A Guide to The Top 13 Easiest World Languages to Learn
If you’ve decided to learn a new language, good for you!
So, the question is how do you decide which language is best suited to you?
Maybe you’d like to learn a business-relevant language like Japanese? Perhaps one of the languages known for romance? Or, maybe a language you could use on your next holiday or gap year?
There are many different reasons to learn a new language, and there is no right or wrong answer. It’s important to bear in mind that while they all require dedication and practice, some are easier than others to master.
With that in mind, in this guide, we’ve put together our list of the top 13 languages that are great for English-speaking beginners to learn, the estimated time it takes to gain a good grasp of the language as per the Foreign Service Institute, how many people around the world speak the language and the countries where this language might just come in handy.
But first, we’ll dive into some hints and tips about what it takes to learn a new language and why it might be beneficial!
Hints & Tips to Learn a New Language
Open Up to Media in the New Language
Immerse yourself in various forms of media to cultivate your language skills. In addition to films, TV shows, and music, consider using illustrated books to make the jump between words and images.
One effective method to learn a new language is to “watch one of your favourite movies in your desired language,” says Anglia Translations Ltd Managing Director Mary Gilbey, “you’re probably already familiar with the dialogue being spoken already, so it’s easy to see the connection between your native language and your chosen one.”
Engage in Conversation with Native Speakers
Interacting with individuals who speak the language as their mother tongue can provide valuable feedback on your progress.
This enables learners to grasp the diverse contexts in which certain words or phrases are used, such as academic or informal settings.
Conversing with native speakers facilitates a deeper understanding of connotations and word usage.
A great way of doing this is to visit your local speciality food area or shops. If you live in a city many have a Chinese quarter or Italian sector where you are bound to find native speakers. In smaller towns, local restaurants often have native speakers and what a great way to learn and listen while eating delicious food!
Websites like Conversation Exchange are another great way to practise, a quick search will find people in your area willing to chat and help you build a community of people to speak to.
Although not officially a native speaker you can also try speaking to your smart speakers such as Alexa and Google Home, where you can change the language on the device and practice different words, phrases and pronunciations at home!
Apps, Podcasts, and Other Media
Language learning apps can aid in expanding your vocabulary, while podcasts can enhance your grasp of grammar and sentence structure.
For example, many learning apps offer interactive exercises with flashcards, quizzes, and games that help to reinforce the meaning of words through repetition.
They also offer real-life scenarios to show how words are used in context and some can offer tailored situations to suit your specific learning needs. However, do bear in mind that when learning for business you may need a slightly different vocabulary than when learning for a holiday.
Podcasts are also helpful as you listen to native speakers which helps you get used to the rhythm, intonation, and pronunciation of the language. You also get to hear different accents and dialects, which may also be hugely helpful.
With a combination of both media types, you can enjoy structured study with real-world language exposure.
Some of the best apps include:
Why Should You Learn a New Language?
Cultivate a Deeper Understanding of New Cultures
“Discovering a new language can provide valuable insights into unfamiliar cultures,” says Mary.
“Alongside exploring vocabulary, syntax, and grammar, language learners can gain a better understanding of other communities by delving into the connotative meanings of words and their cultural significance.”
Become More Employable
Adding a language to your CV makes you stand out from the crowd and shows you have an international outlook. It can also benefit your pay packet with multilingual speakers earning on average 8% more than their monolingual counterparts.
As the world becomes more international and accessible it could also help you live and find work in another country.
Perhaps, you love the allure of working in a river-side cafe in Florence or maybe a sunny beach bar in Spain? With a new language under your belt, this will become a far more realistic prospect for your future.
Enhanced Creativity
“The correlation between multilingualism and creativity has been examined in great depth in academia,” remarks Mary.
“Studies have long revealed a connection between individuals proficient in multiple languages and their creative endeavours, including the art of problem-solving.”
Language learners demonstrated a greater ability to tackle new problems, possibly due to their increased comfort in uncertain situations and unfamiliar environments with diverse cultures.
Maintain Brain Health
In addition to bolstering memory, knowing multiple languages can contribute to maintaining optimal brain health.
Research indicates that multilingualism can lead to physical changes in the brain’s structure. This adaptability enables the brain to continuously develop, reorganise, and recover more efficiently.
“Learning a new language can improve the brain’s flexibility, which plays a vital role in promoting overall brain health,” explains Mary, “If you’re keen to prioritise your brain’s well-being, embarking on a language-learning journey may prove incredibly beneficial.”
13 Of the Easiest Languages to Learn
We’ve put together a list of thirteen of the world’s easiest languages to learn, including how long it might take to learn each one and where you can expect to hear them spoken.
