Learning a language is hard work, no matter how difficult that language is. It takes hours, loads of practice, and countless mistakes to reach a “fluent” level.
But what are the hardest languages in the world to learn?
We’ve taken a look at some of the languages people find difficult to master and rounded up ten of the most difficult.
Otherwise, we’d be here all day telling you about how tough it is to master Gaeilge (Ireland), Taa (Botswana & Namibia), and Navajo (Mexico & the US).
Key takeaways:
- Learning a foreign language helps you develop your communication.
- It broadens your job prospects when you finish your graduation abroad.
- This will also help you with daily activities when you study abroad, or visit another country.
In this article, we’ll explore the top 10 hardest languages to learn in the world, and why to learn one.
Do you want to know what are the hardest languages in the world? Read more to find out!
Top 10 hardest languages in the world
Here is the list of the 10 hardest languages to learn in the world.
1. Mandarin
No. of overall speakers: 1.1 billion
Counting only the native speakers, Mandarin Chinese is the most popular language in the world, with 939 million speakers.
It is also agreed that Mandarin is the world’s hardest language to learn, but why?
First, unlike the popular 26-letter Roman alphabet, Mandarin has over 50,000 characters to remember!
These characters aren’t phonetic either, which means they can’t be pronounced by looking at them. This means it’s up to the learner to remember all their meanings.
Aside from the written aspect of the language, Mandarin speech also poses a big challenge.
KEY FACT: The language has four tones, which means that how you say the word can give it a different meaning. This makes it one of the top 3 hardest languages to learn! |
For example, if you say “ma,” you could be saying “horse” (马) or “curse” (骂)!
Is Mandarin a tonal language?
Yes, Mandarin has four major tones and a neutral tone. In Mandarin, a word's meaning varies according to its tone.
2. Japanese
No. of overall speakers: 123 million
Sticking to East Asia, a short trip across the sea brings us to Japan and yet another of the world’s toughest languages.
Japanese shares similar difficulties with Mandarin as learners must remember thousands of characters before they can understand them. It is one of the top 3 hardest languages to learn.
There are some connections between the characters of Japanese and Mandarin, though the pronunciation is often quite different. This makes it one of the most difficult languages to learn.
Is Japanese harder than Chinese?
Japanese and Chinese differ in writing, pronunciation, tones, and grammar. Japanese is considered harder as you need to learn three different scripts and many Kanji characters. Moreover, Japanese grammar is more complex than Chinese.
KEY FACT: Japanese has three different writing systems: Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji. If you’re interested in learning Japanese and wondering where to start, Hiragana and Katakana are the easiest for beginners, who want to master these before moving on to Kanji. |
Is Japanese a tonal language?
No, Japanese is not a tonal language; It employs a pitch accent to distinguish word meanings.
Also read: 7 languages to study for the best-paid jobs in the UK
3. Arabic
No. of overall speakers: 274 million
Arabic is an official language in over 20 countries, mostly in the Middle East and Africa.
Spoken by over 77 million people as their mother tongue, one of the things that makes Arabic difficult is the range of dialects in various regions, some of which are very different from others.
Like the languages above, the Arabic alphabet also causes difficulty for learners. Fortunately, there are only 28 letters in the script, so there isn’t as steep a learning curve!
Arabic is one of the top 3 hardest languages to learn!
Is Arabic a hard language to learn?
Arabic is one of the hardest languages to learn for non-English speakers, due to its complex script and writing system. Arabic script is written from right to left, which can be difficult for people who are used to writing left to right. The pronunciation and vocabulary are also complex.
KEY FACT: Arabic is written from right to left on a page, which takes some time getting used to. Also, the lack of vowel sounds, and using the back of the throat when sounding out words make pronunciation a real challenge for learners. |
Is Arabic a tonal language?
No, Arabic is not a tonal language.
4. Xhosa
No. of overall speakers: 10 million
To give you an idea of how difficult it is, Xhosa is pronounced “Kozza”. Except, you should also make a separate clicking noise with your tongue as you pronounce the ‘K’.
Many consider Xhosa the 4th hardest language in the world, saying it is an obscure language, though it’s anything but. Xhosa is one of eleven official languages in South Africa (a country we’ve written about in our article on how Nelson Mandela impacted global education).
It’s the first language of over 8 million South Africans, including former president Mandela himself.
It is those “click consonants” which set many African languages apart and make them tough to learn.
KEY FACT: Xhosa features 18 different click consonants made in various parts of the mouth - the back of the teeth and tongue, the roof of the mouth and the side of the mouth. This makes it one of the most difficult languages to learn. |
Is Xhosa a tonal language?
Similar to other languages, Xhosa is a tonal language.
5. Russian
No. of overall speakers: 255 million
The 5th hardest language in the world is another major language across the globe.
Unless you have some experience with another Slavic language (those characteristics of north and east Europe and Eurasia), Russian will cause you some trouble. Russian is one of the hardest languages to learn for non-English speakers.
There are many rules to remember, yet there are almost as many exceptions to these!
And of course, like any hard language, pronunciation also proves tricky as it's hard to know where the stress is in a word.
Is Russian a hard language to learn?
Russian is a difficult language to learn for English speakers, due to its alphabet, pronunciation, grammatical cases, and vocabulary. It is one of the top 50 difficult languages in the world.
