· 7 min read
Is English Hard to Learn? An Honest Answer
By Language Lab editorial team
Is English hard to learn? It depends on your first language. What is easy, what is hard, how many hours each level takes and where to find free help.
English is as hard as the distance from your own language. For a speaker of Dutch, French or Spanish, much of the vocabulary is already familiar; for a speaker of Chinese, tenses and plurals are new ideas. There is no single official difficulty rating, but there is a measure of time: Cambridge English estimates about 200 guided learning hours to move up one level of the European framework, and 350–400 hours to reach B1 from zero, and it says the figures vary with your language background. Two parts that need deliberate work are spelling, which has plenty of irregularities, and the small words, such as the articles a, an and the. The parts that help are the absence of noun gender and of tones, and a large amount of free material.
The short answer, in hours
| Target level | Guided learning hours from zero | At 10 hours a week |
|---|---|---|
| B1 | 350–400 | 35 to 40 weeks |
| B2 | 500–600 | 50 to 60 weeks |
| C1 | 700–800 | 70 to 80 weeks |
The hours are Cambridge English's estimates, about 200 for each level; the weeks are simple division. Cambridge calls them a guideline and notes that individuals may need more or less time.
What is easier about English
- No noun gender. Many languages make you learn a gender for every noun; the BBC's guides describe this for French, Spanish and Hindi. English does not.
- No tones. The pitch of a syllable does not change the word, unlike in Mandarin, where it does.
- One alphabet. English uses the Latin letters and nothing else.
- Free material everywhere. The British Council's free library has more than 10,000 activities, the BBC has taught English since 1943, and Voice of America reads its learner programmes one-third slower than normal speed.
What is harder about English
- Spelling. English has plenty of irregular spellings, so you often cannot tell how a word sounds from how it is written. Learn new words from audio.
- Articles. Choosing between a, an, the and no article takes two separate lessons in the British Council's beginner grammar, and speakers of languages without articles, such as Hindi or Persian, have to build the habit from nothing.
- Verb forms and tenses. For speakers of languages without them, such as Chinese, these are new.
- Small words. Prepositions such as in, on and at each get their own beginner lessons for place and for time.
It depends on your first language
| If you speak | What helps | What needs work |
|---|---|---|
| Dutch | The same old Germanic root; many everyday words are similar | Spelling and pronunciation |
| German | The same West Germanic group; many words have passed between the two | Spelling and pronunciation |
| French | A large number of English words are of French origin | Spelling and pronunciation |
| Spanish | Many shared words of Latin origin | English is not written as it is pronounced |
| Hindi | English and Hindi share many words | Articles; the verb does not go at the end |
| Chinese | Pinyin already uses Latin letters | Tenses, plurals and articles |
| Vietnamese | The Latin alphabet | Words change their form |
Each row comes from the BBC's language guides or the other sources listed below. They describe languages, not individuals; your own progress depends on hours and method.
What the first level asks of you
The Council of Europe describes the first level, A1, modestly: you can understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases, introduce yourself and others, and ask and answer questions about personal details, provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help. That is the first target.
How to make it easier
- Follow one complete course instead of collecting tips.
- Learn words from audio, because of the spelling.
- Study by testing yourself and spacing your reviews. A 2013 review of ten learning techniques rated these two as high utility, and rereading and highlighting as low.
- Listen to slow English first, then natural speed.
- Speak from the first week.
Language Lab's English course is built around voiced real-life scenarios with an AI tutor, so you can practise speaking between lessons.
Frequently asked
Is English hard to learn?
It depends on your first language. Cambridge English estimates about 200 guided learning hours per level and says the figure varies with language background. Spelling and articles are two parts that need deliberate work.
Why is English spelling so hard?
English has plenty of irregular spellings, so the written form does not reliably show the pronunciation. The fix is to learn each new word from audio.
How long does it take to learn English?
Cambridge English estimates 350–400 guided learning hours to reach B1 from zero, 500–600 for B2 and 700–800 for C1.
Is English easier than other languages?
In some ways: it has no noun gender and no tones. In others it is harder: its spelling is irregular and it uses articles.
Who finds English easiest?
Speakers of closely related languages have a head start. Dutch, for example, comes from the same old Germanic root as English and shares many everyday words.
What is the hardest part of English grammar for beginners?
It differs by learner. For speakers of languages without them, articles and verb tenses are the new ideas, and the British Council's beginner lessons treat both early.
Sources: Cambridge English, Guided learning hours; Council of Europe, Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, Global scale; British Council, LearnEnglish, A1–A2 grammar; BBC Learning English; Voice of America, About Learning English; BBC Languages, guides to Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Hindi, Persian, Spanish, Swahili and Urdu (archived pages); Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales (Inalco), Vietnamese; Dunlosky et al., Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 2013. Checked on 13 October 2026. Photo: Durdle Door, Dorset, by Antoine Lamielle / CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons).
