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The Daily Insight

Is it easier to learn French if you know Spanish?

Author

Robert Young

Updated on May 05, 2026

I found starting with French and Spanish was easier because they were both different enough that I wouldn't be confused but similar enough that I was able to grasp the concepts. Italian is such a blend of both languages that it'll be easy to get confused so it's better to have a grasp on the other two before you learn.

Beside this, is it easier to learn French after Spanish?

Learning Spanish after learning French is easier. French is just difficult no matter what you learned first. While in Spanish, what you see is what you get. If you're and English speaker, and you want to learn both French and Spanish.

Similarly, how long does it take to learn French if you know Spanish? A study by the US Department of State's Foreign Service Institute shows that it took adult native English speakers 600 classroom hours to achieve the DLPT level 3 (around a CEFR C1 or C2) for Group I languages (Spanish, French, Portuguese), and 2,200 hours for Group IV languages (Chinese, Korean, Arabic).

In this manner, is it better to learn French or Spanish?

Spanish grammar is sometimes simpler, and the accent is generally considered easier, but French gives English speakers a break in other areas, such as vocabulary. There also may be more jobs for Spanish speakers than French speakers, but there are more Spanish speakers, so supply and demand factors in as well.

What is the easiest language to learn for French speakers?

Romance languages (French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Romanian) are all pretty similar especially grammar-wise, but also in vocabulary because of their Latin roots, so any of these would generally be easier to learn than other languages for your cousin.

Related Question Answers

Which language is closest to Spanish?

Here is a list of 7 languages that are easy to learn like Spanish.
  1. Italian. Also known as a Romance language, which means it's a descendant of ancient Vulgar Latin.
  2. French. French is similar to Spanish in that it's another Romance language.
  3. Portuguese.
  4. Catalan.
  5. Romanian.
  6. Tagalog.
  7. Dutch.

What language is easiest for English speakers?

9 Easiest Languages For English Speakers To Learn
  • Norwegian. This may come as a surprise, but we have ranked Norwegian as the easiest language for English speakers to pick up.
  • Swedish. Our second easiest language also comes from Scandinavia and the Germanic family of languages.
  • Spanish. This pick should come as no surprise.
  • Dutch.
  • Portuguese.
  • Indonesian.
  • Italian.
  • French.

What is the best third language to learn?

Your Move: 6 of the Best Languages to Learn After Spanish
  • French. French might be the number one obvious choice.
  • Portuguese. Portuguese, of course, is already extremely similar to Spanish.
  • German. Lots of people say that German has hard grammar.
  • Arabic.
  • Indonesian.
  • Russian.

What is the best second language to learn after English?

Mandarin If you're looking for which foreign language has more job opportunities, Mandarin displays itself as one of the best language to learn. After English, it's the most demanded foreign language thanks to its 1 billion speakers.

Why Spanish is the best language?

Spanish is insightful Understanding of Spanish will give you better insights into Latin and its effects on English. Often, it will illuminate many of those cryptic medical or biological terms. And studying the grammar of another language gives you more insight into your own.

How long does it take to learn French?

One year of French language learning in school (4 hours per week + 2 hours of homework + 2 hours of independent practice x 12 weeks x 2 semesters). Between 5-6.25 years to reach an intermediate French level. Dedicated independent study (1 hour per day). Approximately 3 years to achieve an intermediate level of French.

When should you learn a third language?

When it comes to learning a third language, most experts agree you should hold off until you've attained conversational fluency in your second language. If you begin learning another language too soon, you risk mixing up the two languages or forgetting what you learned in the first foreign tongue.

What language is easiest to learn after Spanish?

Your Move: 6 of the Best Languages to Learn After Spanish
  • French. French might be the number one obvious choice.
  • Portuguese. Portuguese, of course, is already extremely similar to Spanish.
  • German. Lots of people say that German has hard grammar.
  • Arabic.
  • Indonesian.
  • Russian.

Is French a dying language?

French is dying, but it will be a slow death. Millions of people in France and Canada still speak it as a first language. Millions more in other countries speak it as a second or third language.

Is French worth learning?

Learning French gives you access to the world. Due to French history and the amount of exposure France has had to other cultures, as well as the amount of influence it has had on other cultures, you can use French to better connect to the world as a whole.

Which foreign language pays the most?

Let's dig into the 5 most useful languages to learn if you want to make more money and improve your career.
  1. German. As we shared in the graph above, German is known to be the best language that will earn you the big bucks, earning you over 125,000 (Euros) in bonuses!
  2. French.
  3. Spanish.
  4. Mandarin.
  5. Arabic.

Why is French easier than Spanish?

