r/thisorthatlanguage

should i learn finnish or hawaiian first? my native language is brazilian portuguese and i think i am somewhere between B2 and C1 in english

should i learn finnish or hawaiian first? my native language is brazilian portuguese and i think i am somewhere between B2 and C1 in english

Hello, I have some trouble deciding between studying Russian or Japanese, as the title says. I would like to hear your opinion about which one is a better suit for me.

I live in Bulgaria (located in Eastern Europe), therefore, my native language is Bulgarian. Russian is quite similar to it since they are both Slavic languages and using almost the same alphabet. We have a lot of mutual words and some of the grammar is similar. It would definitely be easier to learn it.

However, ever since I can remember, I have huge interest in East Asian cultures. Particularly Japanese culture. I like Japanese media (novels, manga, anime), mindset, traditions, etc. I find the country very fascinating because of the aspects which separate it from the rest of the world.

I have tried to study both languages, but cannot stick to a single one. Russian may seem more practical keeping in mind the geographical closeness and I also like Russia's culture. However, I don't have special interest in the media, I have only read Russian literature. Also, Russian is spoken by more people worldwide. But, still, I have my special interest in Japanese and practicality cannot make me choose one over the other so easily. Things keeping me away from Japanese are the xenophobic mindset of many Japanese people and decilining population.

Difficulty of the language is not much of a factor!

Thank you for reading this and sharing your opinion!

I need outside opinions because I’ve been going back and forth on this for WEEKS 😂. I’m an English speaker living in Texas and I want to become fluent in another language, but I only want to seriously focus on one at a time.

Spanish makes the most practical sense. I live in Texas and have definitely had situations where knowing Spanish would have been useful, including in healthcare. I’m Christian and would love to communicate with Spanish-speaking people at church, and I’d also love to eventually raise my children bilingual. My partner understands some Spanish and is very supportive of teaching our future kids Spanish.

But I am SO drawn to French.

I studied French in high school instead of Spanish, my grandmother spoke French, and I’ve always loved how French sounds. I also find it MUCH easier to immerse myself in French. I can easily find French music, R&B, cartoons, movies, GRWMs, etc. that I genuinely enjoy.

I can watch something like Cinderella or Beauty and the Beast in French and it somehow feels completely natural to me 😂. Spanish versions of those same movies weirdly don’t hit the same.

Travel is another factor. I’m going to Monaco soon and would love to visit France and other Francophone countries. I’m less interested in traveling throughout Latin America, although Spain is definitely on my list.

The frustrating part is that I want both. 😭 I can picture myself speaking Spanish and love the practicality of it, but French has this emotional/aesthetic pull that Spanish hasn’t quite matched.

I’m currently thinking Spanish → B2/C1 → French, but I’m scared that after 1–2 years of Spanish I’ll just fall completely back in love with French. 😂

For people who have learned both: which would you choose first, and why? And did one language eventually become more “you” than the other?

Hi everyone!

I can't decide which 5th language would be the best choice for me in the future. At this moment, I know Polish (native), English (C1), German (B1), and Spanish (A1). I'm working on my German until I reach professional B2, same with Spanish. I find it best for me to study in a ladder way - I focus on one language until I reach my set goal while maintaining the other language, then switch my focus to the other one. While it might not be the fastest way to study, that method keeps me from burning out. Since I'm going to reach the level in German I want in a year, I want to determine which language would be best as the 5th one to study alongside Spanish.

Just like many language enthusiasts, I find the majority of languages appealing, but even the simplest ones are a long journey, and sadly, life is too short to learn all the languages I want. That's why I want to learn something that would be useful, yet not too difficult (Chinese and Japanese, I'm looking at you). I'm most interested in exploring its media content, music, travel, food, job opportunities and the language itself - mostly etymologies, but sometimes grammar features can also be interesting.
Languages I'm interested in the most:

Italian - I love the way it sounds, Italian cuisine is my favourite, I'd love to visit it and explore the country as every province is very diverse, at least food-wise. There are also many leftovers of the Roman Empire, diverse and interesting architecture to look at. Moreover, there are lots of pieces of media (music, movies, content on YouTube) to explore. Additionally, I'm really into etymologies, so Italian would be very interesting as the language that is the closest to Latin. Sadly, it's by far the least useful work-wise, but still not completely useless.

French - French has many of the same pros as Italian - lots of architecture, food, history and interesting etymologies to explore. It's also much more spoken around the world, which should unlock even more pieces of media. Additionally, it's very useful for work - I keep seeing lots of well-paid job offers with French. There are only 2 things that discourage me from French - difficult pronunciation, which I heard many natives are rude about when someone doesn't pronounce words correctly. The other thing is the stereotypes about French people. I have no idea how accurate these things are, though. The only thing I'm sure of is that I'd be swearing over not being able to pronounce certain words.

Norwegian - One of the most stunning landscapes I've ever seen, one of the best countries to move to, one of the highest benefits for its speakers in my country (even though there are not that many offers), cool Viking heritage. There might also be some cool etymologies between Norwegian-German-English to learn about. However, due to the number of its speakers, there might not be that many pieces of media to explore, which worries me.