Whether you’re a language enthusiast or just starting your language-learning journey, this guide is here to help you pick the right language for you.
To do this, we have considered the following factors for each chosen language:
- How similar it is to English.
- How simple the grammar is.
- How easy it is to grasp pronunciation.
Plus, we’ve included a rough idea of how much time you might need to become proficient and a bit about the countries where these languages are spoken.
Whether you’re learning for travel, work, or fun, this guide will point you toward the languages that are easier to grasp, but certainly no less rewarding to learn.
#1: Afrikaans
Estimated Learning Time: 23-24 weeks (575-600 hours)
Estimated Number of Speakers: 6 Million.
Spoken In: South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Mozambique, Botswana, Malawi, Swaziland, and Zambia.
Afrikaans is considered one of the easiest languages for a native English speaker to learn due to much of the grammar having the same origins as English.
The language evolved from European Dutch dialects of the 17th century when Dutch settlers arrived in the Western Cape. Over time it has been heavily influenced by indigenous South African languages, Malay, Portuguese, and Indonesian languages.
Afrikaans shares about 90-95% of its vocabulary with Dutch and is often referred to as its “daughter language”. With Dutch having many words the same as the English language it’s no surprise that Dutch also ranks as one of the easiest languages for an English speaker to learn!
You will also find many similarities with everyday words for example “my name is” in Afrikaans – “my naam is” … or “Goeie nag” instead of “Good night”.
The only downside of learning Afrikaans may be the pronunciation of the trilled “r”, which is used in a lot of Afrikaans pronunciation and has proved tricky for English speakers in the past.
#2: Dutch
Estimated Learning Time: 23-24 weeks (575-600 hours)
Estimated Number of Speakers: 27 Million
Spoken In: Netherlands, Belgium, Aruba, Sint Maarten, Suriname, and Curacao.
As a member of the Germanic language family, Dutch is considered an easier language to learn for native English speakers. In addition to being the first language of most of the citizens of the Netherlands and spoken by over 27 million people, it is used widely in Belgium too.
After German and English, Dutch is the third-most spoken of the Germanic languages, which explains why the language shares so many features with both English and German.
Interestingly, Dutch shares many words with English that are spelt the same or in similar ways, for example, “boek” and “appelar” are similar to the English counterparts book and apple.
However, even though these words are spelt the same, in many cases they’re pronounced differently, which may lead beginners to believe Dutch is easier to learn than it really is.
For example, “rat” still references the same small mammal and is spelt the same, but the Dutch pronunciation makes the word sound more like “rot”.
There are also plenty of words that you will recognise, but some of these will be false cognates. For instance, the Dutch word “wet”, which you may assume means the same, actually means “law” in Dutch.
#3: Norwegian
Estimated Learning Time: 23-24 weeks (575-600 hours)
Estimated Number of Speakers: 5.24 Million.
Spoken In: Norway, USA, Sweden, Denmark.
This might be a slightly unusual option for many, but we believe Norwegian is one of the best languages to learn for English speakers.
This is because, along with English, Norwegian is a member of the Germanic language family. As a result, the two languages have vocabulary in common. A good example of this is the seasons of the year: winter in Norwegian is “vinter” and summer is “sommer”.
Another common thread with the Norwegian language is the grammar and structure of the sentences. The word order of a sentence is very similar to English and contains only one form of verb per tense.
For instance, if you were to ask: “Can you help me?” in Norwegian it would translate to “Kan du hjelpe meg?” – as you can see, the structure of the sentence, the spelling and the pronunciation of these words are instantly recognisable to an English speaker.
In many languages, the pronunciation is incredibly important and often very nuanced. However, in the Norwegian language – again very similar to English – this isn’t as important, since there are many different accents, so there’s much more leeway in this respect.
With its origins in Old Norse and connections to the Vikings, this language can be intriguing to learn. The popularity of Viking-themed shows like The Last Kingdom and Game of Thrones adds an element of fun and excitement to learning this language.
#4: Spanish
Estimated Learning Time: 23-24 weeks (575-600 hours)
Estimated Number of Speakers: 400 Million.
Spoken In: Spain, Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Equatorial Guinea
Spanish has long been a favourite for English speakers looking to learn a new language; not least because of its romantic connotations, but also for its practicality and wide reach – it’s the second most spoken language in the world and 21 countries have it as their official language.
Spanish is one of the so-called “Romance languages”, and shares many cognates with the English language, which is why some basic words are picked up easily by English-speaking tourists in Spanish-speaking countries.
Cognates are words that, although they come from two separate languages, sound and look very similar due to their shared familial language.
