Is Japanese the hardest language to learn?

The Japanese language is considered one of the most difficult to learn by many English speakers. With three separate writing systems, an opposite sentence structure to English, and a complicated hierarchy of politeness, it's decidedly complex.


What is the number 1 hardest language to learn?

1. Mandarin Chinese. Interestingly, the hardest language to learn is also the most widely spoken native language in the world. Mandarin Chinese is challenging for a number of reasons.

Is Japanese harder than Chinese?

Japanese is slightly easier to learn. But, Chinese is much more widely spoken. Both languages have their pros and cons.


How difficult is Japanese to learn?

Even experts agree that spoken Japanese is not particularly difficult to learn. The sounds of the language are limited (only five vowels and thirteen consonants) and grammatically it is quite regular, without case declensions or other complex issues that are found in languages like Russian, or even German.

What is the hardest language to become fluent?

The 9 Hardest Languages to Learn
  • Chinese – the most spoken language in the world and the hardest language to learn for English speakers. ...
  • 3. Japanese. ...
  • Korean. ...
  • Polish. ...
  • Finnish. ...
  • Hungarian. ...
  • Turkish. ...
  • Russian. Boasting more than 150 million speakers around the globe, Russian is certainly one of the most used languages in Europe.


Is Japanese Hard To Learn?



What is the top 3 hardest languages to learn?

Let's explore the 10 hardest languages for English speakers to learn, and the challenges they deliver:
  1. Mandarin. Mandarin is spoken by 70% of the Chinese population, and is the most spoken language in the world. ...
  2. Arabic. ...
  3. 3. Japanese. ...
  4. Hungarian. ...
  5. Korean. ...
  6. Finnish. ...
  7. Basque. ...
  8. Navajo.


What are the 3 hardest languages to learn in order?

Generally, if you're an English speaker with no exposure to other languages, here are some of the most challenging and difficult languages to learn: Mandarin Chinese. Arabic. Vietnamese.

How long will Japanese take to learn?

Japanese is one of the most difficult languages for English natives to master. This is because it does not have a lot of likeness in structure to English. Approximately it will take 88 weeks, or 2200 hours of studying, to become fluent.


How is R pronounced in Japanese?

The Japanese "r" is different from the English "r". The sound is sort of between the English "r" and "l". To make "r" sound, start to say "l", but make your tongue stop short of the roof of your mouth, almost in the English "d" position.

Is learning Japanese worth it?

There are lots of social benefits of learning Japanese. Being able to communicate with more people means you are able to meet and get to know more people. If you know how to speak Japanese, you'll find it much easier to make Japanese friends than someone who doesn't speak Japanese.

Is Korean or Japanese harder?

Unlike other East-Asian languages, Korean isn't a tonal language. This means, that the meaning of the word doesn't change, regardless of what your accent is like. This makes learning Korean much easier than Japanese.


Why Japanese is so hard?

The Japanese language is considered one of the most difficult to learn by many English speakers. With three separate writing systems, an opposite sentence structure to English, and a complicated hierarchy of politeness, it's decidedly complex.

Which is harder German or Japanese?

According to the Foreign Service Institute, German is a category II language, which means it takes native English speakers about 750 hours to get to a general proficiency in speaking and reading. Japanese is considered a category V language, and achieving a similar proficiency will take 2200 hours!

Which is the 2 toughest language in the world?

2. Arabic. Arabic is the queen of poetic languages, the 6th official language of the UN and second on our list of toughest languages to learn.


What is the number 1 easiest language?

15 of the easiest languages to learn for English speakers - ranked
  • Frisian. Frisian is thought to be one of the languages most closely related to English, and therefore also the easiest for English-speakers to pick up. ...
  • Dutch. ...
  • Norwegian. ...
  • Spanish. ...
  • Portuguese. ...
  • Italian. ...
  • French. ...
  • Swedish.


What's the easiest language?

This may come as a surprise, but we have ranked Norwegian as the easiest language to learn for English speakers. Norwegian is a member of the Germanic family of languages — just like English!

Is Baka a swear word?

Baka (馬鹿 or ばか) is a Japanese swear or curse word meaning idiot, jackass, dumbass, or unthinking fool. (Excuse our language, please!) That said, baka's meaning is highly contextual, as our resident Japanese expert explains: “Baka (馬鹿) means a fool or an idiot, and used as an insult.


What is i in japan?

Back to Basics: 私 (わたし) — Watashi

The Japanese word watashi is a genderless term that translates to “I” in English. Japanese language textbooks often suggest it as one of the best overall terms to use to describe yourself.

Why can't Japanese say l?

Why don't the Japanese pronounce the "L"? Because they don't have an L sound in their language. They have a similar sound, a tapped R, [ɾ], which is kinda halfway between an English R and L. Same tapped R as in spanish.

Is 1 hour a day enough to learn Japanese?

As for learning to read easily in one hour per day? It's certainly doable, but very unlikely to be successful in less than 2 years at the very least. You'll spend 6 months just memorizing kanji through Heisig long before you know how to actually read any of them. Japanese takes time, there's just no way around it.


Can I learn Japanese in 1 year?

It will take around 2-6 months to get through most beginner Japanese textbooks. Though, this does depend on how much time you have to spend on your studies and what grammar method you choose. You can even go through a couple different textbooks at the same time, if you want.

Can I learn Japanese in 10 days?

While it may not be possible to become fluent in Japanese in just ten days, it IS possible to learn the basics of speaking in a short period of time and move on to becoming fluent. Don't be discouraged. You can and will learn Japanese much faster than you expect.

What is the 7 hardest language to learn?

7 Most Difficult Languages to Learn for Native English Speakers
  • 1 – Chinese (Mandarin)
  • 2 – Arabic.
  • 3 – Japanese.
  • 4 – Korean.
  • 5 – Hungarian.
  • 6 – Finnish.
  • 7 – Xhosa.


What are the 3 easiest languages?

Read more about language courses here.
  • NORWEGIAN. Grammar, syntax and word order are all similar to English thanks to shared North Germanic roots. ...
  • SWEDISH. ...
  • DANISH. ...
  • SPANISH. ...
  • PORTUGUESE. ...
  • ITALIAN. ...
  • FRENCH. ...
  • ROMANIAN.


What is the 3 easiest language to learn?

Easiest (about 600 hours of study)

Of these, Spanish and Italian are the easiest for native English speakers to learn, followed by Portuguese and finally French.
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