Is Italian Easy to Learn for Spanish Speakers?
Spanish and Italian are closely related. They both have Vulgar Latin roots and while their countries of origin don’t share a border, they do share a lot of history.
But does that make a difference when learning one of these languages? Can you learn Italian quicker if you already speak Spanish and will being a fluent Spanish speaker fast-track you to Italian proficiency?
Let’s find out.
Is Italian Easy to Learn for Spanish Speakers?
How we phrase this question is key.
Is it easier for Spanish speakers to learn Italian? Yes, definitely. Both Spanish and Italian are romance languages. They have many shared words and grammar rules and if you’re fluent in one you should have an easier time learning the other.
Is Italian easy to learn? It depends…but not really.
A native Spanish speaker will definitely have an easier time learning Italian than they will learning South Korean or Chinese. They will also feel like they have a head-start over a native English speaker who doesn’t speak a second language. But learning a language is never easy.
It requires study, patience, and commitment. It could take you weeks before those words and phrases stop looking like gibberish, months before you can have a basic conversation, and years before you reach fluency.
And that’s not the only thing you need to consider.
If you speak Spanish as a native English speaker, you may actually find it easier to learn Italian than a native Spaniard who doesn’t speak any other languages. Sure, you lack the nuances of native fluency, but you’ve been through the language learning process. You know what it takes. You know which methods work for you and how best to employ them.
That makes a huge difference in the language learning process.
Spanish and Italian Cognates
Cognates are words that share the same origin and have the same (or a very similar) meaning. The word itself comes from co meaning “together” (as in “cooperation”) and natus, meaning “born”.
Many romance languages share similar vocabulary and thus have a lot of cognates. This is true for Spanish and Italian, which share all of the following words (and many more):
| English | Spanish | Italian |
| Anger | La Colera | La Collera |
| Apology | La Disculpa | La Scusa |
| Appetite | El Apetito | La Appetito |
| Average | El Término Medio | La Media |
| Attack | El Ataque | L’attacco |
| Weight | El Peso | Il Peso |
| Wealth | La Riqueza | La Ricchezza |
| Victory | La Victoria | La vittoria |
| Value | El Valor | Il Valore |
| Suspicion | La Sospecha | Il Sospetto |
| Reason | La Razon | La Ragione |
| Ball | La Bola | La Palla |
| Beauty | La Belleza | La Belleza |
| Blot | El Borron | Lo Sgorbio |
| Bottom | El Fondo | Il Fondo |
| Business | Los Negocios | Gli Affari |
| Chemistry | La Quimica | La Chimica |
| Cleanliness | La Limpieza | La Pulizia |
| Company | La Compania | La Compagnia |
| Compromise | El Compromiso | il Compromesso |
| Confidence | La Confianza | La Fiducia |
| Damage | El Dano | Il Danno |
| Death | La Muerte | La Morte |
| Defense | La Defensa | La Difesa |
| Depth | La Profundidad | La Profondita |
| Development | El Desarrollo | Lo Svilupo |
| Electricity | La Electricidad | L’elettricità |
| Enemy | El Enemigo | Il Nemico |
| Envy | L’invidia | L’invidia |
| Error | El Error | l’errore (m) |
| Existence | La Existencia | L’esistenza |
| Fear | El Temor, El Miedo | La Paura |
| Food | El alimento | Il Cibo |
| Friendship | La Amistad | L’amicizia |
| Future | El Futuro | L’avvenire (m) |
| Fact | El Hecho | Il Fatto |
| Game | El Juego | il Giuoco |
| Gland | La Glandula | La Glandola |
| Gratitude | La Gratidud | La Gratitudine |
| Group | El Grupo | Il Gruppo |
| Growth | El Crecimiento | La Crescita |
| Question | La Pregunta | La Domanda |
| Remedy | El Remedio | Il Remedio |
| Problem | El Problema | Il Problema |
| Nature | La Naturaleza | La Natura |
| Money | El Dinero | Il Denaro |
| Memory | La Memoria | La Memoria |
| Love | El Amor | L’amore |
| Lesson | La Leccion | La Lezione |
| Judgment | El Juicio | Il Giudizio |
Can A Spanish Speaking Person Understand Italian?
Yes…and no. As a romance language, Italian has a lot in common with Spanish and a Spanish speaker will likely recognize many of the words. But as any student of language will tell you, understanding a third or even half of what’s being said isn’t enough.
To make matters worse, there are many “false friends” between these two languages. These false cognates are words that look similar and are pronounced similarly but have different meanings.
Should I Learn Spanish Before Italian?
It depends. Do you want to learn Spanish? If so, you should definitely learn it, and when you’re confident in your abilities and have reached an adequate level of fluency, you can advance to Italian.
If your main goal is to learn Italian, there’s no point in learning Spanish first. Knowing Spanish could save you several months’ worth of Italian language study, but it’ll take you a couple of years to reach that level so there’s no point.
What’s the Easiest Language for a Spanish Speaker to Learn?
Portuguese is often said to be the easiest language for Spanish speakers to learn. Not only does it use a lot of Spanish words, but there are many cultural similarities. Of course, it’s only an easy language to learn if you actually want to learn it.
If not, it’ll be hard to motivate yourself. Those words and grammar rules won’t stick, you won’t be interested in watching Portuguese films or reading Portuguese books, and so your study will advance at a snail’s pace.
If Portuguese is not your thing, look into one of the other romance languages, including French and Romanian.
Is Italian as Easy as Spanish?
It depends on your existing language knowledge and what kind of learner you are, but most English speakers agree that Spanish is slightly easier to learn than Italian.
The Foreign Service Institute (FSI) ranks all languages based on how difficult they are for English speakers to learn. There are 5 tiers in total, with the former requiring around 24 weeks of full-time study and the latter averaging 88 weeks (in case you didn’t know the origins of our name, now you do!)
Spanish and Italian are both level 1 languages, which means they are some of the easiest languages for English speakers and take around 24 to 30 weeks full-time (between 600 and 750 hours).
Based on this, and incorporating personal experience and anecdotal reports, it’s fair to assume that Spanish would sit at the lower end of that timescale while Italian would be nearer the top. However, both are much easier than languages like German, Greek, and Chinese, and a dedicated full-time student can learn either in less than 30 weeks.
How Long Does it Take to Learn Spanish or Italian?
Assuming you’re an English speaker who doesn’t know either of these two languages, has no experience with other romance languages, and studies for an hour a day, it should take a couple of years to reach B2/C1. But there are too many variables for an exact timeframe.
The FSI serves as a great guideline for comparing the difficulties of certain languages. However, you should take those timeframes with a grain of salt.
“24 to 30” weeks only applies if you’re studying full-time and covering up to 750 hours of classroom hours during that period. It also doesn’t include all the homework that you must complete outside of class.
Furthermore, if you’re only studying for an hour a day and doing literally nothing else, it’ll take you longer to reach fluency than if you were to read Spanish books and watch Spanish films in your downtime.
Don’t get too caught up in timelines and specific dates. Just know that the harder you work, the more you’ll learn, and if you fully commit, you can be chatting freely with native speakers in just 3 to 6 months.