Another thing that makes French easier than Spanish is that French has fewer verb tenses/moods. That creates a lot of verb conjugations in the Spanish language. Then, there is the subjunctive conjugation. While the subjunctive mood is difficult in both languages, it is more difficult and much more common in Spanish.

Why is French so hard?

The French language tends to be difficult to pronounce at first because there are simply sounds that native English speakers aren't used to making. To begin with, French is more evenly stressed. This means that while some parts of a word are stressed, it's not as distinct as in English.

What is the hardest language to learn?

The Hardest Languages For English Speakers
  1. Mandarin Chinese. Interestingly, the hardest language to learn is also the most widely spoken native language in the world.
  2. Arabic.
  3. Polish.
  4. Russian.
  5. Turkish.
  6. Danish.

Which language is easiest to learn?

According to the FSI, the languages that fall into the easiest category are:
  • Dutch.
  • French.
  • Italian.
  • Norwegian.
  • Portuguese.
  • Romanian.
  • Spanish.
  • Swedish.

Is French useful in the US?

If you are hoping to move to Quebec, French is useful to you! If you are also interested in planning on traveling to France or other francophone countries, then yes, it is useful! It might not be as common in the US, but if you are in an urban area, you should be able to find French speakers.

How difficult is French?

French is not difficult to learn. Millions of people do it every day. It is the second-most taught second language after English. For an English speaker, French is among the easiest languages to learn, even easier than German (although you would think two Germanic languages would have more in common).

Can I learn French in 3 months?

You can certainly learn it in 3 months with dedication and the right learning materials. Commit to a certain amount of time learning French per day. Your success also depends on whether you find French interesting. In order to achieve a good level of spoken French, listen to French while you sleep.

Can I learn French on my own?

Contrary to what other people believe, learning French on your own is pretty achievable. With the right amount of motivation and commitment, a healthy learning habit, plus the right tools and method to guide you, yes you can teach yourself French.

How many hours a day should I study a foreign language?

For most languages and most lifestyles, I would recommend between 1 and 3 hours per day, depending on how much time you have for this pursuit and how important it is that you learn the language in two years.

What is the best app to learn French?

Top 7 Beginner Apps for Learning French
  • Brainscape French. Of course we have to start with the best!
  • Duolingo.
  • Learn French with Busuu.
  • Classics2Go Collection (French)
  • French Translator Dictionary +
  • Le Conjugueur.
  • Rosetta Stone.
  • Get Learning!

Is DuoLingo good for French?

Overall, DuoLingo is certainly a good resource to aid yourself in learning French. It's motivating, it's fun, it's easy, and it's free.

How long does it take to be fluent in Spanish?

The bottom line. If you start out as a beginner and spend an average of 1 hour per day working on your Spanish, you should able to reach conversational fluency within 8 – 12 months. That translates to roughly 250 – 350 hours of time spent.

How long does it take to learn French with Rosetta Stone?

120 - 150 hours

Is French easy to learn?

French is relatively easy to learn but it does take some time and effort. As French is closely related to English, I have to agree with the Foreign Language Institute that says that French belongs to the easiest group of languages to learn for English speakers. Having so much common vocabulary helps a lot!

What language is closest to English?

The Closest Languages to English: Dutch You might have heard that Dutch is the closest language to English. Indeed, it's the closest “major” language and is sometimes said to be “in-between” English and German.

What is the most useful language to learn?

Here are some key things to take into account when deciding which language is most useful for you.
  • French.
  • German.
  • Hindustani.
  • Italian.
  • Japanese.
  • Portuguese.
  • Russian.
  • Spanish. If you live in the U.S. and want to learn a language you'll use regularly, Spanish is a leading contender.

Is duolingo worth paying for?

It's not worth it if you're just looking for bonus features, imo. Yeah, I think a big part is the supporting duolingo. Duolingo does not promote plus for extra featutes (at least in mobile).

Which language is closest to Latin?

Italian

Is Italian easier than French?

Italian is considerably easier than French. The accent is easier, without the nasal vowels of French. The French tend to speak in an endless hurry, running the words together and because they leave the ends off most of their words there's an indistinctness to French. African and Arabic French are far easier to follow.

Does duolingo make you fluent?

Duolingo gives you a great base in a new language, but it will not "make" you fluent. The only thing that can make you fluent is yourself! And if you want to learn to speak a language fluently, you're going to have to practice speaking the language!

Can you really learn a language in your sleep?

Subliminal learning in your sleep is usually dismissed as pseudo-science at best and fraud at worst, but a team of Swiss psychologists say you can actually learn a foreign language in your sleep.