I'm a native English speaker who's around B2 level in French, and is studying it at school. Now that I can read books in French without having to grab a dictionary every other page, I've been considering trying my hand at another language, mostly just for the joy of learning. Currently, I've got four main options, the ones in the title. Here are the pros and cons for each:

Russian:

• I find Russian history the most interesting out of all of these.
• I really enjoy Russian literature, so it would be cool to read it in the original language.
• Good mid-level difficulty.
• Pronunciation could be a bitch, all those consonant clusters…
• Loan words from French could make vocab slightly easier.
• I’ve (obviously) only ever used the latin script before, but I’d like to try others and cyrillic seems a good starting point.
• This is the language I’m the least likely to use, in terms of interacting with native speakers.

Indonesian:

• It's the language I learnt from the ages of 5 to 11. I don't remember much, but it would make pronunciation and some of the more basic grammar easier since I've already internalised it, which would help me get over the starting hurdle. Also, looking back on it, I learnt way more than I thought I did (apparently I could talk about photosynthesis) so it’s likely more would come back to me.
• The grammar differences could make studying it more interesting.
• My perfect combination of easier pronunciation and more challenging vocab/grammar.
• I live in Australia, so out of all of these languages I’m the most likely to visit a place where Indonesian is spoken.
• My mother grew up in Malaysia and already knows a little Malay, so it wouldn’t be too difficult to convince her to take up Indonesian with me.
• Close second for language that would be the fastest for me to get the hang of, which could help keep my attention.

Japanese:

• History is in-between Russian and Brazilian in terms of how interesting it is.
• Current culture is pretty unique too.
• I’m also a fan of several Japanese authors/books, including a couple lesser-known ones, so it would be nice not to have to deal with bad translations.
• I already watch subbed anime, so it would be easy to practice listening comprehension.
• The concept of kanji scares but fascinates me.
• Easy-ish pronunciation, only thing is the pitch accent system.
• I’m quite likely to visit Japan at some point in the future, as it’s closer than Europe. I’d also likely get more use out of it while I’m there compared to Portuguese or Indonesian.
• One of my friends is already learning Japanese, so I could practice with her maybe. We’re considering going travelling together after we’re done with high school and would almost certainly go to Japan, so it would leave me less reliant on her for translation lol.
• Without a doubt the most difficult language here for me to learn.

Portuguese:

• I LOVE how Portuguese sounds.
• All the Brazilians I know manage to be simultaneously chill and funny af. I've only ever really met them online though, so my impression could very well be skewed. Only met one Portuguese person, but she was pretty cool.
• I’d like to go to Portugal one day, for the food and architecture.
• Brazilian history is lowkey intriguing, I don’t know all that much on it though.
• I’m kind of concerned learning another Romance language would mess with my French (pronunciation in particular which is what I tend to struggle with).
• Could be too similar to French to hold my interest for long.
• The only time I hear about Portuguese language books is when people are complaining about them, which doesn’t bode well.
• Would probably be the easiest to learn on this list, but idk if that’s a good thing.

Particularly id like to learn something that is spoken in the Mediterranean Sea as I have ancestry from there and I want to connect with my roots. I’m not particular which language family it is a part of but I’d like to learn something that has an active Reddit or discord group to study with.

I finally have the time to take language classes and I’m struggling to decide my priorities.

I‘ve been learning Spanish on and off since middle school and I‘m working towards B2. Spanish would be useful for work and travel and I do enjoy learning it.

On the other hand, I‘m technically half Hungarian but I never learned the language. My Hungarian grandparents are old and they’re forgetting my native language so communication is becoming harder. My mother is completely fluent in my native language but she would probably enjoy speaking to us in her native language.

I‘ve been wanting to learn Hungarian for years but I‘m not sure if it makes any logical sense to interrupt learning Spanish.

I know Hungarian is tough and I‘m not sure if I can even get to a conversational level without neglecting my Spanish.

Edit: my gut reaction to the comments suggesting I choose Spanish over Hungarian was anger and disappointment. I think my gut is trying to tell me something. It isn’t a logical decision. I would be severely disappointed in myself if I didn’t give Hungarian a chance before my grandparents die. Now I just need to find a way to maintain my Spanish while I study Hungarian.

Hello, I'm very passionate about languages. I speak Spanish (native), English, french and basic German.

I wonder if these three at least are enough for communication in Europe and near Spain and round the world. The thing is I love German, how it sounds and how it's written, so I can master it.

I'm also curious about Arabic, how it sounds mostly and would like to learn darija, with a basis of Fusha in order to develop a "white Arabic" if I feel like travel around North Africa and Middle east.

The main problem is that I've designed an output system in which 4 languges fit daily perfectly and never get forgotten (at least grammar) and I wonder if by adding a 5th I could keep it up.

So I don't know which one to master. I'd like both but keeping 5 fluent can me hard af. I also wonder if this combination of 5 or 4 (eithee German or Arabic plus the other 3 are enough). I love so much languages that "know" a bit of each one I find something interesting in, Icelandic is a great example but I know how to separate the usefulness from it but with these 2 is kinda hard at sight.

