6 Easiest Languages to Learn for English Speakers

Let's say you're interested in learning a language. You have one more choice to make, if you're up for it: Choosing from a number of options. Do you want to learn a language that is widely spoken, such as Spanish or Mandarin, or a political language, such as Russian? You are busy. Each of these reasons is valid, but here's one more: You don't have the time. We all have busy schedules. Isn't it easier to learn a simple language? Learn English easily because it is the simplest language. Let's just say we have narrowed the list down to 6 Languages. Your options will be narrowed down so that you can begin your studies right away.

Norwegian

You may be surprised to learn that Norwegian is the easiest language to learn for English speakers. In the same way as English, Norwegian also belongs to the Germanic family of languages! Thus, the languages have a lot in common, such as the seasons vinter and sommer (we'll let you figure that one out).

In addition to its straightforward grammar, Norwegian has only one form of each verb per tense. Its word order also closely resembles English. Can you assist me? Similarly, when you learn Norwegian, you'll have more flexibility with your diction. That's because Norwegian has a variety of accents, so there are more than one "correct way" to pronounce words. So put on your snow boots and start learning Norwegian today!

Swedish

From Scandinavia and the Germanic family comes our second easiest language to learn. Sweden is one of the easiest languages for English speakers to learn due to its large number of cognates (cognates are words in different languages that originate from the same ancestral language and are very similar in appearance and/or sound). The Swedish word for grass is gräs, which is clearly cognate. Swedish has similar word order to English and relatively simple grammar rules.

In addition, Swedish is benefiting from exposure thanks to IKEA. While shopping for furniture (and eating some meatballs, I assume) English speakers around the world have encountered a number of Swedish words. Swedish varnish gives its name to the popular, minimalist Lack tables, and Stockholm rugs are named after Sweden's capital. It is detailed in Business Insider's article how IKEA names its products differently. If you love furniture, Swedish may be for you.

Spanish

No one should be surprised by this pick. Because of its practicality and wide reach, Spanish has always been one of the most popular languages for English-speakers to learn.

Among language learners who speak English, it is one of the easiest. As many English words are derived from Latin - including the Romance languages, such as Spanish - it's a game of cognates, cognates, cognates. It's also fairly easy to pronounce Spanish.

It's a phonetic language, meaning that words are usually pronounced as they are written. Spanish pronunciation is also fairly easy. It's a phonetic language, meaning that its words are generally pronounced as they're written.

There are some exceptions to grammar rules in Spanish as well, so grammar haters should beware. The tenses, however, are similar to those we use in English, so they're not difficult to learn. Its prevalence in our daily lives is perhaps the biggest pro to learning it. Approximately 450 million native Spanish speakers live in the world, making it the second most spoken language. On TV, on the radio, and even in your community, you probably hear Spanish spoken. Because it's everywhere, you're already ahead of the game!

Dutch

As part of our Germanic language list, we have included Dutch as well. The majority of Dutch citizens and a large portion of Belgians speak Dutch. Dutch is the third most spoken Germanic language, after German and English, which makes sense because it has shared vocabulary with German and English.

The Dutch language has the really interesting feature that many words are spelled exactly as they are in other languages, including English. You just need to pay attention to the way they're pronounced. Dutch is pronounced the same way as English, but it means "rat." Make sure you don't use false cognates, such as wet, which is actually the Dutch word for law."

If you keep vigilant, Dutch could work for you. On this list, German, Danish, and English occupy three of the top four places, but for good reasons neither German nor Danish made the list. Though it shares thousands of cognates with English, its grammar wouldn't be described as "easy."

The pronunciation of Danish is too difficult for casual learners, even though it looks like Norwegian or Swedish. See our list of the hardest languages for English speakers to learn if you're up for the challenge.

Portuguese

Portuguese, a member of the Romance language family spoken in Brazil and Portugal, ranks fifth on our list of the easiest languages to learn. There are many common vocabulary words in both Spanish and English, making it easy to pick up.

Watch out for false cognates, however. Portuguese is another language where learners benefit from exposure. . Perhaps you will just be given a "folder" if you are really into Portuguese pasta.."

Brazilian Portuguese is another language for which learners benefit from exposure. Students of Portuguese have plenty of opportunities to enhance their learning of Portuguese through Brazilian food, drinks, music, and films.

Indonesian

Interestingly, Indonesian is also a logical choice for English speakers because it has several qualities that make it a logical choice. In addition to being one of the few Asian languages with a Latin alphabet, Indonesian is spoken by nearly 23 million people.

Due to the unfamiliar characters in their writing systems, many Asian languages are extremely difficult to master for English speakers, but not Indonesian. In addition, the language is phonetic, which means that words are pronounced exactly according to their spelling.

Although Indonesian grammar differs greatly from English, don't let that discourage you! There aren't as many rules as in English, which makes it much easier to learn grammar.

The verbs do not conjugate (yes, you read that right! ), there are no plurals (just repeat the word twice), and there are no grammatical genders. If you’re not a fan of grammar rules, Indonesian could be a match made in heaven!