Here are a few good examples:
- Correct > Correcto
- Delicious > Delicioso
- Curious > Curioso
Many words aren’t just cognates but are exactly the same, such as:
- Hospital
- Alcohol
- Inspector
Although Spanish pronunciation can be a little trickier than the three languages we’ve already mentioned above, the good news is that Spanish is a largely phonetic language, which means words are generally pronounced how they’re spelt.
It’s not all plain sailing, however, as the difficulty lies in the fact that some of the letters are pronounced differently from their English counterparts. For example in Spain; c is often pronounced th, v is often pronounced b and z is often pronounced th.
Spanish also has a few variable grammar rules and verb tenses, which can often be confusing for those learning the language at first. However, these more or less run parallel to those we use in the English language, so they’re relatively easy to pick up and understand.
One of the biggest reasons that people choose to learn Spanish is the sheer number of countries where the language is spoken. As explained on britannica.com, Spanish is spoken by around 400 million people across the globe and is the third most studied language after English and French.
While Spanish is spoken predominantly in Spain, it is also widely used as a first or second language in most South American countries, apart from Brazil where Portuguese is the primary language.
A fun fact about Spanish is that it is the third most common language used on the internet. It is also a major language for commerce, with Spanish speakers accounting for 9% of the world’s GDP – no wonder it’s one of the world’s most often studied languages.
#5: Swedish
Estimated Learning Time: 23-24 weeks (575-600 hours)
Estimated Number of Speakers: 10.5 Million.
Spoken In: Sweden, Finland, USA, UK, Spain.
Swedish is another member of the Germanic language family. Similar to Norwegian, Swedish is easier to grasp for most English speakers due to the number of cognates the two languages have in common.
Again, Swedish is relatively simple when it comes to grammar and sentence structure since it’s very similar to English. There are, of course, a few tricky aspects to learning this Scandinavian language. Swedish has three extra vowels. x, y, z, å, ä, ö, all of which have two sounds, a long and a short sound.
You’ll also need to familiarise yourself with unfamiliar compound words like “Sjukhus” which means hospital (sick house) or “Flodhäst” which means hippopotamus (river horse) but these can be great fun to learn.
Thanks to brands like IKEA and H&M, Swedish food, furniture, and fashion are enjoying increased exposure here in the UK, which means Swedish is fast becoming a popular and relevant language to learn.
#6: Italian
Estimated Learning Time: 23-24 weeks (575-600 hours)
Estimated Number of Speakers: 85 Million
Countries: Italy, San Marino, Switzerland, Vatican City.
This is another language that is said to be romantic, and while not as widely spoken as either Spanish or Portuguese, you’ll benefit from plenty of reach since there are more than 85 million native speakers.
With a root in Latin, learners will quickly recognise words and their meanings, such as “futuro” which means future and “lotteria” meaning lottery.
Italian culture has firm roots in Western countries, which means we’re already familiar with many phrases used every day without even realising – think espresso; ravioli; opera; piano; lava – the list is pretty considerable.
The Italian language has only 21 letters in its alphabet, it is considered the 4th closest language to Latin and it is the official language of music with words like “crescendo”, “soprano”, “alto”, and “tempo” being part of our everyday lives.
Italian culture, such as food and drink, music, films, and fashion, are now widely known across the globe, giving students ample opportunity to further their learning.
#7: French
Estimated Learning Time: 23-24 weeks (575-600 hours)
Estimated Number of Speakers: 200 Million.
Spoken In: Switzerland, Belgium, Monaco, Luxembourg, Belgium, Canada, Algeria, Burundi, Benin, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Comoros, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Guinea, Madagascar, Morocco, Rwanda, Togo, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Tunisia, Mauritius, Reunion, and Seychelles.
Another of the Romance languages in our roundup, French is a firm favourite with learners all over the world.
Although not as easy to master as some of the other languages on our list, French and its sub-dialects are widely spoken, not just in France, but in Canada, Belgium, Switzerland, and even many countries in Africa, such as the Ivory Coast, where French is the official language.
In fact, overall French is spoken in over 51 countries around the world.
Many French speakers will happily tell you that French is the language of love and romance, although this can be debated with Italian and Spanish in the picture too!
The reason for this is that it is a euphonic language. Meaning that the linguistic organisation of consonants and vowels creates words that sound pleasing to the ear. Whilst this is true of many languages the sound of French can sound particularly pleasing, just think of Catherine Deneuve, Brigitte Bardot, and Johnny Hallyday!
Just like the other Romance languages on our list, the biggest benefit of opting to study French is the considerable portion of shared words. Around half of English words have their origins in French. However, this isn’t just because it shares similar linguistic roots.
