When you hear how polyglots speak different languages fluently, it makes you think that they aren’t ordinary people but supernatural beings, especially when they switch between languages so smoothly, like it’s the easiest and most natural thing in the world.

In the first minute you hear them speaking English, then they continue with German, and finish in Spanish. How do they succeed in that so seamlessly?

Even though it seems like a piece of cake, that surely wasn’t easy at all. Learning a language requires a lot of time and dedication, even for some ‘easy’ languages like Spanish. When we start learning a language, we know that isn’t going to be easy. However, we keep asking, is Spanish easy to learn?

Spanish is one of the easiest languages to learn but can be pretty challenging for some people.

Therefore, we will give you the reasons and you will see if Spanish is easy to learn or you rather put the language into the basket of challenging languages. Let’s dive in.

4 Reasons That Make Spanish Easy to Learn

Spanish Likes Logic

Every language consists of rules and patterns we use. Without them, it is unlikely that we could speak with others easily. On the other hand, there are exceptions to those rules. Some languages have more exceptions, while others have just a few of them.

Spanish is the language that loves rules Thanks to them and with several exceptions, learning Spanish is easier than learning some other languages that have more exceptions than rules.

Here’s one example: In Spanish, nouns that end in -o are masculine, and the ones ending in -a are feminine. The exception to this rule is nouns that end with -ema, such as the words 'el poema' and 'el tema.'

Spanish Pronunciation Is Easy

Spanish can thank its pronunciation for being considered as one of the easy languages to learn.

In Spanish, the vowels are pretty simple to pronounce and they are consistent no matter where they are in a word. That’s not the case with English, for example, so when you start learning Spanish vowels, you will be positively surprised.

Vowels and consonants are usually pronounced the way they are written, so we can say that even not entirely, Spanish is, at some level, a phonetic language. 

It means that when you start learning vowels and consonants, you won’t have difficulties learning and pronouncing them because they are so easy that once you hear them, you will be able to pronounce them immediately. 

It, however, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t practice the pronunciation. The more you practice, the better you will be. One of the things that are ideal for practicing and improving pronunciation is with tongue twisters. 

You Already Use Spanish Words  

Yes, you do use Spanish words. You only aren’t aware of that.

Let’s see how.

Since you are already reading this, it means that you speak English. Even though English is a Germanic language, and different from Spanish, which is a descendant of Latin and part of Romance languages the two languages share many words and expressions.

Let’s take a look at the following example: the word 'participar' in Spanish means 'to participate’ in English. They  are called cognates. 

Moreover, many words aren’t pronounced the same way, but every English speaker can understand Spanish words similar to English.

However, the two languages also have some false cognates, such as 'sopa' which don’t mean 'soap' but 'soup' so make sure you don't get confused.

Spanish is Spoken On Every Continent

Spanish is the second most spoken language in the world, as well as in the USA. There are more than 500 million native speakers. Moreover, Spanish is spoken on every continent on the planet and in 21 Spanish-speaking countries, it is the official language.

Also, Spanish is one of the Romance languages, and along with Italian, French, Portuguese, Romanian, and Catalan, it is a descendant of Vulgar Latin. That makes the whole learning process much easier especially if you already speak some of those languages. 

4 Reasons That Make Spanish Hard to Learn

Number And Gender Agreement

One of the features of the Romance languages is that nouns, adjectives, and verbs have to agree in gender and number. 

Even though there’s a rule which nouns are masculine or feminine, it takes time to get used to, as well as to start using them in singular and plural. It also influences the other words in the sentence, such as adjectives or articles.

In Spanish, for example, if you have several people of both genders, men and women, you will have to use them in a masculine way.

Spanish Irregular Verbs

If there’s something many Spanish learners find challenging, it’s irregular verbs.

For a language that likes rules and patterns, Spanish has many irregular verbs.

Ironically, most of the common and everyday verbs in Spanish are irregular. It means that you have to take time, be patient, and learn them one by one.

But even among irregular verbs, while you study, you will notice how some of them follow the patterns, which will make your learning process a lot easier.

For the record, irregular verbs are considered one of the most challenging things in Spanish, so you have to keep learning and be persistent to succeed in overcoming this obstacle.

Subjunctive

The subjunctive is one more challenging thing that can give students a headache.

After you learn all the tenses and finally succeed in using them correctly, you will meet with all those tenses in the subjunctive. In Spanish, it is called ‘subjuntivo.’

When you have to express a doubt or desire, you use the subjunctive, as well as when one action depends on another. Perhaps it isn’t so hard to understand, but when you have to start using it, there begins the ‘party.’

But, that doesn’t mean that you have to skip this step. On the contrary, you have to keep learning and practicing. When you finally understand and use ‘subjuntivo’ successfully.

y, you can be very proud of yourself.

Spanish False Friends

We’ve mentioned that there are many cognates between English and Spanish, and it is something that will facilitate your learning a lot.

But, not everything is ideal.

Besides cognates, there are many false friends between English and Spanish. 

If you, for example, feel embarrassed, you can say in Spanish ‘estoy embarazada’ because, in Spanish, it means that you are pregnant.

So, if you don’t want to make similar mistakes, pay attention to Spanish false friends.

Final Thoughts

We’ve given you 8 reasons that can help you determine if Spanish is really that easy to learn or you will have difficulties and headaches to reach at least a decent level to speak with native Spanish speakers.

Even though you’ve figured yourself, let us say out loud.

Spanish is a relatively easy language to learn, especially for English speakers.

But, that doesn’t have to be the main reason to learn Spanish. Besides many benefits, one of them should, undoubtedly, be the beauty of the language.

If you're interested in improving your Spanish skills, you should try some of these cool options: Check out Babbel for fun, interactive lessons that fit into your day easily. If you want something more in-depth, there's a great Spanish course on Coursera that covers everything from the basics to more advanced topics. And if you prefer learning with a personal touch, Lingoda offers classes with native speakers that can really help you practice speaking.

‍

Why is Spanish easy to learn?

Spanish Likes Logic, Spanish Pronunciation Is Easy, You Already Use Spanish Words, Spanish is Spoken On Every Continent

Why is Spanish hard to learn?

Number And Gender Agreement, Spanish Irregular Verbs, Subjunctive, Spanish False Friends

‍