- Some languages are harder to learn than others.
- For English speakers, it is especially difficult to learn languages like Japanese, Arabic, and Hungarian.
- That's because they contain very different grammar systems, sounds, and features than English.
Learning a new language can be a rewarding experience, but like any new skill, it takes a lot of hard work.
Naturally, some languages will take longer than others to learn. The Foreign Service Institute of the US Department of State classifies the world's most popular languages into five categories based on how long it takes for a typical English speaker to achieve proficiency.
We compiled a list of nine of the toughest major languages to learn according to the Foreign Service Institute standards. If you're going to tackle one of these, be prepared to invest at least 1,000 study hours, and in some cases, as many as 2,200, to become proficient.
These are nine of the hardest languages in the world to learn for English speakers:
Japanese
Native speakers: 128 million
Where it's spoken: Japan
Why it's hard: Japanese is difficult for English speakers because, among other reasons, it has more than one set of written characters, and readers need to memorize thousands of characters to achieve fluency.
Japanese is also a highly contextual language that requires different forms depending on the formality of the social situation. Even a pronoun like "you" could have more than 10 different translations depending on the person you're talking to.
Arabic
Native speakers: 315 million
Where it's spoken: Throughout the Middle East and northern and northeast Africa
Why it's hard: Reading Arabic can be immensely difficult for English speakers: It's written in a different alphabet, usually omits vowels, and has very few words in common with English.
Mandarin
Native speakers: 909 million
Where it's spoken: Northern and southwestern China
Why it's hard: Mandarin is a tonal language, meaning the intonation you put on a word can change its meaning. For example, the syllable "ba" could mean either "eight," "pull out," "hold," or "dad" depending on which tone you use.
Mandarin also has a complex writing system with thousands of characters. For the world's most spoken language, there's a high barrier to entry to achieve competency.
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