Due to the considerable overlap of history between the two countries during war and conflict, much of the two languages have intersected over the centuries. In fact, from 1066, French was the official language of the courts, nobility, and government in England for nearly 300 years.
Today, French words are used daily in the English language, such as “champagne”, “cliché”, and even “television”. The same applies to the French language with words such as “weekend” and “brainstorming” creeping into everyday use.
Initially, French pronunciation is a little awkward, but we’re used to hearing French accents in our culture, particularly from films and sports stars – so it’s quite easy to pick up with some practice.
#8: Portuguese
Estimated Learning Time: 23-24 weeks (575-600 hours)
Estimated Number of Speakers: 260 Million.
Spoken In: Portugal, Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, East Timor, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, and the Principality of Sao Tome.
Portuguese is another “Romance” language, and one which is spoken not only in Portugal but as the primary language in Brazil as well as in some parts of Africa and Asia.
Portuguese became an official language in 1209 at which time it replaced Latin as the official language. The language has continued to evolve over the years with the last official change being in 2009 when capitalisation and hyphen usage were changed to unify the language in both Portugal and Brazil.
Similar to Spanish, there are a large number of shared words, which makes taking up Portuguese as a language much easier. The same applies here as it does with Dutch though, there are a fair few false cognates. For example, if someone asks you about “pasta” in Portuguese, you’ll be given a folder and not a tasty meal!
It is also worth noting that there is a difference in pronunciation between Spanish and Portuguese, so although some words may look the same, they sound totally different.
Portuguese vowels are a lot more complicated with open & closed versions as well as dipthongs and nasalised vowels. So although there are only 5 vowels, there are 14 different vowel sounds, compared to only 5 in Spanish.
#9: Romanian
Estimated Learning Time: 24-30 weeks (700-750 hours)
Estimated Number of Speakers: 28 Million.
Spoken In: Romania, Moldova and parts of Ukraine and Hungary
Many people don’t realise that Romanian is also a romance language with a similar vocabulary to French, Spanish, and English.
It’s great for native English speakers as it is a phonetic language, meaning that the words are spelt as they are pronounced.
Unlike many of the other romantic languages, Romanian has retained many archaic features of Latin, making it a valuable resource for understanding the linguistic landscape of the time. That being said, Romanian has also been influenced by cultural migrations, particularly with Slavic languages, and has borrowed words from Turkish, Greek, and Hungarian.
With many words being the same in both languages Romanian is on the easier side for an English speaker to learn. For example, “absolute”, “fantastic” and “splendid” mean the same in both languages. With 40-50% of words being similar it’s no wonder it may seem simple to learn.
As with every language, there are always the tricky parts, and with Romanian, it is what is known as ‘cases’. Cases are different forms of words that show their grammatical role in a sentence. They add complexity but allow for flexible word order, helping to emphasise different parts of the sentence.
Consider the phrase “the book of the student” in English. We can also express it as “the student’s book,” where we show possession by adding an ending to the noun.
In Romanian, this would be taken further by changing the noun ending and potentially altering the word order. So, “the book of the student” becomes “cartea studentului,” where “cartea” means “the book” and “studentului” shows possession by changing the ending of “student.”
Romanian can be a captivating language once the basics have been learned and learning helps give an insight into this historic culture- the challenge is worth it!
#10: German
Estimated Learning Time: 24-30 weeks (700-750 hours)
Estimated Number of Speakers: 75 Million.
Spoken In: Austria, Belgium, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Kazakhstan, Namibia, and South Africa
As the route of many of the languages we have already mentioned it seems only fair to include German in our list. There are many similarities to English, including the alphabet, sentence structure, and many similar words.
For example, “apel” is apple, “buch” is book and “foto” is photo. However, one area people are often concerned about is grammar. German has both easy and difficult features when it comes to grammar, for example, verbs are much simpler than in the Romance languages.
German verbs only have two real tenses: “ich trinke” is I drink and “ich trank” is I drank. However, the German noun is a bit more complex than those found in English. German nouns have three different classifications and can be either masculine, feminine, or neutral.
A great reason to learn German is that there is currently a shortage of British people who speak the language, only 0.6% of university places are for German language courses, and as one of the UK’s largest trading partners, employees are keen to find German speakers.
As a nation of learners and thinkers, many of the world’s most impressive achievements originated in Germany. Over 100 Nobel prizes have gone to Germans (including the great Albert Einstein), and companies such as Mercedes, BMW, and Bayer are considered some of the biggest innovators in the world in their perspective fields.
#11: Danish
Estimated Learning Time: 24-30 weeks (700-750 hours)
Estimated Number of Speakers: 6 Million.