Swedish - The same pros as Norwegian, but twice as many speakers (which still isn't much) and job offers. Unfortunately, the fjords and mountains aren't as stunning as in Norway. The language also offers less mutual intelligibility with other Scandinavian languages

Dutch - Similar job benefits as in Nordic countries, spoken also in half of Belgium (and some smaller colonies/ex colonies, I know), cool to live in, with almost impeccable infrastructure. It would also be interesting as a language that is something between English and German. I don't know much about the media, but I'm afraid there might not be that much due to the percentage of English speakers.

Russian - I have always loved the sound of the language, the music is incredible and the amount of other media (literature, yt content, memes) is simply the largest out of the languages I named. Additionally, it would actually make me understand how my native language works (most grammar concepts are more-or-less the same in both languages) and learn a lot about my Slavic roots, which is something I'd love to do. Additionally, many Ukrainians and Belarusians live here who use languages that are something between Polish and Russian, so I would be able to understand most of their speech. They often can speak Russian, but they probably wouldn't be interested in such an exchange for obvious reasons. The only arguments against are political - its importance is decreasing due to political reasons and I might never visit this country as a tourist, but it's still the most appealing Slavic language to learn for me.

With my background, all of the languages above should be easy, so difficulty shouldn't be an argument against any of them.

I hope I described my thoughts thoroughly enough. I believe you can help me to decide what would be best out of these options.

I was born American but I grew up hearing Spanish in the house my mom spoke Spanish with me btw I’m 21. I’ve been to Latin America for 5 months all my life.

Which language to choose for increasing chances for a job with low competition in Europe? Of course, English and German are obligatory, so I am searching for some kind of niche language for job prospects.

I like both languages. I'm torn.

I would like to learn a foreign language and after a long time of deciding, I’ve finally narrowed it down to two options: Japanese and Korean! The problem is, I can’t figure out which one would suit me better.

Japanese - I’ve always been obsessed with Japan (not because of anime). I like Japanese horror movies like Ringu and Ju-on: The Grudge. I also love reading about Japanese culture and history.

Korean - I’ve found myself very curious about Korean language/culture. I enjoy the way it sounds and its writing system Hangul. I sometimes like to write Korean letters on paper or in the air with my finger. Of course, I know there are more Japanese resources/media than Korean.

How do I decide?

I feel like a bit of background would help with the context here. I'm a Macedonian highschooler from Greece and I'm not sure if I should add another language to the ones I'm learning, and if I do, I'm still torn with how many and which ones.

I started to self learn Latin and ancient Greek this summer for highschool.

I want to learn a non-dead language on my own though, like everyone duh, but I'm not sure if I could handle learning a third language.

(For any greek or knowledgeanle person here, yes, I did ancient Greek in middle school as well but I don't remember anything, and I mean it.)

If I do decide to add a language, it'll most likely be one ofc. But I'm still not sure on which one, my options being:

1. Macedonian due to it being my father's native language and because we travel to North Macedonia a lot.

2. German since I need to pick a 2nd foreign language in hsch. I also have family in Germany and could potentially go there after highschool for uni.

3. Russian, this one I have studied a bit on and off, I have friends who speak it, people in my area who speak it and is generally the one I'm most personally interested in even though it seems like the most excessive one.

4. Chinese, a language I'm incredibly interested in as well, most practical value I could have of it is if I go to China for my studies, but that's still a long way and seems like a risky move for me since idk how such a process would work.

I know and understand that learning a language is a long time investment in oneself, but I can never decide as to how to restrain myself to a language or two before going for another one instead. I feel like other's opinions and experiences could help me with deciding (or make me even more confused, which I already am so I don't mind) or at least give some helpful advice in the matter.

hello! I'm trying to decide which language to start learning (at a beginner starting in college) and I was wondering if anyone who's had experience with learning any of these languages has any learning experiences, pros/cons, or points of comparison to share about any of them?

I speak English natively and I’ve been learning Spanish in school (done a little CI w/ dreaming at home but I’m struggling to stay motivated, might read some). Somewhat recently I did a little bit of Latin but I have been super consistent.

I would really like to learn a language (dead or in use) with a different alphabet because I think that would be cool. I was considering Ancient Greek but that feels silly because you know… normal Greek exists.

To give a bit for context, I‘m in High School. I like STEM (specifically love physics). I’d like something practical enough to motivate me but niche enough to be a little bit of a flex. If it has use in Math and Science that would also be great. I’m interested in a different alphabet because I like to take notes and I think it might be cool to write my todo lists and random thoughts with something you wouldn’t understand with a glance.

What would you suggest to fulfill my desire of different alphabet*?*

Hello all, as the title says, Im torn about what my third language should be.

As some background context, Im a native anglo and a B2 in Spanish (yes Im American), and I also have the basics of French- like A2ish.

Recently Ive been caught on what language I should add. Obviously the logical step would be to deepen my French, but beyond MC Solaar and Quebecois swearwords, I feel that its a language that you have to speak perfectly otherwise the other party will default to English (yes I know English proficiency is less common outside of places like Montreal, Paris, etc, but I don’t really anticipate being in a random ass town in Quebec or France).