KEY FACT: The alphabet isn't such a huge issue and takes nowhere as long to learn as Mandarin or Japanese, but Russian grammar is a tricky thing to master. |
Is Russian a tonal language?
Russian is not a tonal language.
6. Irish
No. of overall speakers: 1.9 million
Irish can be considered the 6th hardest language in the world due to—like the languages we saw earlier—its complex grammar.
The language has three dialects, and many words have no English alternatives.
KEY FACT: Besides the existing blockers, Irish has a difficult pronunciation for non-native speakers. This makes it hard for learners and international students to master the language. |
Is Irish a tonal language?
No, Irish is not a tonal language.
Also read: What's student life like in Ireland?
7. Korean
No. of overall speakers: 82 million
East Asian languages are often hard to learn. And Korean is among them, and the 7th hardest language in the world.
Although not learned like other international languages, Korean is one of the hardest languages to learn for non-English speakers and is unique.
KEY FACT: Mastering the language is challenging due to the difference in words and vocabulary. |
Is Korean a tonal language?
No, Korean is not a tonal language.
Is Korean difficult to learn?
Korean can be one of the hardest languages to learn for non-English speakers, as it has a complex grammar structure and honorifics. The pronunciation and vocabulary are uncommon compared to English.
8. Cantonese
No. of overall speakers: 87 million
With millions of native and non-native speakers, Cantonese is yet another one of the hardest languages to learn for non-English speakers, especially for international students.
The 8th hardest language in the world has complex vocabulary, grammar, tone, speech, and writing.
KEY FACT: Learners can master the Cantonese language in around two years due to its complex grammar, vocabulary, and variety of tones. |
Is Cantonese a tonal language?
Yes, Cantonese is a tonal language that has tones in its syllables.
9. Finnish
No. of overall speakers: 5.2 million
The official language of Finland and Sweden is often considered 9th hardest language in the world.
Finnish is known for difficulty in learning complex vocabulary and following grammar rules. Overcoming the obstacles and mastering the language is rewarding.
Is Finnish a tonal language?
No, Finnish is not a tonal language, just like English and French.
10. English
No. of speakers: 1.4 billion
Even though it's the most spoken language in the world, including native and non-native speakers, English is one of the most challenging languages to master.
It's not hard to see why: all those grammar rules to remember, far too many tenses and conditional tenses, and so much inconsistency in the "rules" for pronunciation!
And on top of this, what makes English so difficult to learn is that the better you get at it, the harder it becomes!
You can watch English movies and TV shows, or read books to improve your spoken and written English.
KEY FACT: English has different "everyday" and "fancy" words, formal and casual tones, slang terms and a large vocabulary. The more you learn, the easier it can become to make mistakes! |
Is English the hardest language to learn?
English is not difficult to learn when compared to other languages. It is widely spoken around the world. Although it can be challenging to learn English, reading books, using apps, online media and courses can help you improve your English.
Also read: 10 Tips to improve your English language skills
Is English a tonal language?
No, English is not a tonal language.
10 most difficult languages in the world
Here is the list of the 10 languages that are the hardest to learn in the world.
| Language | Number of overall speakers (Approximate) |
|---|---|
| Mandarin | 1.1 billion |
| Japanese | 123 million |
| Arabic | 274 million |
| Xhosa | 10 million |
| Russian | 255 million |
| Irish | 1.9 million |
| Korean | 82 million |
| Cantonese | 87 million |
| Finnish | 5.2 million |
| English | 1.4 billion |
Data updated as of May 2024
How to learn the hardest languages in the world?
You can learn one of the hardest languages in the world through several online resources. Websites like YouTube and Duolingo have numerous tutorials and language learning resources to learn vocabular, pronunciation, and grammar, for various languages.
Note: There are several apps available to learn one of the hardest languages, with interactive activities, flashcards, and quizzes.
Overcome obstacles and begin your academic journey in your dream destination today!
Frequently asked questions
What's the world's hardest language?
Mandarin Chinese is considered the hardest language for international students. This is because the language has more than 50,000 characters. These characters are not phonetic and the learner should remember all their meanings.
Mandarin speech also poses a big challenge as the language has four tones, as the words give a different meaning with each tone.
What are the top 3 hardest languages to learn?
Mandarin, Japanese, and Arabic are the top three hardest languages to learn for international students.
What are the top 10 hardest languages in the world?
Here are the 10 hardest languages to learn
- Mandarin Chinese
- Japanese
- Arabic
- Russian
- Korean
- Finnish
- Hungarian
- Navajo
- Georgian
- Icelandic
Is Icelandic hard to learn?
Yes, Icelandic is one of the hardest languages to learn for English speakers. Icelandic has a limited number of speakers, and complex grammar and vocabulary.
What is the hardest language to learn for English speakers?
Mandarin, Arabic, Japanese, Russian, and Finnish are some of the hardest languages to learn for English speakers.
Is Japanese the hardest language to learn?
Yes, Japanese is one of the most difficult languages to learn for English speakers.
Is Thai hard to learn for English speakers?
Yes, Thai can be challenging for English speakers. It has a complicated grammatical structure, script, and pronunciation.
Is Navajo hard to learn?
Yes, Navajo is considered a difficult language to learn. It has a lot of unfamiliar sounds and words.
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