If you have decided to learn a new language, then you certainly know that some of them are more difficult than others – it often happens that the grammar variations along with the difficult pronunciation are to blame for this difficulty. Having said that, here is an introduction to the top 10 most difficult languages to learn:
10. Japanese
It is not a secret to anybody that Japanese is extremely difficult, due to the fact that the written language varies a lot from the spoken language. At the same time, the Japanese language has no less than three different writing systems that you need to learn by heart, especially if you want to become a translator or if you will be using Japanese on a daily basis. As a matter of fact, the Japanese alphabet consists of around 2,000 different characters that you need to memorize, and there is no easy way to do that. The complexity of the language as well as the high number of different characters is why Japanese students usually require two to three times more time to learn this language in school, as opposed to easier European languages – and that is totally understandable.
9. Arabic
Arabic is a very beautiful language, yet it is extremely difficult to learn mainly due to the writing style – as you may already know, Arabic students read from right to left, as opposed to the general reading style that is from left to right. Besides that, a great deal of the letters come in different words, and pronouncing them can be very difficult – especially for beginners who are just getting started with Arabic. The arrangement of the words also differs a bit, given the fact that in Arabic the verb comes before the subject, unlike it happens in English and most other languages.
On the other hand, another aspect that makes Arabic particularly difficult to learn is the fact that there are several different dialects, and although overall the language is the same, there are several aspects that make it vary, such as the accent or different words that differ depending on the geographic area. To put it simple, Arabic differs depending on the country where it is spoken.
8. Polish
Polish is undoubtedly one of the most difficult European languages – difficult, yet beautiful and interesting. The grammar has seven different cases and you need to learn the entire language, there are no shortcuts to mastering Polish. At the same time, the great variations in terms of accent and pronunciation makes it even difficult for English-speaking students to become familiar with Polish.
7. Greek
Greece is a country that is filled with history and tradition, not to mention the amazing Greek cuisine – on the other hand, the language is very beautiful and melodic as well, especially if you listen to the native speakers. Did you know that Greek is known to be one of the oldest languages spoken on Earth? At the moment, it is currently spoken in Cyprus and Greece, but in the past it was spoken in many different regions of the world. Although the basic grammar rules of Greek have remained intact throughout the years, becoming familiar with this language can be quite difficult, especially if you do not speak another Indo-European language. The inflectional system and the variety of affixes is what makes Greek so difficult to learn – however, if you do end up mastering this language, you can make a small fortune in the translation industry.
6. Chinese
Just like Japanese (and like pretty much any other Asian language), Chinese is also very difficult to learn and for a good reason – did you know that each word comes with a certain symbol? Also, there are several different dialects that come with their own tone systems, and this makes it even more difficult for foreigners to become familiar with Chinese: for instance, Mandarin is one of the most commonly used dialects at the moment.
5. Danish
Located in Northern Europe, Denmark is a beautiful and wealthy thriving – however, what makes this language difficult to learn is that it is currently spoken only by several million people, and the sound system is very difficult from the system of most European language. At the same time, if you try to learn Danish you will quickly notice that the written language also differs from the spoken language, which makes it twice more challenging to master.
4. Korean
What makes Korean difficult to learn is the fact that the sentence structure is radically different from the structure of most languages, especially the European ones – besides that, the conjugation of the verbs is not easy either, this is why European students will find it difficult to become familiar with Korean.
3. Finnish
As you may have figured out already, Finnish is commonly spoken in Finland, yet foreigners may have a difficult time trying to learn this language given its derivative suffixes coupled with the complex and difficult grammar.
2. Estonian
Estonia is a small country, but the Estonian language has no less than 14 different cases in grammar, which means that students will need to struggle and memorize many structures and grammar systems if they want to become fluent in Estonian.
1. Hungarian
Last, but certainly not least on our list of the top 10 most difficult languages to learn, Hungarian is another extremely difficult language mainly due to the numerous different verb conjugation students must firstly become familiar with, before starting to actually speak the language. The grammar rules are very complicated as well, given the fact that the suffixes are the ones who dictate the tense and the possession, rather than the word order how it usually happens with most European languages. In spite of the fact that the Hungarian language has a relatively flexible sentence structure, mastering the language can be quite challenging especially because of the suffixes and of how they can change the meaning of words (and, automatically, the meaning of the entire phrase).
In conclusion, if you have decided to enrich your general knowledge and to master a foreign language, you should know that these are some of the most difficult languages to learn.