For overall usefulness in Europe, French generally edges out Spanish due to its status in international organizations (like the EU) and presence in multiple European countries (France, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg). However, Spanish is incredibly useful globally, especially in the Americas, and while primarily spoken in Spain in Europe, it's still a valuable second language for travel and business in diverse fields like fashion and tourism.
Check out our list below on the most popular languages in Europe and see if your assumptions were right!
Spanish's rise in popularity is no longer a matter of speculation – it's now supported by clear evidence. According to Tes and The Telegraph, Spanish has officially become the most popular foreign language studied at GCSE level in England, surpassing long-standing frontrunner French.
Many European institutions such as the European Union use French in their official work. People working in the international organisations often need to understand and speak French in Europe. France is the heart of the French-speaking world and there is no doubt about it.
Spanish will unlock most of Latin America to you (and Spain, obviously), whereas French will give you an in to many African countries, plus France, Belgium, Canada and Haiti. If you're learning to boost your career prospects, Spanish and French are both very useful business languages to know.
The 80/20 rule (Pareto Principle) in French learning means focusing on the 20% of vocabulary, grammar, and phrases that handle 80% of everyday conversations, allowing for rapid progress and practical communication by prioritizing high-frequency words, common sentence structures, and essential situations like the bakery or doctor. Instead of learning everything, you learn the right things (like "je," "il," "elle," common verbs) to quickly become functional and build confidence in real-life French.
There's no single "number one" easiest language, as it depends on your native tongue, but for English speakers, Norwegian, Dutch, Afrikaans, Spanish, and Italian are consistently ranked as very easy due to similar Germanic roots (Norwegian, Dutch, Afrikaans) or shared Latin vocabulary (Spanish, Italian) with English, plus simple grammar and pronunciation. The truly easiest language is the one you're most motivated to learn and find engaging content in, as personal interest drives acquisition.
However, when English became more popular and consolidated itself as a universal language, most schools began to teach it, making French feel a bit displaced, while Spanish began to gain popularity due to the large number of Spanish speakers who emigrated to other countries.
Three months might sound ambitious for learning French, but it's achievable with the right strategy. You won't become fluent immediately, but you can reach solid A2 conversational level: enough to handle everyday situations, express your thoughts clearly, and connect with French speakers.
There's no single "hardest" language, but Mandarin Chinese is consistently ranked #1 for English speakers due to its tonal nature (four tones change word meanings) and complex logographic writing system requiring thousands of characters. Other top contenders often cited include Arabic (right-to-left script, complex sounds, grammar) and Japanese (multiple writing systems like Kanji, Hiragana, Katakana, plus honorifics). The difficulty depends heavily on your native language, with languages like Tibetan, Estonian, and Polish also challenging learners with unique grammar or cases.
Questions on cultural differences between Spain and France
Spaniards are generally more spontaneous and friendly. The French, especially at the beginning, tend to be more serious and cautious. This is reflected, for example, in their frequent use of the form "vous" (formal you) to address almost everyone.
English is the number one international language (lingua franca), boasting around 1.5 billion total speakers, making it dominant in global business, technology, and tourism, even though Mandarin Chinese has more native speakers. While Mandarin is the largest by native speakers, English's vast number of second-language users cements its role as the primary global communication tool, followed by Mandarin Chinese, Hindi, and Spanish in overall speaker numbers.
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Knowing German provides an advantage in engineering, technical, medical, and financial professions. French remains important not only in France but also in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Switzerland. It is especially useful in tourism, education, diplomacy, culture, and international organizations.
French is not only the official language of the International Olympic Committee but also serves as an official language for many international entities, including the United Nations, European Union, UNESCO, NATO, International Court of Justice, and the International Red Cross.
French is the key because there are more career options in French. On the other hand, if you plan to move to the US, invest, or work with Latin American clients, you will need to learn Spanish to gain easier access to markets or gain a competitive advantage in your career.
French: 42,100,000 (92%) Occitan: 1,670,000 (3.65%) German and German dialects: 1,440,000 (3.15%)
If a native French speaker and a native Spanish speaker were trying to communicate verbally, and speaking slowly, they might be able to recognize certain similar words and understand their meanings, but it would be very difficult to go beyond that.
Consequently, the impact of various languages has transformed English into a distinctive blend of Germanic and Romance tongues. Dutch, Frisian, and German stand as the nearest kin to English, with Frisian holding the strongest resemblance.
The Foreign Service Institute (FSI), renowned for training U.S. diplomats, categorizes languages into difficulty levels based on how long it typically takes an English speaker to achieve proficiency. Spanish is classified as a Category I language, meaning it is among the easiest languages for English speakers to learn.
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Yes, the French absolutely say "je voudrais" (I would like), and it's the standard, polite way to order or make requests, especially in shops and restaurants, though native speakers often use alternatives like "je vais prendre" or "je prendrai" for ordering food to sound more natural, while "je veux" (I want) is considered too direct or demanding.
The "5 to 7 rule" in France, or le cinq à sept, traditionally refers to a secret, after-work rendezvous (5 PM to 7 PM) with a lover for an illicit sexual encounter before returning home to family, but it's also used more broadly for discreet romantic meetings or even just a casual happy hour, though its meaning varies by region, with Québec using it more for social gatherings than affairs.
The hardest French tense is often considered the Subjunctive Mood, especially for English speakers, because it expresses doubt, emotion, or hypotheticals and has unique trigger phrases, but the Imperfect vs. Passé Composé (Past Tense) distinction, irregular verbs, and tricky particles like y and en also pose major challenges. While the subjunctive's use is tricky, its present tense conjugation can be regular; the true struggle lies in knowing when to use it and differentiating it from other past tenses.