blog/is-french-or-spanish-easier-to-learn/
- https://wlc.chass.ncsu.edu/french/reasons.php
- https://spanish.yabla.com/lesson-100-Hard-Spanish-Words-to-Say-Correctly-1249
- https://preply.com/en/blog/how-long-does-it-take-to-be-fluent-in-japanese/
- https://www.quora.com/Is-it-easier-for-Japanese-to-learn-Spanish-than-English
- https://www.private-frenchlessons-paris.com/blog/speak-french-fluently
- https://blog.pimsleur.com/2020/01/21/how-similar-are-portuguese-spanish-and-italian/
- https://global-exam.com/blog/en/general-french-should-i-learn-french-or-spanish-criteria-to-help-you-choose/
- https://mangolanguages.com/resources-articles/what-are-the-easiest-languages-to-learn/
- https://www.fluentu.com/blog/spanish/common-spanish-words/
- https://www.berlitz.com/blog/what-is-your-my-name-is-spanish
- https://www.perapera.org/duolingo-japanese-review/
- https://thespanishforum.com/news-and-promotions/what-are-the-difficulties-in-learning-spanish/
- https://www.quora.com/Which-language-came-first-Spanish-or-Italian-And-how-did-they-influence-each-other
- https://housinganywhere.com/Italy/reasons-to-learn-italian-in-italy
- https://www.lawlessspanish.com/grammar/verbs/top-12-verbs/
- https://www.fluentu.com/blog/italian/why-learn-italian/
- https://www.thoughtco.com/spanish-fewer-words-than-english-3079596
- https://www.polilingua.com/blog/post/italian-similarities-to-latin.htm
- https://www.quora.com/How-much-harder-is-learning-Japanese-than-Spanish
- https://edvoy.com/articles/which-languages-are-the-hardest-to-learn/
- https://www.spanish.academy/blog/spanish-dialects-how-many-varieties-exist/
- https://www.berlitz.com/blog/spanish-vs-french
- https://www.berlitz.com/blog/is-spanish-hard-easy-to-learn
- http://forum.language-learners.org/viewtopic.php?t=15718
- https://www.mimicmethod.com/top-10-easiest-languages-to-learn-for-beginners/
- https://www.berlitz.com/blog/is-french-hard-easy-to-learn
- https://www.berlitz.com/blog/hardest-languages-to-learn-english-speakers
- https://spanish.yabla.com/lesson-%22S%2Bconsonant%22--216
- https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/italian-vs-spanish
- https://www.goabroad.com/articles/language-study-abroad/best-spanish-speaking-country-latin-america-language-study
- https://lingua.edu/most-difficult-language-to-learn-if-you-speak-spanish/
- https://www.uopeople.edu/blog/most-important-languages-to-learn/
- https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-hardest-Spanish-conjugation-and-why
- https://www.languagebird.com/3-easy-to-learn-languages-similar-to-spanish/
- https://www.mezzoguild.com/how-long-does-it-take-to-learn-spanish/
- https://centromundolengua.com/top-10-most-popular-spanish-sayings/
- https://www.quora.com/Should-I-learn-Greek-or-Spanish-Compare-the-two-languages-in-all-the-terms-difficulty-jobs-etc
- https://www.classgap.com/en/blog/spanish-more-difficult-than-english
- https://www.reddit.com/r/Spanish/comments/xa8sl8/hey_i_have_noticed_some_spanish_speakers_dropping/
- https://www.tomedes.com/translator-hub/hardest-languages-to-learn
- https://www.grammar.com/a_comprehensive_guide_to_the_worlds_most_difficult_grammars
- https://www.fluentin3months.com/common-spanish-words/
- https://guide2fluency.com/language-resources/german-vs-spanish/
- https://blog.rosettastone.com/colombian-spanish/
- https://thelanguagedoctors.org/top-10-hardest-languages-to-learn/
- https://www.holalearnspanishinfo.com/post/is-spanish-faster-than-english
- https://blog.rosettastone.com/common-spanish-verbs/
- https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Spanish-Word-Wall-Sweet-16-Verbs-High-Frequency-Verbs-Grammar-Bulletin-Board-3781579
- https://www.fsi-language-courses.org/blog/fsi-language-difficulty/
- https://erudera.com/italy/how-long-does-it-take-to-learn-italian/
- https://www.quora.com/Is-Spanish-really-easier-than-Italian
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Americans
- https://www.speakeasybcn.com/en/blog/10-of-the-hardest-things-about-learning-spanish
- https://www.quora.com/Why-do-Spanish-speakers-pronounce-v-and-b-the-same
- https://collegein321.com/more-foreign-language-courses/
- https://blog.fluent-forever.com/is-spanish-hard-to-learn/
- https://www.quora.com/Which-Spanish-speaking-countries-is-Spanish-spoken-the-slowest
- https://www.languagetrainers.ca/blog/italian-vs-spanish-which-one-should-i-learn-next/
- https://www.ccubeacademy.com/pick-french-instead-of-spanish-to-learn/
- https://www.spanishdict.com/translate/How%20do%20you%20say%20%22no%22%20in%20Spanish%3F
- https://www.busuu.com/en/languages/how-to-speak-spanish
- https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/spanish-vs-german
- https://rockalingua.com/blog/teaching-super-7-verbs-spanish
- https://global-exam.com/blog/en/general-italian-is-italian-hard-to-learn-is-french-easier-compared-to-it/
- https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-hardest-Spanish-sentence-to-pronounce
- https://medium.com/japonica-publication/5-reasons-why-japanese-is-one-of-the-easiest-languages-to-learn-2cf6574c62a6
- https://www.spanishpod101.com/blog/2020/12/11/common-spanish-mistakes/
- https://1to1progress.com/blog/2021/12/03/words-you-need-to-know-to-speak-a-language/
- https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Genders_of_languages
- https://coursecloud.org/how-long-does-it-take-to-learn-spanish/
- https://www.quora.com/Is-Spanish-an-older-language-than-English
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_language
- https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/language-speed
- https://www.quora.com/Which-is-the-most-beautiful-word-in-the-Spanish-language
- https://www.spanish.academy/blog/can-spanish-speakers-understand-italian/
- https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/italian-vs-french
- https://www.quora.com/Why-do-the-Japanese-sound-like-Spanish-and-other-Romantic-languages
- https://www.duolingo.com/efficacy
- https://www.berlitz.com/blog/italian-vs-french
- https://lingua.edu/spanish-speaker-to-learn-italian/
- https://www.quora.com/Which-language-is-more-useful-to-learn-Spanish-or-Japanese
- https://www.tofugu.com/learn-japanese/