Top 20 Hardest Languages To Learn : Most Difficult Languages in the World

Published July 16, 2023 · · Updated May 7, 2024 · 13 minutes · by Kamerpower ·

Top 50 Hardest Languages To Learn : Most Difficult Languages in the World. learning a new language enhances your worldview, improves nonverbal communication, helps you multitask and aids in your brain adapting and responding to new circumstances. 

Despite their difficulty; some of these languages are of very high economic importance; learning them can be extremely profitable for one’s business career. Beginners may want to start with an easier language, such as Spanish, German or Italian. However, if you’re up for a challenge, these are the 25 hardest languages to learn.

List of Top 20 Hardest Languages To Learn

• Japanese.
• Croatian
• Danish
• Hindi.
• Arabic.
• Farsi
• Mandarin.
• Gaelic
• Bulgarian.
• Serbian
• Turkish
• Icelandic.
• Czech
• Polish.
• Georgian.
• Estonian
• Estonian.
• Greek.
• Russian
• Finnish
• Hungarian
• Vietnamese.
• Thai.

What are the Top 50 Hardest Languages To Learn In the World Today?

1. Bulgarian: Why Bulgarian Is So Difficult to Learn

Bulgarian is a Slavic language that has around eight million native speakers, primarily in Bulgaria. Given the country’s rich history, culture and literature, Bulgarian can be a fascinating language to study. Like Russian, it uses the Cyrillic alphabet, which can seem a bit intimidating to those unfamiliar with it. Bulgarian can also be tricky for English speakers when it comes to vocabulary and grammar, as it doesn’t use many English loanwords and the verb conjugations are somewhat complicated. 

2. Hungarian : Why Hungarian Is So Difficult to Learn

Hungarian is an agglutinative language. This means that, rather than containing individual prepositions, prefixes and suffixes are added onto words. The longest word in Hungarian, “megszentségteleníthetetlenségeskedéseitekért,” means “for your [plural] continued behavior as if you could not be desecrated” in English. 

3. Albanian

Albanian is the official language of both Albania and Kosovo, and is spoken by around six million people in the Balkans. Although it’s technically an Indo-European language, it’s not really comparable to any other language and borrows grammar rules and vocabulary from Greek and Latin as well as some extinct languages like Thracian, Illyrian and Dacian. Albanian can be quite challenging for English speakers to learn due to its complex grammar. For instance, in Albanian, nouns have both a case and a gender, and the only way to learn them is to memorise the case and gender of each noun as you study the vocabulary. 

4. Finnish : Why Finnish Is So Difficult to Learn

A Finno-Ugric language, Finnish features a complicated verb conjugation, case system, consonant gradation and clitics. For instance, its 15 grammatical cases mean that even the slightest change in the end of a word can alter its meaning.

5. Arabic : Why Arabic Is So Difficult to Learn

Arabic features 28 script letters, is written from right to left and excludes most vowels in words. There are also various sounds made in the language that don’t exist in many other languages. Grammatically, verbs often come before the subject, while there are many dual forms of words in addition to the singular and plural forms.

6. Serbian : Why Serbian Is So Difficult to Learn

This Slavic language consists of two scripts (Cyrillic and Latin), seven tenses and a consonant (R) that is also sometimes a vowel. Gender plays a big part as well. For example “uenik,” translates to “male student.” Some individual letters prove tricky as well. For instance, the letter Š is similar to SH (shampoo, shower, shop).

7. Mandarin : Why Mandarin Is So Difficult to Learn

Despite being the most widely spoken native language in the world, Mandarin Chinese tops the list of the toughest languages to learn. The language requires the memorization of thousands of special characters. The tonal language also has four tones, so one word can be pronounced four different ways, while each pronunciation has a different meaning. 

8. Polish : Why Polish Is So Difficult to Learn

Polish pronunciation can be a doozy for learners. For instance, the Polish word for happiness is “szcezcie,” featuring Polish digraphs (sz, cz) and a nasal E sound. Polish also has seven different grammatical cases that are affected by gender.

9. Japanese : Why Japanese Is So Difficult to Learn

Among the most challenging aspects of learning Japanese is the writing system, which contains tens of thousands of characters referred to as “kanji.” 

10. Gaelic : Why Gaelic So Difficult to Learn

The language has many grammatical cases and dialects that prove hard to pick up. It uses VSO (verb, subject, object) word order, which can be tricky for most.

11. Icelandic : Why Icelandic Is So Difficult to Learn

The Icelandic language remains one of the hardest languages to learn, which makes sense considering the language hasn’t changed since it settled in the ninth and 10th centuries. The archaic language is made up of extremely long words, while the specific syllables are pronounced entirely differently from typical English syllables. The language is also known for having very confusing conjugations. 