Ive also studied some Mandarin just to see, and I also think its quite interesting, especially given Im interested in Sinology and its the first language Ive looked at with a non Latin script; however, the obvious problems with tones and script scare me.

Ive also been fortunate to travel a good bit, and have found myself interested in Moroccan Darija, German, Greek (modern and ancient), and Serbian.

As a final note, whatever I add wont be a race to fluency (Im starting law school in the next 2 years), and Im interested in art history, philosophy, music, and architecture just to name a few.

Looking forward to any and all suggestions!

I’m getting close to finishing up high school and at school I’m on my 4th year of Italian (upper B2), 3rd year of German (lower B2), and first year of Japanese. Outside of school I’ve recently started a Spanish course and before this year I did 4 years of Latin and one year of French. I’m also trying to find a way to learn Irish, Norwegian, and a bit of Greek mainly on Duolingo so far.

Ideally I’d be liking to reach fluency with all of those languages but I’ll see which suit me better and which don’t. Moving forward I’m hoping to get involved in international affairs and although there might be some other more useful languages for the field, I’ve recently taken an interest in Georgian and Armenian (and a lot more).

Considering the languages I’ve already got started with which of the two would you guys recommend (and considering potential work in international relations). I’m not sure if it matters but I’m interested in the cultures and histories of both and would consider myself a devout catholic (in terms of religious tensions there). On languages, although grammar tends to stump me in terms of where it’s used I find it really interesting and where there might be differences between a spoken and written language I’m not particularly bothered either. I’d say I’m usually keen to learn and can pick up a fair bit of knowledge decently quickly. Alphabets and that are fine too and in terms of where I am now, I live in Australia and am thinking of living abroad after school before uni in the U.S..

Would love to hear your guys’ thoughts if you can decipher the text, thanks so much in advance.

Edit: extra info

Over the past year I’ve been interested in learning about different cultures around the world as a hobby. In doing that, I began to have an interest in learning a new language and at the time I didn’t know where to start.

A few months ago, a few friends of mine organized a trip to visit Japan next year for a week so I wanted the challenge to learn Japanese enough to have very basic conservations and phrases that I may need to know when I’m there. Since I already have an interest in the culture and some media there I believed it would be easy to stay motivated.

Although I am making progress with a tutor I just started with, I don’t see myself wanting to continue learning after I return home (unless the trip really inspires me to do so). I want to continue language learning because of how engaging and enjoyable the journey is but, I’m not sure what should be my next language.

Also, I am a native English speaker and I have taken Spanish and French classes in school and I did look into learning Mandarin until the Japan trip was brought up. Either way, I have many interests like sports, movies and doing outdoor activities so if you have any suggestions for any languages let me know 👍

For native English speakers, languages like Spanish, French, and German are generally easier to learn, while languages like Russian, Polish, Mandarin, Japanese, and Korean tend to be harder because they’re structurally more different from English. Does the same principle work in reverse? For example, are languages that are difficult for English speakers generally easier for native Slavic or Asian-language speakers to learn because they’re more distant from English but potentially closer to their own languages?

I want to learn a language for fun but also as exercise for my brain. I have no use for it day to day and won’t be immersed in it or need it to survive. Just for fun and my brain.

I’m struggling to choose a language. First I will make a list of popular languages I’m not interested in learning. They are French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian. For no real reason, they just don’t interest me.

The main language I’ve tried to learn before and took in school is German and I would like to learn it at some point but I’m thinking that I would like a fresh start.

My interests include football, gaming, woodworking, random documentaries, history, dogs, if that matters.

I’m unsure on a European language or an Asian language. I think I would struggle with tones though, in Chinese for example.

Just looking for suggestions and reasons why. I’m looking for a language that has a pretty active internet presence, on YouTube for example, with a good amount of content but also perhaps not one of the main ones, so somewhere in the middle.

edit: Thanks for all the comments! After reading through everything, I'm torn between Russian, Egyptian Arabic, and Japanese. Which one do you think is the best, and why?

Hi everyone, I'd love your input. My current levels are: Spanish (native), English (C2), Romanian (C1), and Norwegian (C1), learned in that exact order. I'm not looking for a language I can breeze through. What I really want is something that unlocks a whole new world of literature and cinema for me, so I can make the most of my free time. Since I don't have an external reason to learn another language (like moving to another country) I'll learn my fifth language just for fun. Given my background, which language would you pick, and why?

As the title says!

Hello!
So I speak Russian, English, French and Korean. Also Conversational Serbian.
Ive done Japanese, Latin, German previously but due to lack of interest did not continue ( it was in school).

I live in Korea as a student and am still only about intermediate in Korean, so i will be taking classes whilst starting another language. I am stuck between choosing Arabic and Chinese. I know that if I start one, the likelihood of me starting the other afterwards are slim because I am not that young and know life will get in the way. But would love to do both.

I am interested in business, particularly beauty and fashion. Im not sure where I will live after university so but orientating myself on Europe.
Please, I am looking for some solid advice

Thank you