The 9 Hardest Languages to Learn for English Speakers
Hardest Languages to Learn
You’re doing your best, studying your chosen language daily, but still not feeling anything close to fluent.
You might be trying to learn one of the 9 hardest languages for English speakers.
While it may feel like English as a second language is fairly common in the world now, native English speakers have a surprisingly difficult time with these 9 countries, making them some of the hardest languages to learn. So don’t give up, you’re not alone!
If the language you’re learning, or thinking about getting into, has made it onto this list, don’t take it as a sign to give up. There are numerous online resources and some of the best language learning software is now available to foreign language learners that will get you understanding and speaking with confidence.
Using data from The Foreign Service Institute, this list illustrates how long it takes an English speaker to achieve proficiency in another language.
Top 9 Hardest Languages to Learn as an English Speaker
1. Japanese
2. Arabic
3. Mandarin
4. Cantonese
5. Korean
6. Vietnamese
7. Icelandic
8. Russian
9. Portuguese
1. Why Japanese is one of the hardest languages to learn
Why learn Japanese?
Japanese is considered a ‘gateway language’ for many other Asian languages. Although it is difficult, once you’ve mastered Japanese in both written and spoken format, you’ll find it much easier to learn languages like Ainu, Korean and Chinese.
What makes it difficult?
Japanese is largely based on contextual cues, meaning that pronunciation and correct word usage is key, easily making Japanese into one of the hardest languages to learn from an English speaking background. For example, words like ‘you’ have over 10 different forms and usages. You won’t necessarily offend native Japanese speakers with incorrect usage, but it would certainly hinder their understanding. Similarly, Japanese in its written form has thousands of individual characters, which again require a specificity that you can only get from effective studying.
Learning tip…
The top tip from Native Japanese speakers for new learners is to immerse yourself in the language! Listing vocabulary and memorising sentence structures is often essential to getting a better understanding but watching native tv programmes and talking to Japanese speakers will give you crucial contextual clues on how, when, and where to use certain words and phrases.
2. How Arabic is beautiful but difficult
Why learn Arabic?
Arabic is popularly considered one of the most beautiful spoken languages, mostly because it’s also one of the most ancient. Learning Arabic will give you valuable insight into the culture. There are also quite a few variations to this language, so you’ll never stop learning.
What makes it difficult?
The biggest drawback for Arabic – they have very few words in common with English, whereas with other Germanic languages you might recognise the odd noun or adjective. Also, like many of the other languages that rank on this list, Arabic uses a different alphabet.
Learning tip…
Arabic is considered by linguists as ‘diglossic’, which means there is one version for reading and writing, and another for use in conversation and the spoken form. Bear this in mind when you start to build your learning resources, making sure you give focus to both sides of the language.
3. Mandarin - number one spoken language in the world
Why learn Mandarin?
It’s an advantage to speak Mandarin Chinese mostly due to it being the number one language spoken across the world. In business situations this might be particularly useful, but also if you’re an avid traveller, you’re sure to find someone you can talk to wherever you are.
What makes it difficult?
It’s all about tone with spoken Mandarin. There are four tones that can be used to pronounce a word, and each tone changes the meaning. This is important in social situations as you definitely don’t want to accidentally insult your host or friends. The characters in the Mandarin alphabet are also notoriously troublesome for English speakers to memorise because of their complexity.
Learning tip…
A great tip for any of the hardest languages to learn on this list is to focus on patterns and not worry so much about committing linguistic rules to memory. Listen to native Mandarin Chinese speakers as often as you can and make the natural connections between tone and word usage.
4. Fluency in Cantonese is hard but possible
Why learn Cantonese?
Cantonese is the second most spoken Chinese language, and is also the primary language spoken in Southeast China. If you’re thinking of visiting China, this is a great language to spend time on. Cantonese characters are also featured in many pieces of traditional Chinese works of art and poetry, so if you want a deeper connection to the arts, Cantonese is ideal.
What makes it difficult?
You can’t dictate spoken Cantonese directly to written. The conversational and written forms are vastly different and require equal study to be able to translate the spoken word to written. Similar to the rules of Mandarin, Cantonese also has varied tones, but with even more emphasis put on pitch to change the delivery and meaning of different vocabulary. You can listen to the difference in pronunciation in Mandarin and Cantonese in the video below.