12. Vietnamese : Why Vietnamese Is So Difficult to Learn

Part of the Austroasiatic language family, Vietnamese can also be difficult to speak due to its foreign pronunciations to English speakers. It has six tonal variations that are determined by diacritics. The language also has a high number of vowel sounds considered difficult for most English speakers to master. 

13. Korean : Why Korean Language So Difficult to Learn

Despite having what is considered the most logical system of writing in the world — with an alphabet consisting of just 24 symbols, 10 of which are vowels and 14 consonants — the language remains a challenge to learn. So many of the words sound very similar to each other. And because there are no characters, it’s harder to visualize them for memorization purposes. The sentence structure is also very different from English. In Korean, it’s subject, object, verb, unlike in English, which is subject, verb, object.

14. Estonian : Why Estonian Is So Difficult to Learn

Belonging to the Finno-Ugric family, Estonian is a unique language that can be a challenge to learn. It has an incredible 14 noun cases and grammar packed with exceptions.

In addition, consonants and vowels are made up of three specific lengths: short, long and overly long. The way they’re used directs the meaning of the world as well. For instance, “lina” means “linen” in Estonian, but “linna” means “city.” 

15. Greek : Why Greek Is So Difficult to Learn

The oldest living Indo-European language, Greek is an ancient language that’s filled with complications for learners. There are three different genders for nouns and various grammar rules unfamiliar to English speakers. It requires learning the Greek alphabet, which is not a requirement for the majority of European languages. 

16. Hindi : Why Hindi Is So Difficult to Learn

Descending from the ancient South Asian language of Sanskrit, Hindi is a phonetic language, but many sounds are foreign to English speakers. Meanwhile, the written version of Hindi, which is written in Devanagari script, lacks certain phonetic markings that would help learners better comprehend how to pronounce words. The very subtle language features minute changes in sound and context as well. 

17. Danish : Why Danish Is So Difficult to Learn

Pronunciation makes Danish one of the most difficult languages to learn. Phonetically, there are more than 20 vowel sounds in the Danish language. Meanwhile, written Danish has three more vowels than the English alphabet: Æ, Ø and Å. The Æ most often sounds like the E in “women,” and Å to the O in “rope.” The Ø has no exact equivalent in most English accents. The silent D, can really throw learners for a loop, with the DD in jeg hedder sounding more like an L.

18. Thai : Why Thai Is So Difficult to Learn

Thai is a tonal language. To understand it, you must recognize the pitch of a tone in relation to the context of the world and overall sentence. The language features five tones, some of which are not found in the English language. Thai has its own script with 44 consonants, 18 vowels and six diphthongs to memorize. 

19. Russian : Why Russian Is So Difficult to Learn

Russian can be difficult for English speakers due to the confusing pronunciation. For instance, while the language is made up of Latin letters, many letters sound entirely different. The letter “b” sounds like “v,” and the letter “h” sounds like “n.” Russian also has many words where consonants are grouped together, which makes spelling and pronunciation difficult. 

20. Croatian : Why Croatian Is So Difficult to Learn

A part of the Slavic language group, Croatian is considered one of the most difficult languages to learn. Croatian has seven cases, while English only has three. Croatia is a small country with different dialects, making it difficult to grasp just one of them if you’re trying to immerse yourself in the language while there. 

21. Navajo

Navajo is one of the Native American languages; it is spoken by over 150,000 people in the US; and an unspecified number in Mexico. Navajo is mostly spoken in the Southwestern United States; especially in the Navajo Nation, and the area north of the US border with Mexico.

22. Farsi : Why Farsi Is So Difficult to Learn

Known as Persian, this Indo-European language is chock full of words English speakers can recognize, thanks to many English words originating from Farsi. However, it remains one of the most challenging languages to learn due to its unique alphabet and script that differ from many western languages. Farsi also reads from right to left. 

23. Norwegian

Norwegian is one of the Scandinavian languages; it is the official language of Norway; and it is spoken by the country’s 4.6 million people. It is said (and disputed) that the language’ origins are Germanic, and that it belongs to the Indo European language family. Norwegian is a rather difficult language to understand; the alphabet is completely strange to any person who comes from central or Western Europe, or other parts of the world.

24. Georgian : Why Georgian Is So Difficult to Learn

The most intriguing, yet difficult, aspect of learning Georgian is that it has its own writing system, and many of the letters used look incredibly similar. Articulation can prove a challenge as well, due to the exorbitant consonant clusters.

25. Persian        

Persian is a very old language, it is pluricentric- meaning that it has several standard forms existing concurrently, but those various forms are endemic to different regions. Persian is also called Farsi; and it belongs to the Indo-Iranian branch of Indo-European family of languages. Persian is spoken in many parts of the Middle East; but mostly in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan. In Uzbekistan many people also speak the Tajik variety.

