In this article, we look at the 10 most difficult languages to learn. You can read about the benefits of learning a foreign language and companies that enable learners to do so in our article, 25 Most Difficult Languages to Learn.
10. Turkish
Score: 2.04
Despite the fact that Turkish has a phonetic nature that simplifies pronunciation, it is one of the most difficult languages to learn due to its complex grammar, suffixes, and order of words. The language has an estimated 75 million native speakers spread across Turkey, Syria and Iraq.
With more than 3 million learners on Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL), it is the 12th most learned language on the platform.
9. Persian
Score: 2.10
Persian is one of the most significant languages in the world and is widely spoken in Central Asia and the Middle East. It is known as Farsi in much of the Persian speaking world and is the official language of Iran. With 62 million native speakers, it is among the top 20 most spoken languages in the world.
Persian is a hard language to learn due to its Arabic script and right-to-left reading, which is in contrast to the majority of the written scripts in the world.
8. Greek
Score: 2.16
Next on our list is Greek, which is one of the oldest known languages in the world and had a significant influence on the development of English. What makes Greek a difficult language to learn is that users need to have familiarity with Greek alphabets. Moreover, it has complex grammar rules, such as having three noun genders and multiple cases and tenses.
There are 1.70 million learners of Greek on Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL). Multiple courses of the language are available on Coursera, Inc. (NYSE:COUR) as well.
7. Icelandic
Score: 2.39
Iceland is one of the smallest nations in the world and is home to approximately 370,000 people, a majority of whom speak Icelandic, which is among the most difficult languages to master. However, learning the language can be rewarding since Iceland is a high-income country and its thriving tourism industry offers immense potential for job opportunities.
6. Hungarian
Score: 3.10
Hungarian is the official language of Hungary and the European Union. There are about 14 million native speakers of the language, who are spread across Hungary, Romania, and other parts of Europe. It ranks as the hardest language to learn for English speakers due to its pronunciation and grammar, which includes having 14 vowels. However, it is relatively simpler for non-English speakers to learn.
There are more than 450,000 learners of Hungarian on Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL).
5. Russian
Score: 3.11
Russian is one of the most important languages to learn due to Russia’s role in the global economic and political order. Learning the language can help facilitate relationship-building and aid in business navigation in the country. The country is one of the global leaders in energy and natural resources.
More than 150 million people across the world speak Russian as their native language. It is the ninth most learned language on Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL).
4. Japanese
Score: 3.41
Japanese has been categorized by the US Foreign Service Institute as one of the five hardest languages to learn along with Arabic, Mandarin, Korean, and Cantonese. What makes Japanese a complex language is its writing system which consists of tens of thousands of characters called ‘kanji’. Moreover, the emphasis in Japanese culture on respectful tone of speech makes it a challenge for new speakers who are not native to the language.
There are more than 128 million speakers of Japanese in the world. Mastering the language can be beneficial considering the economic strength of Japan that employs millions of expatriates from across the world.
3. Korean
Score: 3.45
A large portion of Korean vocabulary is derived from Mandarin. It is one of the hardest languages to learn for English and non-English speakers alike. Korean has 21 vowels and 19 consonants, and is based on Hangul – a logical writing system.
There are 11.8 million people learning Korean on Duolingo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL), as of February 2023. Several courses on Coursera offer video lectures in Korean subtitles. The platform also has a number of courses focused on teaching Korean to new learners.
2. Mandarin
Score: 4.55
Mandarin is the national language of China and is the lingua franca across the country. The language is spoken by more than 1.3 billion people and is the mode of communication across educational institutions and the corporate world in China. It is a difficult language to learn due to its complex syntax and writing system. Moreover, most of the characters in Mandarin are not phonetic. Its pronunciation system is also vastly different from English and other Indo-European languages.
1. Arabic
Score: 4.74
Arabic is the most difficult language to learn in the world. It is widely spoken in the Middle East and North Africa region, and is native to an estimated 110 million people. Like Persian, its script runs from right-to-left which makes it difficult to write and read for new learners. A lot of Arabic words are also difficult to pronounce due to their unfamiliar sounds. Despite the challenge, it can be mastered with dedication, and offers huge rewards. The Arab world is one of the most lucrative regions in the world in terms of job opportunities due to the presence of huge oil reserves. Several jobs in the MENA region require applicants to be familiar with the language.
It is the 10th most learned language on Duolingo. According to the US Foreign Service Institute, it takes about 88 weeks to learn Arabic.
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