Don't know if I've written it correctly, kinda drowsy rn.

I already can read katakana and hiragana because my siblings taught it to me as a kid but I know little to no kanji
I also already know Spanish but I don’t think that will impact anything

Hello everyone,

I've always been passionate about languages, but I could never build a routine that allowed me to learn a non-mainstream language (I learnt English and French). I tried taking a shot at Japanese, but the lack of structure in my life kept me from doing it effectively.

Now I have a stable job and my life is more organized. I'd like to learn a new language for this new chapter. Several appeal to me: Japanese, Chinese, Arabic, Hebrew... I'd prefer a language with plenty of online resources, as most of my journey will likely be self-taught.

I can dedicate around 2 hours a day and a bit more on weekends.

Since I'm very indecisive (that doesn't seem like it will ever change!), I decided to write this post.

Help me choose my path.

Im thinking to learn a new language during my bachelors going on

So like any of u guys know a benefit i could get if i learn new lang. For corporate feild or any other higher port jobs or any foreign thingy

I am very interested in both languages, and I do absolutely want to learn both of them, I just don’t know which one to do first. I absolutely adore Romanian culture and music so I’d hate to wait to learn it, but French is so widely spoken and I think it’d be more beneficial first. I know that the two are both Romance languages so I can’t learn them together but I’m not sure where to start.

People who have learnt multiple languages, when you were learning your first non-native language, at what point did you think or consider that, 'okay I can add in another language now!' I ask this since I am a native English speaker and I speak B2 French now , I'd like to start learning Urdu due to the large amount of Urdu speakers that I will be surrounded by for the next two years, but I don't know when is the right moment to start learning Urdu as well

Norwegian is a heritage language of mine I wanna improve, I wanna learn French, and I know a good amount of Portuguese and Spanish, especially Portuguese.

My partner has family in Germany and wants to travel to visit in about 6 months. My partner doesn't speak German, but will try to learn it with me, and I've always been interested in learning German. I know I can't be fluent in 6 months, but maybe I could learn enough to make navigating public transit easier. Plus I'll have a learning partner and I'm genuinely interested in learning the language.

But I never run into German speakers where I live, and I interact with Spanish speakers semi frequently. I've already started learning Spanish and can read children's chapter books and graded readers. My speaking and listening is lagging behind, but I have plans to add more practice into my routine. My partner does not plan to learn Spanish with me.

I already know I'm not going to do well trying to split my time and learn two languages at once.

Do I drop Spanish (at least for a while) and learn a language that my partner's family speaks, but I'll only use occasionally when I see them, or do I keep going on Spanish because I've already started and it's more practical where I live?

Últimamente he estado por aprender un idioma estoy entre ruso por su literatura y me llama la atención la cultura rusa e lugares turísticos en cambio con el coreano tengo un poco de fascinación se el hangul aunque tiene sus serie K-pop y series coreananas llegan a llamarme la atención un poco además que me interesarme cuidar mi salud o verme bien físicamente como lo hacen en corea y me preguntaba cuál idioma aprender ruso o coreano incluso si las mujeres de Rusia y coreana me parecen muy bonitas y pues ver qué sale,ustedes que dicen cuál elijo.

Hi all,

I'm from Spain and speak Spanish, Catalan, English, Italian, Macedonian and French fluently (or at least decently). I'm currently learning Hungarian and loving it.

The thing is, I've always had two more languages in the back of my mind:

• Basque: Part of my family is from the Basque Country (even though they don't speak it), and I've worked for a Basque company in the past. I already grasp the core structure, can build simple sentences, have always been around the language, and absolutely love it. The Basque Country feels like a second home to me.
• BCMS (Bosnian/Croatian/Montenegrin/Serbian or however you want to call it): I have a couple of Serbian friends, love the Balkans and already speak Macedonian (long story). I feel a big chunk of the groundwork is done thanks to Macedonian, but I’d love to speak directly in their language rather than relying on asymmetric conversation (me in Macedonian, them in Serbian; we get by, but I really struggle with oral comprehension and actually speaking BCMS myself).

While Hungarian will remain my main focus for the coming months, I want to pick up one of these as a secondary project.

What would you do, knowing that my life plan is learning both at some point?

Hi, i'm Polish going to highschool, and I need to choose language, russian or german. I already was learning german but i know a little, it wasnt easy for me.

I choosed it bcs everyone was saying that its similar to english, and yeah its a little true but in reallity I feel like grammar is totally diffrent, and the english similar part is only some words. I was never really like good at it, do that's why im thinking about russian

What should i choose? What language gives more possibilities? I have so little time to decide😭

my close friend's nepali (as well as some other nepali friends I have here in nyc) and I was wondering, if I should learn Hindi -> Nepali or just learn Nepali

I imagine there's very few resources to learn Nepali from English, but maybe there's more from Hindi? And there must be an abundance of English -> Hindi resources

Would learning Nepali be enough to understand Hindi? All my Nepali friends say they can speak Hindi too

I just have zero clue about that world. All the languages I've learned/have tried are european or east asian. This would be in the future since I've got way too much going on as is, but been curious

I'm Czech and I know English as a foreign language, but as a high school student I need to learn a second foreign language.