26. Turkish: Why Turkish Is So Difficult to Learn

Turkish is filled with extremely long verbs. This is the result of it being an agglutinative language, in which prefixes and suffixes are attached to words to determine meaning and direction. The verb carries the most weight in Turkish. And because it’s placed at the very end of the sentence, you can’t understand the meaning of what’s being said until the sentence is finished. 

27. Afrikaans

Afrikaans is the special form of the Dutch language cited above. It is labelled as a West Germanic language; and evolved in the Dutch colony of the cape coast. This happened when the Dutch people spoke a vernacular form of Dutch with the enslaved people. Afrikaans in South Africa, Namibia and (to a lesser extent) Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, estimates c. 2010 of the total number of Afrikaans speakers range between 15 and 23 million.

28. Tagalog : Why Tagalog Is So Difficult to Learn

An Austronesian language, Tagalog features a complicated grammar and sentence structure that make it hard to learn. Having originated in the Philippine islands, Tagalog is the first language of most Filipinos. One of the most intriguing aspects is that emphasis can completely change the meaning of certain words.

29. Albanian : Why Albanian Is So Difficult to Learn

Albanian differs from any other language, even that of its Indo-European classification. It consists of some extinct languages, including Thracian, Illyrian and Dacian, while also featuring some grammar rules and vocabulary from Greek and Latin. Albanian nouns have both a case and a number, requiring the learner to memorize each noun. 

30. Dutch          

Dutch is the language of the people of the Netherlands, and it is also spoken in Belgium, and Suriname. Dutch is also spoken in St Martin, Aruba, and there is a special variant spoken in South Africa. Overall it has about 22 million speakers around the world. Dutch belongs to the Indo- European family of languages; there are intelligible words to the Germans as well.

31. Czech : Why Czech Is So Difficult to Learn

Pronouncing Czech words is a nightmare for English speakers. The language is packed with mouthfuls of consonants, making individual words total tongue twisters. Czech also has seven cases to learn, with each masculine, feminine and neutral.

32. Indonesian  

Indonesian is the language of Indonesia; which is an archipelago located in southeast Asia and Oceania. This language belongs to the Austronesian family of languages, and is spoken by some 300 million speakers. Outside Indonesia the language is not popular because of its difficulty.

33. Slovenian

Slovenian language is part of the South Slavic language group, which also has its roots from the Indo-European language family. Slovenian is spoken by only 2.5 million people; which some cite as a testament of its difficulty.

34. Basque

Basque is a language of the Basque; a people in north-central Spain and south-western France. Basque is one of the oldest languages and people in the world; it is mentioned in very old roman texts, and the language and culture still exist today.

Other Difficult Languages To Learn in the World

What language is the most difficult to learn?

• Scottish: Scottish is a Celtic language that is spoken by 1.2 million natives of Scotland.
• Amharic: It is the most widely spoken language in Ethiopia
• Armenian: It is used by an ethnic group native to the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.
• Azerbaijani: It is a Turkic language spoken primarily by the Azerbaijani people, who live mainly in the Republic of Azerbaijan.
• Bengali: It is the official language of the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and in Barak Valley of Assam.
• Mongolian: Mongolia, a nation bordered by China and Russia, is known for vast, rugged expanses and nomadic culture
• Nepali: Nepali is an Indo-Aryan language of the sub-branch of Eastern Pahari
• Portuguese: Relating to Portugal or its people or language
• Romanian: Romania is a southeastern European country known for the forested region of Transylvania, ringed by the Carpathian Mountains
• Spanish: Spanish is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial spoken Latin in the Iberian.
• Swahili: Swahili, also known by its native name Kiswahili, is a Bantu language and the native language of the Swahili people
• Esperanto: Esperanto is the world’s most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language
• French: French is one of the world’s major languages and is widely spoken around different parts of the world.
• German: It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland.
• Welsh: It is part of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages mainly spoken in Wales. It has 29 letters alphabet.
• Urdu: Modern Standard Urdu, this language is normally associated with Muslims around the world.
• Hebrew: It is a West Semitic language that belongs to the Afroasiatic language family and widely spoken in Israel.
• Korean: Korean is the widely spoken language in North and South Korea.
• Sanskrit: Sanskrit is considered the core language of Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism. You will many Vedic and ancient texts written in this language. 
• Croatian: Croatian is the standardized variety of the Serbo-Croatian language. It is the official language of Croatia spoken by 4.8 million people.
• Italian: Italian is an official language of Italy and San Marino and is spoken fluently by the majority of the countries’ populations
• Lithuania: Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe
• Macedonian: Macedonia also called Macedon was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece
• Malayalam: Malayalam is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala
• Malaysian: Malaysia is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country in Southeast Asia and one of the wealthiest and most developed countries.

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