There are many different languages spoken around the world, and some are easier to learn than others. If you’re looking for an easy language to learn, there are a few factors you should consider. First, think about which languages are most similar to your own. If you’re a native English speaker, learning a Romance language like French or Spanish will likely be easier than learning Mandarin Chinese.
Second, you need to study a language that fascinates you in terms of its speakers, cultural aspects, and language itself. When you immerse yourself in a language, you have a better chance of learning it quickly. Finally, choose a language that will best serve your career and future goals. Additionally, you should consider how widely spoken the language is; if more people speak it, there will likely be more resources available to help you learn. With all of these factors in mind, let’s take a look at twelve of the easiest languages to learn for English speakers.
12 Easiest languages to Learn for English Speakers
Assuming you are a native English speaker, the 12 easiest languages to learn are:
1. Spanish
Spanish is one of the easiest languages to learn. It is a Romance language, which means that it is derived from Latin. Spanish is the fourth most spoken language in the world, after English, Mandarin Chinese, and Hindi. It has the second-highest number of native speakers in the world, which is 460 million.
Spanish has a relatively simple grammar compared to other languages. It has only two genders (male and female) and there are no verb conjugations for person or number. That means that you can use the same verb form regardless of who you are talking to or whether you are talking about one thing or many things. The pronunciation of Spanish is also relatively straightforward. Most letters have only one sound, and there are no silent letters. Additionally, there are only five vowel sounds in Spanish as compared to 12 in English.
One of the best things about learning Spanish is that you can use it immediately in many different situations. For example, you can travel to Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, Guatemala, Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama, Bolivia, Paraguay, and El Salvador without having to learn a new language.
2. Italian
Italian is another Romance language, derived from Latin. It is considered one of the easiest languages to learn for English speakers. That’s because English has borrowed a great deal of vocabulary from Italian. In fact, according to some estimates, as much as 60% of all English words have Latin or Greek roots, and many of those words entered English via Italian.
In fact, many Italian words are directly used by English speakers in their daily lives. Some of the examples are:
- Clothing: stilettos, jeans
- Food: barista, broccoli, gelato, lasagna, latte, macaroni, pasta, panini, mozzarella, pizza
- Landmarks: archipelago, riviera, volcano
- Music: ballerina, diva, finale, opera, solo, and many more.
If you’re looking to start learning Italian, you’re in luck. There are a number of resources available to help you get started, including online courses, apps, and books. And once you start learning, you’ll find that Italian is a beautiful language with a rich history and culture.
3. Frisian
Frisian is a language spoken by around half a million people in the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark. It’s a Germanic language, like English, and is more closely related to Dutch.
Frisian is considered one of the easiest languages to learn for English speakers because:
- It has a relatively small number of speakers, so there’s less competition for resources.
- It shares a lot of vocabulary with English. In fact, around 80% of Frisian words are cognates of English words.
- It has a simple grammar system with few irregular verbs.
Frisian may not be the best choice for you if you are looking to learn a new language to increase your career opportunities. Although English people find it fairly simple to learn, the language is only spoken in a small portion of the world. As a result, learning it won’t be very helpful unless you intend to visit Germany or the Netherlands.
4. French
French is one of the most popular languages in the world, spoken by millions of people on every continent. It is the official language of 29 countries across the globe. It’s also one of the easiest languages for English speakers to learn, thanks to its common roots with English and its relatively simple grammar and vocabulary.
If you’re looking to start learning this Romance language, there are a few things you can do to make the process as easy as possible. First, find a good French language course or tutorial online or in person. There are many great resources out there, so take your time and find one that suits your needs and learning style.
Once you’ve found a course or tutorial you like, make sure to practice regularly. The more you practice, the better you’ll get at understanding and speaking French. Finally, immerse yourself in French culture as much as possible by watching French movies and TV shows, listening to French music, and reading French books and magazines.
5. Dutch
The Dutch language is known for being one of the easiest languages to learn. This is because it is a very concise language with clear pronunciation. Additionally, Dutch grammar is relatively simple when compared to other languages. For these reasons, learning Dutch can be a great experience for those looking to expand their language skills.
Like Frisian, Dutch and English share many lexical similarities. Most of the Dutch words’ meanings, spellings, and vocabulary are the same as English words. It is, in fact, closer to English than any other language out there. It is spoken by more than 23 million people around the world. It is not only the official language of the Netherlands, but also of Aruba, Belgium, Curaçao, St Maarten, and Suriname.
6. Norwegian
For English speakers, Norwegian is considered one of the easiest languages to learn. Norwegian is a Germanic language, which means it shares a lot of similarities with English. Both languages are Indo-European languages, so they have some commonalities in vocabulary and grammar.
Norwegian grammar is relatively simple compared to other languages. There are three distinguished genders (masculine, feminine, and neuter), and all verbs conjugate regardless of person or tense. The grammatical gender for inanimate objects is usually neuter, so there’s no need to worry about whether a word is “masculine” or “feminine.” Word order is also fairly flexible, so you can usually rearrange sentences without changing their meaning.
