Top 7 Hardest Languages to Learn for English Speakers, from Arabic to Korean

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TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Learning a new language can be an exciting and rewarding adventure. But some languages are undeniably more challenging than others. For English speakers, there are a number of the hardest languages to learn that require more time, patience, and effort to master.

Whether it's due to complex grammar, unfamiliar characters, or completely different sounds, these languages will test even the most dedicated language learner.

List of the Hardest Languages to Learn

Duolingo, Babbel, and Shiksha all named Arabic among the hardest languages to learn. Other languages that pose challenges for learners include:

Arabic

One of the world’s oldest languages, Arabic also makes an appearance among the hardest languages to learn for English speakers. Spoken across the Middle East and North Africa, the language earns this reputation due to its numerous regional varieties and its 28-script alphabet, which is non-Latin and includes sounds unfamiliar to other languages.

More to that, Arabic also comes with challenges due to the omission of most vowels in writing and its right-to-left script, which is the opposite of English.

Mandarin

Not only is Mandarin the most spoken language in the world, but it is also one of the hardest to learn. Used by 1.3 billion speakers, this language requires learners to memorize thousands of special characters, all vastly different from those in Latin-based languages. It also has four main tones, in which certain pitch or intonation when pronouncing a word can change its meaning.

Japanese

Known for its intricate writing system and unique grammar structure, Japanese is widely regarded as one of the hardest languages to learn for English speakers. The language is particularly challenging because it uses three distinct scripts—Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji.

Mastering all three can feel overwhelming, as they are fundamentally different. Hiragana and Katakana are syllabaries, while Kanji is a logographic script. And the challenges don’t end there—Japanese also takes politeness to new heights, embedding it into grammar, which further adds to the complexity.

Polish

Polish is one of the Slavic languages, and it’s known for being difficult for English speakers to pick up. Although Polish uses the Latin alphabet—making it less difficult than languages like Arabic or Mandarin—words in this language are often packed with consonants, which can be tricky for some learners.

In addition to its pronunciation, Polish grammar features seven grammatical cases, meaning that nouns, pronouns, and adjectives change form depending on their role in the sentence.

Russian

Russian may not have as many speakers as Mandarin or Arabic, but it presents its own unique challenges. One of the biggest hurdles for beginners is the Cyrillic alphabet, which can appear both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time due to its resemblance to Latin letters.

Additionally, Russian is similar to Polish in terms of difficulty, particularly with its grammatical cases and pronunciation. The language has six grammatical cases and frequently clusters consonants together.

Zulu

Zulu is one of South Africa's official languages, and while it's incredibly beautiful, it's also one of the hardest languages to learn. Zulu includes a number of "click" consonants, which aren’t found in English or many other languages.

Like Mandarin, Zulu is a tonal language, meaning that variations in pitch can change the meaning of words, adding another layer of difficulty. It also has a complex system of noun classes, where the structure of a sentence changes depending on the noun’s class.

Korean

Though not as difficult as some other languages on the list, Korean still presents plenty of challenges for learners. One of the key difficulties lies in its writing system, Hangul, which consists of 19 consonants and 21 vowels.

Korean also has a system of honorifics, where the level of politeness in speech varies based on the social status of the person you're speaking to. Similar to Japanese, Korean sentences follow a subject-object-verb (SOV) order, which can be confusing for English speakers.

While these languages may be challenging, the effort and time you put into learning them will open up new worlds of culture, literature, and connection. If you’re still seeking motivation, be sure to explore the many benefits of learning a new language.

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