· 7 min read
Is Spanish Hard to Learn? What the Data Says
By Language Lab editorial team
Is Spanish hard to learn? The US State Department ranks it in its easiest group. See how it compares, which parts take longest and how to plan.
For an English speaker, Spanish is one of the easiest languages to learn. The US State Department, which trains US government employees in languages, places Spanish in Category I, languages close to English, and allows 30 weeks of classes, within a range of 552–690 class hours, to reach a speaking and listening score of 3 on the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) scale. German takes about 828 hours, Russian about 1,012, and Japanese or Arabic 2,200. Easy does not mean quick: 552 hours is still more than a year at ten hours a week. The parts that take longest show up in the official teaching material: the r sound, formal and informal address, verb forms, the gender of nouns, written accents, and at advanced level conditional and concessive clauses.
How Spanish compares
The State Department measures difficulty in the most practical way there is: how long its students actually take. These are its figures for native English speakers reaching an ILR score of 3 in speaking and listening. The Department previously published this list under the name Foreign Service Institute (FSI); an archived version of the page gives identical class-hour totals to the current one.
| Language | State Department category | Class time |
|---|---|---|
| Italian, Portuguese, Dutch | Category I | 24 weeks |
| Spanish, French | Category I | 30 weeks |
| German | Category II | About 36 weeks (828 class hours) |
| Russian, Polish, Greek, Turkish, Hindi | Category III | About 44 weeks (1,012 class hours) |
| Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, Korean | Category IV | 88 weeks (2,200 class hours) |
Category I as a whole spans 24–30 weeks, or 552–690 class hours. Spanish sits at the top of that range, level with French and a little above Italian and Portuguese. Against the hardest group, it takes roughly a third of the time.
So is it easy?
Easier than most, yes. Effortless, no. The State Department's figures are class hours: it describes a typical week as 23 hours in class and 17 hours of self-study. It notes that the actual time varies with a learner's natural ability, prior language-learning experience and time spent in the classroom. Spread over evenings and weekends, the same hours take far longer on the calendar.
| Hours per week | Weeks to cover 552 hours | Weeks to cover 690 hours |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | About 110 | 138 |
| 10 | About 55 | 69 |
| 20 | About 28 | About 35 |
The parts that take longest
You can see where learners need the most practice by looking at what the official courses choose to teach at each stage.
- Pronunciation of r. The Open University's second beginner course lists how to pronounce the r sound among its aims. Its first covers the vowel sounds and the letter h.
- Formal and informal address. The first beginner course lists making introductions using both formal and informal expressions among its learning outcomes.
- Verb forms. The present tense of some common verbs is part of the second beginner course, and the Instituto Cervantes' activities keep returning to verbs: the preterite and imperfect at A2, the pluperfect at B1, the imperfect subjunctive and future perfect at B2.
- The gender of nouns. The Instituto Cervantes still includes an activity on noun gender at C1, its advanced level.
- Written accents. Its B2 activities include one on accent marks in vowel combinations.
- Complex sentences. Conditionals and concessive clauses appear in the C1 set, and relative clauses in the B2 set.
Notice the pattern: the items listed for beginners are about sound and politeness, and the ones listed at higher levels are about grammar and spelling.
One language, many varieties
Spanish is spoken across many countries, and the official exams reflect that. The Instituto Cervantes says its DELE exams integrate different varieties of Spanish, especially after B1, and SIELE describes itself as pan-Hispanic, incorporating the different linguistic varieties at every level. For a learner the practical point is that the official exams are built to include more than one variety of Spanish.
What each level lets you do
| DELE level | What it certifies |
|---|---|
| A1 | A very basic range of the most common simple expressions, to satisfy immediate concrete needs |
| A2 | Understanding basic expressions on matters of immediate relevance: personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment |
| B1 | Understanding and responding appropriately in most normal day-to-day situations |
| B2 | Getting by in average day-to-day situations in normal communication circumstances |
| C1 | Using the structures of the language with ease and fluency, and taking part in discussions and arguments |
If your aim is everyday life, B1 is the level to look at: it is the first one described as responding appropriately in most normal day-to-day situations. That is a lower target than the professional proficiency the State Department's hours measure.
How to make it easier
- Test yourself instead of rereading. A 2013 review of learning research rated practice testing and spaced practice as the two most useful techniques, and rereading and highlighting as low.
- Speak from the first week, especially the sounds English does not have.
- Learn the most common verbs first, in full sentences.
- Use free official material: the Open University's beginner courses and the Instituto Cervantes' Aveteca archive.
- Pick a level to aim at, then count hours.
Language Lab's Spanish course is built around voiced real-life scenarios with an AI tutor, so the practice you get is spoken practice in situations you will actually meet.
Frequently asked
Is Spanish hard to learn for English speakers?
No, relative to other languages. The US State Department places Spanish in Category I, languages close to English, and allows 30 weeks of classes, within a range of 552–690 class hours, to reach a speaking and listening score of 3 on the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) scale.
Is Spanish easier than French?
The State Department rates them the same: both are Category I languages at 30 weeks. Italian, Portuguese and Dutch are listed at 24 weeks.
Is Spanish easier than German?
Yes, by the State Department's figures. German is in Category II at about 36 weeks, or 828 class hours, against 30 weeks for Spanish.
What is the hardest part of Spanish?
Official courses show where the work is: the r sound and formal versus informal address at the start, verb forms throughout, and noun gender, written accents and conditional and concessive clauses at higher levels.
How long does it take to learn Spanish?
The State Department's range for professional proficiency is 552–690 class hours. At ten hours a week that is about 55 to 69 weeks. B1, the level for most day-to-day situations, is a lower target than that.
Does it matter which Spanish I learn?
The official exams include more than one. The Instituto Cervantes says DELE integrates varieties of Spanish especially after B1, and that SIELE does so at every level.
Sources: US Department of State, National Foreign Affairs Training Center, Foreign Language Training; Instituto Cervantes, DELE levels, Difference between DELE and SIELE, and Aveteca; SIELE, What is SIELE; The Open University, OpenLearn, Getting started with Spanish 1 and 2; Dunlosky et al., Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 2013; Interagency Language Roundtable, Skill Level Descriptions: Speaking. Checked on 13 October 2026. Photo: The Alcazaba of the Alhambra, Granada, Jebulon / CC0 (Wikimedia Commons).