I have to choose between Russian and German and I need to choose the language that is easier to learn because I really need to finish my studies and honestly I'm struggling with learning in general and thus make it at least a little easier for me in languages🥹

I'm 21 and I'm entering university (for the second time). I need to choose which language to learn: French, Spanish, or Portuguese. I am Russian, I know English and German, love German very much. What are the pros and cons of French, Spanish, and Portuguese? How difficult and interesting is it to learn them? What advice can you give?

I'm a native Spanish speaker and completely fluent in English. I'm a doctor in Spain and my long-term plan is to continue my career and life here, but both Switzerland and Germany have some attractive job opportunities.

I know some French and I have an A2 DELF certificate. I started learning it in Elementary school but I think I've forgotten most of it, so I would like to eventually become properly fluent.

The other two have more immediate reasons behind them are German, in which I'm personally and professionally interested. It's probably the one with the strongest career + personal interest argument.

My option C is Catalan, and this one is much more geographically specific. I may eventually move to Catalonia or Valencia some day, and if that happens I'd very much like to speak the local language rather than simply relying on Spanish. I've already started learning Catalan and have made some progress with it. I really like the sound of it and it's really similar to Spanish and French, so it seems familiar to me.

I'm not asking which language is "better" in general. I'm more interested in which one makes the most sense to prioritise given my particular situation.

Would you focus on getting French to B1/B2 first? Start German from scratch because of its long-term professional value? Or perhaps Catalan?

Or maybe another language?

Thanks!

So, I'm a native English speaker and feel like my Russian is kinda good (being a bit generous there lol). I want to do another language

My options:

•Serbian

•Czech

•Slovenian

•Slovak

Others:

•Some Scandinavian languages, such as: Norwegian, Danish, or Swedish.

•Arabic

•French (gonna learn it in school anyways)

•German

Ik its a lot, but I'm super indecisive lol

Hi. I am a native turkish speaker, with good enough english. I cannot decide what language to learn next. I mostly want to learn as a hobby, but plus points if it has some advantages.

My two biggest candidates:

▪️French: Currently in between a1-a2. Learned a bit in high school, then i continued to learn as a hobby. I did consume quite a bit of french media back then. I remember enjoying it so much, because it shares lots of words with turkish and i love ethimology. It was relatively easier bcos i already knew english. But i had a hard time with gendered nouns (still cannot understand that concept, but i am sure if i work on it i will handle. It is mental gymnastics after all). But i have no purpose for learning french. Plus i find it hard to pronounce. And i kinda got bored. I havent picked it up in more than 3 years.

▪️German: Currently in between a1-a2. Started to learn on my own. I actually had a job opportunity in germany, thats why i started to learn. That opportunity is still there but i am unsure of what to do with it. I dont want to gave up on german, but not a big fan of language itself. I couldnt even find media i like in german. but i was enjoying how words are like structured like legos. Had my hard time with genders and articles. Easy pronounciation tough.

Now that i am in between a1-a2 in two languages, i tend to mix them a lot. And i know it would be sensible to pick one of those two, and perfect it before i learn any other language. But i kinda lost interest in french and i dont see myself moving to germany, at least right now.

My other options and why i want to learn them:

▪️Chinese: I want to learn a non european language, for mental gymnastics. Chinese has completely different structure from what i already know, so it would be a lot of fun to learn and try to understand. I assume there are tons of chinese media to consume, and it is widely spoken. I'm not great with pronunciation (I struggled even with French) so I don't know if I can handle it.

▪️Russian: A different alphabet seems fun. I am sure there are plenty of media to consume. Widely spoken. I think I'll have an easier time with pronunciation since I speak turkish.

I also considered finnish/hungarian since they have a different structure from what i already know. But i doubt i can find much content to consume in those languages. I also considered Learning korean/japanese.

If you have suggestions for other languages, here are my criteria: It has to be a non european language, and it has to be somewhat widely spoken so i can find media to consume or friends to chat.

Please give me some advice, thank you in advance.

I'm going to take some courses, but I'm not sure whether I should take Spanish or French. I already know a little Spanish, so is it possible to learn it on my own? Or would it be better to take courses to master it?

So I'm a native speaker of Russian and Kazakh and I'm currenty focused on improving my English. Also I've recently started learning French as well(for like a month now) and I want to choose another language but I don't know what language to choose. And I want this language to be useful and not so hard to master(not Chinese for ex). So if you have suggestions, please tell me

The election will be tough! There are 2 heavyweight languages ​​involved.

how’s everyone’s learning experiences with african languages as a non AU? how’d you choose? Just because I know french, english, been learning arabic, litttle portuguese, I think I’d go for kiswahili for east africa and maybe amharic in the future… am I missing something? khosa is absolutely interesting, but south america pretty much speak english/portuguese/french. The plan is to cover Africa with less languages:)