Czech among the world's most difficult languages for English-speakers (2024)

FAQs

Czech among the world's most difficult languages for English-speakers? ›

Czech demanding for its grammatical complexity

The FSI classifies languages into various categories based on their complexity for English speakers. Czech, like many Slavic languages, is categorized as a "Category III" language, indicating a moderate level of difficulty.

We've also covered the easiest languages to learn for English speakers. Give it a read. The 3 hardest languages to learn include Mandarin, Arabic, and Russian. However, with the right strategies, overcoming these obstacles and succeeding in international markets is possible.

However, this shouldn't discourage you from learning it; it is actually not much harder to understand Czech passively than, say, German, and it is also not much harder to make yourself understood, but mastering the language (being able to speak it fluently without a large number of grammatical mistakes) is very hard ...

When I started learning Czech I happened to work with speakers from all 3 languages. I found Czech fairly difficult to start learning as native English speaker. However, Polish is more difficult in my opinion. The sounds and some of the grammar, while similar to Czech, appeared a bit more complex.

According to 2022 data, half of the Czech Republic's citizens can speak English. Among the young, ranging from 18-24 years old, the share is significantly higher (89%), while among people aged 50-59 years, only roughly a third (32%) can speak English.

The benefits of speaking any degree of Czech are both tangible and intangible. Tangibly, speaking a survival amount of the native language of the country you're living in is always a good idea.

Finnish is the dark horse of languages found in Europe and one of the hardest worldwide. Though within Europe, Finnish isn't part of the Indo-European languages. You won't find shared roots or cognates here, which means Finnish is a bit of a blank slate.

Languages that are related to English and easy to learn include most Germanic languages (Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, and German) and Romance languages (Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, and Romanian).

Are Czechs more Slavic or German? ›

Ethnology. The Czech ethnic group is part of the West Slavic subgroup of the larger Slavic ethno-linguistical group. The West Slavs have their origin in early Slavic tribes which settled in Central Europe after East Germanic tribes had left this area during the migration period.

Hungarian is Finno-Ugric, the grammar is very unusual, has 14 cases, so takes more time to master. But after you accommodated, it is very logical (I wouldn't say “easy”, because it takes a lifetime to speak it 100% properly). Unless you are Finn or Estonian, I'd go for the Czech languaage.

Therefore, among Slavic languages (Czech, Polish, Slovak, and Russian), Czech may be one of the most difficult languages, but most Slavic languages are similar in principle.

Czech is a language rich in inflections and conjugations, which makes learning complicated. In addition, a noun and adjective can be masculine, feminine or neuter and this combined with 7 cases makes Czech a complex language.

In fact, in terms of vocabulary acquisition, Czech is probably the hardest Slavic language for a Westerner to learn. Why? Because back in the 19th century, Czech revivalists deliberately purged the language of Western loanwords and replaced them with words of Slavic origin.

Czech is a phonetic language, pronounced the same way it's written. This is similar to the pronunciation in Spanish, Italian, and Latin (and totally different from English pronunciation).

The Foreign Service Institute categorizes Czech as a level IV language, which means a very hard language that takes 44 weeks or 1,100 hours to learn at a basic conversational level. If you still decide to learn the basics – you are in for a hard road.

Languages that are related to English and easy to learn include most Germanic languages (Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, and German) and Romance languages (Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, and Romanian). Apart from this, knowing a language related to the target language can make it easier to learn!

The Netherlands

90-93% of the Dutch can speak excellent English, making blending in with the locals incredibly easy. The Netherlands has a thriving economy and is home to many Multinational companies. The Netherlands is also a picturesque country, attracting thousands of tourists every year.

Therefore, among Slavic languages (Czech, Polish, Slovak, and Russian), Czech may be one of the most difficult languages, but most Slavic languages are similar in principle.