“What’s the easiest language to learn?” It’s one of the most common searches related to language learning. Beginners are worried they’ll lose interest and motivation if their first language is too easy; aspiring polyglots want a quick check on their language to-do list.
It’s not an easy question to answer, as it largely depends on your skill level, native language, and existing languages. I addressed this topic in full in a previous article covering easy languages for beginners.
That article focused mainly on English, but now I want to address Spanish. Spanish speakers may approach language learning a little differently than English speakers, as it’s a Romance language that lacks Germanic ancestry. So, if you’re a fluent Spanish speaker—whether you’re native or speak it as a second language—check out the following options.
These languages are in no particular order, but all of them should be much easier for you to learn than languages not on this list.
Portuguese
Portuguese was always going to be included. It is the most similar common language to Spanish, and I have covered these similarities in a previous post.
Basically, Spanish and Portuguese have comparable origins and can be traced back to Vulgar Latin and the Iberian peninsula. There are more vowel sounds in Portuguese than there are in Spanish, and this is one of the reasons the language is usually harder to learn for speakers of other languages. But for Spanish speakers, it should be a breeze.
There are lots of cognates between the two languages and they also share similar cultures. So, not only is it one of the easiest languages to learn for Spanish speakers, but it’s also one of the most useful.
As with Spanish, European Portuguese differs from the Portuguese spoken in the Americas, but the differences are slight and you can learn either Brazilian or European Portuguese.
Esperanto
Esperanto is an artificial language developed toward the end of the 19th century. The idea was to create a universal language, one that would allow people from all over the world to communicate with ease. Of course, “universal” in this context basically means “European”, as it doesn’t do much for speakers of non-European languages.
It uses a familiar alphabet and borrows many words from Romance languages, so it should be relatively easy for Spanish speakers to learn. What’s more, as it’s an artificial language designed to be learned quickly, there are no complicated grammar elements to wrap your head around.
If you want an easy language to learn, Esperanto should definitely be near the top of your list. But if you’re looking for a useful language, forget about it. There are millions of Esperanto speakers out there, but most are polyglots. The odds are very slim that you will ever encounter an Esperanto speaker who also doesn’t speak Spanish and/or English.
Italian
Just like Portuguese and Spanish, Italian descends from Vulgar Latin, so it has a lot in common with its sister languages. Spanish speakers usually find it easy to learn Italian, and it’s also very useful for those trips to Venice, Tuscany, Rome, Florence, and Italy’s many other beautiful destinations.
French
Another Romance language, and for some learners, this is the easiest one of all. Spanish shares some verbs with French and the language is constructed in a similar way. French can be a little troublesome when it comes to pronunciation, though.
There are a broad range of sounds and these vary based on the position of letters. It will seem relatively straightforward once you’ve gotten through the basics, but getting that far is generally much tougher than it is with other Romance languages.
English
English is the most widely spoken language in the world, and that’s a pretty impressive achievement when you consider that most of those speakers are not native.
It’s an incredibly useful language to learn and it’s also very fun, as there is no shortage of movies, TV shows, music, and books to enjoy.
When learning some languages, I often struggle with the lack of media. I watch a lot of horror films and thrillers, for instance, and while I am spoilt for choice with Norwegian, I haven’t had the same luck with Greek. You won’t have that problem learning English.
It’s also the main language found on Spanish language apps and websites, and there are endless language-learning resources out there.
Of course, this article is in English, so there’s a high chance that you already speak the language. If not, and you’re translating this page, start learning English! Spanish and English are spoken by a combined total of more than 2 billion people, so you’ve got a lot of bases covered.
Romanian
Romanian is one of the closest living languages to Latin, as it hasn’t changed as much as other Romance languages. Unlike Italian, French, Spanish, and Portuguese, it has influences from several non-Romance languages, including Hungarian and Slavic. If you’re looking to learn a language that few Spaniards speak, as well as one that can introduce you to Eastern European languages, it’s ideal.
There are close to 30 million Romanian speakers around the world, so while it’s not as widespread as the other languages on this list (with the exception of Esperanto), it’s still more common than you might think. You can practice by joining Romanian communities online or by signing up for an account with Preply. The site has dozens of experienced Romanian teachers charging by the hour.
The language is also covered by a number of popular language-learning applications.
Summary: Easiest Languages for Spanish Speakers
Although the above languages are easier than the alternatives, they are not easy. It takes a lot of time, patience, and hard work to learn a language. You can’t attain complete fluency in a few weeks or even a few months, but if you work hard, you could reach conversational fluency relatively quickly.
Take a look at some of the other guides on this site to learn more, including articles on learning Portuguese, Greek, and other languages.