One of the biggest challenges for English speakers learning Norwegian is pronunciation. The Norwegian alphabet has 29 letters, 9 vowels, and 20 consonants. There are six vowels that sound similar to those in English: a, e, i, o, u, and y. The remaining three vowels are denoted by diacritical marks (æ, ø, å). These extra vowels can make it difficult to read Norwegian words aloud, but with a little practice, it will become easier.
Overall, Norwegian is a straightforward language that should be easy for English speakers to pick up. With some practice, you’ll be speaking like a native in no time!
7. Portuguese
Portuguese is a Romance language spoken by more than 200 million people, with Portugal and Brazil being the main countries where it is officially spoken. It is also the official language of Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Macao, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and East Timor. It is a relatively easy language for English speakers to learn.
Portuguese uses the Latin alphabet and has many cognates (words that have the same origin) as English. Portuguese also has only two genders (masculine and feminine), which makes it easier to remember gender agreement when learning grammar rules.
The European and Brazilian Portuguese differ significantly from one another. Depending on the Portuguese dialect you are learning, everything from vocabulary to pronunciation can change, but the grammar rules almost stay the same. Naturally, depending on where and how you plan to utilise this language, will determine which dialect you should concentrate on.
8. German
Assuming you already know English, German is not too difficult to learn, but not as easy as Dutch or Frisian. German and English share the same Germanic root, which means that a lot of words are similar. In fact, about 26% of all English words have a Germanic origin. And although there are some tricky grammar rules, once you get the hang of them, it’s not so bad.
One advantage that German has over other languages is that it has a very clear and concise writing style. This is because there are strict rules governing grammar and syntax. As a result, German texts are often easier to read and understand than texts in other languages. Additionally, it is a widely spoken language (with around 130 million speakers) around the world, which can help you broaden your future prospects.
Of course, no language is easy to learn if you don’t have any exposure to it. The best way to learn German (or any language) is to immerse yourself in it as much as possible. Watch German TV, listen to German radio, and read German newspapers and books. If you can find a tutor or take a class, that’s even better. But even if you just make an effort to use German in your daily life, you’ll be surprised at how quickly you start to pick it up.
9. Swedish
If you’re looking for an easy language to learn, Swedish may be a good choice. It is a Scandinavian language, just like Danish and Norwegian. It is estimated that Swedish and English share 1,558 words, which makes it one of the easiest languages for English speakers to pick up. But remember! It is not necessary that all these shared words have similar meanings too.
Swedish is also a very concise language, so you won’t have to worry about learning a lot of superfluous vocabulary. And because Swedish culture is very egalitarian, there isn’t a lot of pressure to use formal language or honorifics when speaking with others.
Of course, every language has its challenges, and Swedish is no exception. One of the biggest challenges for English speakers is mastering the pronoun system, as there are many more pronouns in Swedish than there are in English. But with a little effort and practice, you’ll be speaking Swedish like a native in no time!
10. Romanian
Romanian is one of the easiest languages to learn for English speakers. With its Latin roots, this language is similar to the other Romance languages. Romanian grammar is relatively simple, and there are not many irregular verbs. Romanian pronunciation is also fairly straightforward, with each letter representing a single sound. Moreover, Romanian is a phonetic language, so you can pronounce the words as they are spelled.
In addition to English, learning Romanian can be a good way to improve your skills in other related languages like Spanish, Italian, French, and Portuguese. And once you know Romanian, you’ll be able to communicate with more than 24 million people who speak it around the world!
11. Danish
Danish is the language of 6 million people in the lands of Denmark, Germany, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands. Like other Germanic languages, Danish is also considered quite an easy language to learn for English speakers. This is because Danish and English share a lot of grammar and vocabulary. Danish also has a very phonetic spelling system, so you can often guess how a word is pronounced just by looking at it.
The only challenges in learning Danish are its confusing alphanumeric system and overwhelming vowel sounds. But if you’re really interested in learning Danish, there are many resources available online and in libraries to make the process easier. You can also find Danish courses offered by universities and language schools. You can even use self-study materials such as textbooks, workbooks, and audio and video programs.
12. Malay
Malay is the national language of Malaysia and is spoken by the Malay people who make up the majority of the population there. It is also one of the official languages of Singapore. Malay is a member of the Austronesian family of languages, which includes Indonesian and Filipino.
Malay has a simple grammar with only a limited number of pronouns and vowels similar to that of English. There are neither any article equivalents nor any distinctions between the singular and plural forms of nouns. Verbs do not change form according to person or number. The language is written in Latin script and hence uses the same alphabet as English. Malay vocabulary is mainly derived from Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic, Tamil, and English. As a result, it has many loanwords from English and other languages.
In the Nut Shell
From Spanish to Malay, the twelve easiest languages to learn for English speakers are listed above. Nearly all of these languages share English’s vocabulary and sentence structure. While some of these have comparable grammar principles, others contain a substantial proportion of loanwords from English. English has also been greatly influenced historically by the Romance languages, including French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and Romanian. While seeking the easiest language to learn, one or more of these are certain to catch your eye.
