Guides

Japanese has a reputation for being one of the hardest languages to learn. It has over 500,000 words in its dictionary (whereas English has 171,146 words) and uses three different alphabets. 

So, how long does it take to become fluent in Japanese? Like with every language, it depends. What is your experience with languages? What do you consider fluency to be? How much time can you commit to learning Japanese? If you want to become fluent in Japanese in two years, you’ll need to spend around five hours a day studying!

Read more

There's nothing worse than learning a language, to never use it again. So, what is the most useful language to learn?

We can't make up your mind for you, however, in this article, we will take a look at all of the most commonly spoken languages in the world, why you should learn them and how to choose which language to tackle next.

Aside from English, we found that Spanish, Arabic, Mandarin Chinese and Portuguese are some of the most useful languages to learn. However, this all depends on your reasons for learning a new language and where you live.

Read more

One of the questions I’m most often asked is, “How hard is it to learn Korean?” 

The short answer is, Korean can be quite difficult to learn. The American Foreign Service Institute (FSI) ranks Korean as a Category IV language, which puts it amongst the most difficult for native English speakers.

But what exactly makes it so difficult? We take a look at three reasons why it's difficult for native English speakers, and one way it can be easier to learn compared to other East Asian languages. 

Read more

Vietnamese has earned a reputation as one of the most challenging languages to learn in the world, but some linguists argue otherwise. This may leave you wondering: is Vietnamese hard to learn?

The answer: sort of. Like anything, it depends on how you look at it. Vietnamese has a few aspects that are far easier than most European languages, including short words and simplified grammar. However, it also includes things that most English Speakers will find quite challenging like tones and tricky pronouns. 

Let's dive in and explore this language! 

Read more

So you’ve decided you want to learn a tonal language. That’s great! But where do you even start? What even is a tonal language, for that matter? Let’s find out! 

A tonal language is one that uses the pitch of your voice to change the meaning of a word. This often means that words have four or five different meanings. Learning a tonal language requires patience, immersion, and the help of some language-learning software.

Read more