Hardest Language to Learn | Rosetta Stone® (2024)

Hardest Language to Learn | Rosetta Stone®

Discover the hardest language to learn and learn it with the award-winning Rosetta Stone app.

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There’s a lot of debate about which language is the most difficult to learn. Plus, those that are difficult to pick up are usually tough for entirely different reasons. For instance, tonal languages—where the pitch of your voice can change the meaning of a word—are notoriously challenging. Other languages are difficult because the writing style is so different: writing/reading right-to-left, using characters, etc. Then, there are languages that have either incredibly rigid or extremely loose rules for grammar. If a language has one, two, or all three of those hurdles, it can get frustrating.

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

Here’s the good news; when you’re excited to learn a new language, even the hardest ones can simply seem fun. And the sense of accomplishment that comes with taking on the challenge—and overcoming it—is invaluable.

Rosetta Stone’s Dynamic Immersion® methodology teaches you the language, not just the words. What makes this approach effective is that we prepare you to use your new language in your everyday life. So, it’s not just about the features, but what you’re able to do because of them. It helps you get ready to handle situations with confidence.

How Rosetta Stone Can Help

Learning a language can be an experience that transforms your life. Not only does it open you to a world full of both professional and personal possibilities, but it also expands your thinking and can prime your confidence. As technology like the internet shrinks our world and we become members of a global community, the ability to learn a language becomes an essential part of how we interact and succeed.

Perhaps you’ve hesitated to learn a new language because you’re worried about the time commitment. Or maybe you’ve heard it’s more difficult to learn a language as an adult. Set these common misconceptions about learning languages aside, because research suggests that your ability to learn a language is mostly a matter of practise—building confidence through speaking, and contextualising your learning.

Developing the skills for accurate pronunciation is a critical step in learning a new language. Rosetta Stone helps you get the pronunciation right in a snap with our TruAccent™ speech-recognition engine. TruAccent compares your voice to native and non-native speakers—in real-time—so you get the feedback you need for the most accurate pronunciation. It’s also adjustable, which allows you to tweak your accent as needed. TruAccent is a powerful tool for helping you learn and speak a new language.

After beginners have acquired basic words and proper pronunciation, it will be a natural transition to learn the longer phrases that make up so much of everyday conversation. Rosetta Stone’s brief, 10-minute lessons are built in exactly this way—teaching the basics first, then moving onto longer phrases. This approach helps you acquire the skills to understand and be understood with confidence.

Try Our Award-Winning App

Surround yourself with a language whenever, wherever with the Rosetta Stone app.

Download a unit and knock it out on the train or a flight. Select a 5-10 minute lesson and sneak it in while you wait in line or for your ride to show up. And explore dynamic features, like Seek and Speak, where you can point at an object in the real world and get a translation.

The best part? You don’t have to choose between app or desktop. Both come with your subscription and sync, so you can switch between devices seamlessly.

Hardest Language to Learn | Rosetta Stone® (1) Hardest Language to Learn | Rosetta Stone® (2)

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Hardest Language to Learn | Rosetta Stone® (2024)

FAQs

Hardest Language to Learn | Rosetta Stone®? ›

Generally, if you're an English speaker with no exposure to other languages, here are some of the most challenging: Mandarin Chinese, Arabic, Vietnamese, Finnish, Japanese, and Korean. Here's the good news; when you're excited to learn a new language, even the hardest ones can simply seem fun.

What is the 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.

What is the hardest language to learn in the universe? ›

Hardest language in the world – Mandarin (Chinese Simplified) Unanimously speaking, Mandarin Chinese is considered to be the hardest language in the world.

Is Arabic or Chinese harder? ›

While both languages can be challenging for English speakers, Mandarin is generally seen as being more difficult. This is due to the fact that there are thousands of Chinese characters, while Arabic only includes 28 letters in its alphabet.

How fluent can you get with Rosetta Stone? ›

If you just want some basic conversational skills, you could achieve that in just a few short months with Rosetta Stone. However, if you want to become truly fluent, expect the process to take closer to 18 months, including some live lesson work.

What is the top 5 hardest language? ›

The top 10 hardest languages in the world include Mandarin Chinese, Arabic, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Finnish, Hungarian, Icelandic, Georgian, and Navajo. These languages are renowned for their intricate grammar systems, complex writing systems, and significant differences from English.

What is the most tricky language? ›

Mandarin is unanimously considered the most difficult language to master and is spoken by over a billion people in the world.

What is the oldest language in the world? ›

World's oldest language is Sanskrit. The Sanskrit language is called Devbhasha. All European languages ​​seem inspired by Sanskrit. All the universities and educational institutions spread across the world consider Sanskrit as the most ancient language.

What language has the hardest grammar? ›

Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, and Japanese are among the toughest languages for English speakers to learn, particularly due to their complex grammar, writing, and pronunciation systems. Moreover, Mandarin Chinese is also one of the most spoken native languages in the world.

What is the 2nd hardest language to learn? ›

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.

Which is harder Hebrew or Arabic? ›

Is Hebrew Grammar Easy to Understand? Hebrew grammar is definitely going to be more challenging than say Spanish or French grammar, but most would say it's easier than Arabic grammar. For instance in Arabic there are three cases which you need to keep track of when forming sentences.

What is harder Spanish or Arabic? ›

Spanish is easiest language when compared to the Arabic language. Spanish is considered one of the easiest languages for a native English speaker to learn.

Can Duolingo make you fluent? ›

No. Duolingo won't likely make you fluent if used on its own. However, when you use Duolingo combined with other resources, activities and tools that work for you, then yes, Duolingo will play a part in making you fluent.

Is Duolingo better than Babbel? ›

Grammar. When it comes to grammar lessons, most people find Babbel superior to Duolingo. Babbel incorporates exercise right into the lessons, whereas Duolingo doesn't prioritize them. That's not to say that Babbel overwhelms you with grammar.

Can you really learn a language from Duolingo? ›

At best, and this varies, Duolingo can give you a good foundation in a language. Some of the courses, like German, will give you sufficient foundation to start watching movies/tv shows or reading books. But you have to speak the language WITH OTHER PEOPLE to learn it. (Using all caps because it's really important.)

What is the top 3 hardest language to learn? ›

Give it a read. The 3 hardest languages to learn include Mandarin, Arabic, and Russian. However, with the right strategies, overcoming these obstacles and succeeding in international markets is possible. One critical method is to invest in language training for yourself and your team.

What's the top 20 hardest language to learn? ›

Top 20 Hardest languages to learn for english speakers
  1. Mandarin. Mandarin Chinese stands out as one of the most daunting languages for English speakers to learn, primarily due to its tonal nature and the extensive use of characters. ...
  2. Arabic. ...
  3. 3. Japanese. ...
  4. Korean. ...
  5. Russian. ...
  6. Cantonese. ...
  7. Hungarian. ...
  8. Finnish.
Feb 19, 2024

What is the 7 hardest language to learn? ›

Which is the most difficult language for English Speakers?
  • 1 – Chinese (Mandarin) Native speakers: 1.3 Billion of which 909 million speak Mandarin. ...
  • 2 – Arabic. Native speakers: 315 Million. ...
  • 3 – Japanese. Native speakers: 128 Million. ...
  • 4 – Korean. Native speakers: 80 Million. ...
  • 5 – Hungarian. ...
  • 6 – Finnish. ...
  • 7 – Xhosa.
Feb 7, 2020

What is the toughest language? ›

Mandarin is unanimously considered the most difficult language to master and is spoken by over a billion people in the world.

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