Spoken In: Denmark, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands.
Danish is another Germanic Language that has fairly straightforward grammar rules and a lot of vocabulary that will be familiar to English speakers.
It is the Scandinavian language that has undergone the greatest amount of change from Old Scandinavian. During the Middle Ages, it lost the old case system, merged the masculine and feminine genders into one common gender, and acquired many low-German words.
Many Danish words will sound familiar in English for example, “Gode tidende” sounds a lot like “Good tidings,” and the ”Kan du höre mig?” sounds like “Can you hear me?”
All of the above doesn’t, however, take away from the fact that Danish pronunciation can be difficult, with nine vowels and a unique Stød or thrusting sound, which means that learning Danish, while easier than many languages, can be super tricky!
Don’t let this put you off, learning a new language can be a joyful experience, and with Danish, you may even discover the true meaning of Hygge or read the great Hans Christian Andersen in his native tongue.
#12: Indonesian
Estimated Learning Time: 24-30 weeks (700-750 hours)
Estimated Number of Speakers: 40 Million.
Spoken In: Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea
Indonesian is one of the world’s most widely spoken languages, mostly in Indonesia. Its fascinating history is tied to colonisation and the effort to bring together a very diverse nation. Part of the Austronesian family, Indonesian is a standardised form of Malay, spoken in many dialects across Southeast Asia.
Back in the 7th century, Old Malay was the language of traders in the Indonesian islands. When the Dutch colonised the area in the 17th century, they used Malay to communicate with locals.
In the early 20th century, Indonesians used their language as a tool of rebellion during the nationalist movement against Dutch rule. When the Japanese occupied Indonesia during World War II, they banned the Dutch, and after gaining independence in 1945, Indonesian became the official language, helping to unify the country.
This means that modern Indonesian is a relatively new language. In fact if you speak Indonesian natively (because your parents spoke it at home), you’re actually in the minority.
Unlike many Asian languages, Indonesian uses the Latin alphabet, making it easier for English speakers compared to the complex characters of Mandarin or Korean.
Indonesian is also phonetic, so words are pronounced exactly as they’re spelt. Plus, it has fewer words and simple grammar rules—no tricky verb conjugations or genders to worry about. All this means you can pick up Indonesian quite quickly and without much hassle, making it a fantastic choice for new language learners.
With the internet providing access to a lot of media in English and general freedom of travel, many English words have been accepted into the language.
Here are a few examples:
- regulasi / “regulation”
- prediksi / “prediction”
- protokol / “protocol”
- manajemen / “management”
- kapitalisme / “capitalism”
Indonesian food and culture are extremely appealing so learning the language to order your favourite Nasi Goreng or Gado Gado could be a real treat too!
#13: Swahili
Estimated Learning Time: 35-36 weeks (900 hours)
Estimated Number of Speakers: 200 Million.
Spoken In: Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Somalia, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Comoros, Oman and Yemen in the Middle East.
Swahili is relatively easy for English speakers to learn because it doesn’t use tones. Its pronunciation is simple, and words are spelt just like they sound.
Swahili grammar is straightforward and logical, using prefixes instead of tricky conjugations. The alphabet is similar to English, making it easy to recognise words. Since it’s a phonetic language, what you hear is what you write, so spelling is simpler.
There are also lots of borrowed words from English, like “mashine” (machine), “nimepasi” ( I have passed), and “school” (shule). You’ll also find familiar words if you know Arabic, Portuguese, or German. And don’t forget the words you already know, like “safari,” “Hakuna Matata,” and “Chai.” So, learning Swahili starts with a head start on vocabulary!
Swahili has a lot of Arabic influence, with about 40% of its words borrowed from Arabic. It originally spread along East Africa’s coast thanks to Arab traders.
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it was adopted as a language for administration and education under German and British colonial rule in the region.
Leading up to the independence of Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania in the early 1960s, Swahili played a vital role in uniting people with diverse native languages. It allowed all countries to share their common goals and aspirations.
For many Africans, Swahili represented a true break from European colonial languages and their legacy of control. Tanzania uniquely uses Swahili for all official matters and education, showcasing its importance after independence.
The Swahili word “uhuru” (freedom), born in this era, has become globally recognised as a symbol of political empowerment.
Takeaways
In the modern world learning a second language can be an incredibly beneficial string to your bow – both personally and professionally. With a plethora of free language learning apps, it has never been easier to start learning a language.
Continued globalisation and increasingly improved technology mean that the world is seemingly smaller than it’s ever been, where diverse cultures and communities are frequently in contact with each other.
If you have any further questions on what we’ve covered in this blog, or you’re interested in hearing more about any of our other services, get in touch today.