Learning tip…
If your focus is on learning Cantonese fast for a particular situation such as working with Cantonese speakers, dedicate your learning first to speaking Cantonese. This may be most useful in a professional or work situation when conversing and communication are key, but by first getting to grips with the spoken form, you’ll feel more confident moving onto the written form.
5. The popularity of speaking Korean
Why learn Korean?
Korea has become a growing presence in pop culture and geopolitics. Learning Korean would give you a significant advantage if you’re planning on travelling to South Korea or having business connections with Korean speakers. Korean in its written form is also considered to have the most logical system, so if you’re a straight-forward thinker, you may find this language a breeze to write in.
What makes it difficult?
When you’re figuring out how to get to grips with one of the hardest languages to learn, your instinct might be to dive into the common phrases, but Korean is a little different. It is a hierarchical language, which means you use different words depending on who it is you’re talking to. This can be a common trip-up for English speakers.
Learning tip…
Alphabet first! Learn the Korean alphabet, Hangul, as your first step. With the right teaching material, the Korean alphabet can be simple enough to learn in even a few hours.
6. Vietnamese - useful for travellers but still tricky
Why learn Vietnamese?
Vietnam has become a popular visitor destination in recent years, with an increase of 25% more travellers coming to experience the Vietnamese culture. The Vietnamese people are friendly and being able to talk to them in their native language will give you a deeper understanding of their beautiful country.
What makes it difficult?
Vietnamese is considered to be on the higher difficulty level, similar to Chinese and Mandarin. The tonal variations and written character differences are also a big obstacle for non-native speakers. For example, in Vietnamese each letter is attributed a tonal symbol, with simple letters like ‘o’ having more than 10 variations.
Learning tip…
Putting tonal variations and pronunciation aside, the other aspects to the Vietnamese language are fairly easy to grasp. For example, there are no gendered words, no plurals, and less complicated verb endings! So if you can make it past the pronunciations, you’ll likely have success learning Vietnamese.
7. Icelandic as an ancient language
Why learn Icelandic?
The Icelandic language has been preserved for hundreds of years with relatively little modernisation. It’s considered a beautiful spoken language, used by Vikings and historic Scandinavians.
What makes it difficult?
Due to its ancient and unfamiliar vocabulary and vast and complex grammar conventions, Icelandic is considered one of the hardest languages for an English speaker to speak effectively. Many of their words are long and filled with syllables, which feels almost unpronounceable to non-native speakers.
Learning tip…
Memorising key words and how exactly to pronounce them is a good first step in deciding if you want to learn to speak Icelandic. Focusing on putting together accurate sentences and then saying them out loud to a native speaker will be the best test of your progress.
8. Grammar makes learning Russian a challenge
Why learn Russian?
Learning Russian may totally change your perception of other languages. If you’re able to conquer this behemoth of a language, you’ll have the technical know-how to approach other, similarly difficult, languages.
What makes it difficult?
Ever heard of ‘grammatical cases’? Most people with English as their first language haven’t heard of cases, since it no longer exists in the English language. Learning a whole new grammar structure is the main issue new learners come up against.
Learning tip…
If you want to know how to learn a language fast, conversing directly with native speakers should be your go-to. You can use simple apps, like Idyoma, or seek native Russian speakers on your own. A native speaker will give you the subtle tips that you might miss out on otherwise.
9. Why Portuguese is one of the hardest languages to learn
Why learn Portuguese?
Portuguese is a widely spoken and popular language in both the UK and US. This isn’t an archaic language you’ll never get to put to use. It’s also a good idea to get a firm grasp of the language if you plan on travelling to Portugal, as you’ll receive a warm welcome and better appreciation of their country.
What makes it difficult?
Portuguese boasts nine vowel sounds, and more silent letters and more accents than English, so it has been a difficult language for English speakers, often being touted as more time-consuming to learn than Spanish.
Learning tip…
Practice, practice, practice your nasal vowel sounds. English speakers are fairly unfamiliar with nasal pronunciation, so overcoming this hurdle will help you attempt correct pronunciation with more confidence and less apprehension.
The Easier Alternatives
If you’re feeling a little uncertain about learning any of these top hardest languages, why not test out your language learning methods on an easier language first?
Some of the easiest languages for English speakers to learn include German, Norwegian, Swedish and Dutch. These languages share the most linguistic similarities with British English as well as familiar words and grammatical structures. Give these languages a go first and decide if a more difficult language is next on your list.
You can download the Idyoma language exchange mobile app for free here: