Which languages are the most difficult to learn?

Language learning is a way to connect with people from all over the world. A person who can interact with people using some basic phrases is always better than considering another language as gibberish. Let's see which are the most difficult languages to learn all over the world.

There has been a big debate about which language is the most difficult to learn. Moreover, the difficulty is often due to completely different reasons. For example, tonal languages, where the tone of voice can change the meaning of a word, are notoriously challenging and difficult. Other languages are difficult because the writing system is very different: writing/reading from right to left, using different alphabets, etc. Then there are languages that have incredibly rigid or extremely flexible grammatical rules. If a language is equipped with one, two or all three obstacles, it may become frustrating and difficult to learn that language.

When we are talking about the ease of learning a new language, remember that no language is the same. The difficulty of learning a language always depends on on the native language.

Languages originating from the same family tree as ones native language, are easier to learn. People may consider English as a difficult language, but English speakers find it more difficult to learn other languages.

We did some research to present the most difficult languages to learn and why they may be hard to understand.

1. One of the most difficult languages to learn: Arabic

The most challenging language for a speaker of Latin languages is Arabic. It has a completely different alphabet. In addition, people find it difficult to get along with the script and reading direction.

Arabic speech patterns and sounds are much different from those of French, German or English. The other Germanic languages have the same cognates and vocabularies.

People who have mastered the alphabet will also have to control the vowel marks. Because vowels can change the meaning of a sentence completely.

2. Hard to learn: Mandarin

Mandarin is a language, which belongs to the Chinese language group. It is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. That’s why, for a native speaker of Spanish or English, learning Mandarin is a big problem.

It is a tonal language, and each sound in the Mandarin System has different pronunciations. The Chinese language is rich in homophones and full of idioms and aphorisms. All these idioms are derived over a long course of history.

A person who doesn’t know anything or only little about Chinese culture, may find it a lot harder to learn Mandarin. To make it even more tasty, this language has its own alphabet!

3. Japanese is on the list of the most difficult languages

Among the most difficult languages to learn, Japanese is easier to pronounce than Mandarin, but why is this language on this list? Japanese has a wide range of alphabets that must be learned before being able to write in Japanese.

It has its own three independent writing systems known as Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji. These writing systems have thousands of alphabets and characters, which can be difficult to learn.

4. Another challenge: Finnish

Finnish has the most challenging grammar. It sounds and looks a bit similar to English because of its pronunciation and letters.

But the grammar makes it much more complicated than English. Then there is classical or old-fashioned Finnish, which makes it more difficult to learn.

The way contemporary Finns express themselves is quite different from the rest. That is why it is one of the most difficult languages to learn. If you are looking to learn Finnish, be prepared to enter a grammar maze!