Learning another language is hard. But some languages are harder to learn than others. If you know English, then some languages will come more naturally than others.
Throughout time, many languages have been close derivatives of each other. So, while English has a lot in common with other western languages it has basically nothing in common with eastern languages.
In this article, we’ll take a look at the easiest languages to learn for English speakers.
Easiest Languages to Learn for English Speakers
#1 Spanish
English has a lot in common with Spanish. They both come from the same Indo-European family. That means that a lot of the words in Spanish are similar to English words.
Spanish is also one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. It’s the official language of 21 countries and is spoken by nearly 500 million people around the globe.
If you’re looking for an easy language to learn, Spanish is a great choice.
#2 French
French is another language that comes from the Indo-European family. That means it has a lot of similarities to English. In fact, about 30% of all English words come from French.
French is also spoken by over 220 million people around the globe, making it the 6th-most popular language in the world.. It’s the official language of 29 countries and is one of the five official languages of the United Nations.
If you’re looking for an easy language to learn, French is a great choice.
#3 Italian
Italian is another language that comes from the Indo-European family. That means it has a lot of similarities to English. In fact, about 60% of all English words come from Latin (which is the root of the Italian language).
Italian is also spoken by over 60 million people around the globe, making it the 20th-most popular language in the world.. It’s the official language of Italy, Switzerland, and Vatican City.
If you’re looking for an easy language to learn, Italian is a great choice.
#4 Portuguese
Portuguese is another language that comes from the Indo-European family. That means it has a lot of similarities to English. Latin is also the root of the Portuguese language.
Portuguese is also spoken by over 220 million people around the globe, making it the 8th-most popular language in the world. It’s the official language of Portugal, Brazil, and Mozambique. It is even spoken in some parts of Asia (Macau).
If you’re looking for an easy language to learn, Portuguese is a great choice.
#5 Latin
Latin is English’s ancestor. So, it should come as no surprise that Latin is one of the easiest languages for English speakers to learn. In fact, about 60% of all English words come from Latin.
Latin is also spoken by over 1 million people around the globe, making it the official language of Vatican City and a popular choice for scholars and academics..
If you’re looking for an easy language to learn, Latin is a great choice.
#6 German
German is another language that comes from the Indo-European family. That means it has a lot of similarities to English, but not as many as others on this list.
German is also spoken by over 120 million people around the globe, making it the 12th-most popular language in the world.. It’s the official language of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
If you’re looking for an easy language to learn, German is a great choice.
#7 Dutch
Dutch is another language that comes from the Indo-European family. That means it has a lot of similarities to English, but not as many as others on this list.
Dutch is also spoken by over 23 million people around the globe, making it the 27th-most popular language in the world.. It’s the official language of Netherlands and Belgium.
If you’re looking for an only moderate difficulty language to learn, Dutch is a great choice.
#8 Norwegian
Norwegian is a Germanic language like English. That means that it has a lot of similarities to English.
Norwegian is also spoken by over 5 million people around the globe.. It’s the official language of Norway.
If you’re looking for an easy language to learn, Norwegian is a great choice.
#9 Swedish
Swedish is another Germanic language like English.
Swedish is also spoken by over 10 million people around the globe, making it the 16th-most popular language in the world. It’s the official language of Sweden and one of the official languages of Finland.
Top 5 Easiest Languages To Learn For English Speakers
FAQs – Easiest Languages to Learn for English Speakers
What language should I learn as a second language?
This is a common question and there is no easy answer. It really depends on your goals, and what you’re looking for in a second language.
If you’re looking for an easy language to learn, French is a great choice. If you’re looking for a language that’s spoken by a lot of people around the globe, Portuguese is a great choice. And if you’re looking for a language with a rich history, Latin is a great choice.
What’s the hardest language to learn for an English-speaker?
Eastern languages will be hard for an English speaker learning it fresh. This can be compounded by the difficulty in learning another alphabet.
Among western languages, Polish is difficult to learn. In fact, the average native Polish speaker doesn’t become fluent until age 16.
What’s the best language to learn, in general?
This is a matter of opinion. However, some languages are considered “universally useful” because they’re spoken by a large number of people around the globe. These languages include English, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, and French.
Final Word – Easiest Languages to Learn for English Speakers
Learning a new language can be difficult, but it can also be fun and rewarding. If you know other languages, traveling and interacting in countries where it’s spoken will be easy.
If you’re in the US, Spanish is also common due to the large Latin population, especially in cities like Miami, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, among others.
Watching foreign movies and TV shows is also a way to learn a foreign language as well as enjoy content in those languages.
In this article, we covered just some of the easiest languages for English speakers to learn.
