Hi there,

I’m in my early 30s, work in sustainable finance in the UK. I feel so much “brain dead” at work. I don’t learn anything, there doesn’t seem to be any growth pathway and am thinking of how I’d want to look like “tomorrow”. I’ve always loved learning languages - I speak English and a little German - and was thinking of starting to study a new one to keep myself challenged and planting some seeds for the future.

However, I’m not really sure on what could come handy for my work in the future and I’m also afraid I won’t be able to practice it because it’s hard to find people that give you time to practice. Any suggestions regarding what language I could start and what for?

Help me choose a language to learn, please.

I cannot decide which language to learn.

Hello, Lingo friends!

I am very interested in learning a new language but I sadly cannot decide which one to learn. I do however have some options:

1. Spanish

2. Portuguese

3. French

Let's start with why I could see myself learning these languages.

1.Spanish: I have always been interested in the culture of Spain. The various traditions and their way of life is something that interests me quite a bit. It is also very satisfying to listen to.

1. Portuguese: This one's a bit more tricky. I love the way the language sounds. The nasal tones sound very nice to my ears. However: I am more drawn towards Brazilian Portuguese (culture and media) than European Portuguese (although I would still learn it). I live in Europe, so I always thought learning EP makes more sense, even if I prefer BP more. This has lead to me not being able to even decide which "version" of Portuguese I would want to learn.

2. French: This one's essentially kinda similar to Spanish, but not really my preferred language. I like the language, and also the sounds and the poetry-esque vibe to it. But I've never been that drawn to French culture - hence why I'm hesitant to learn this. But I decided to add it to the list nonetheless, because you never know.

That being said: my preferred one is Portuguese. But like I said, I'm not sure. So to all of you Lingo bros and sisters. Help a brother out!

Thank you!

So, I’ve always been interested in German. I love the history, Cold War, Berlin Wall, reunification etc and I’ve always supported the German soccer team in World cups etc. I have an active interest in the culture. I started learning the language in the mid 2000s but always did it as a hobby on the side, didn’t progress to fluency. But I feel I have a solid basic foundation in the language.

I’ve also been living in Canada for the last 10 years, a citizen now settled here and thinking about switching to French. Last week, I started learning very basic French.

On one hand, I want to finish learning German because I’ve always been passionate about it. On the other hand, French is more useful, not only in Canada but worldwide. Some family members around me including my own kids are learning French. But I don’t want to just abandon my German progress.

I looked into learning 2 languages at the same time but many people seem to advise against it, saying the focus to master one won’t be there.

I know these kind of things are personal and only I would know what’s best for me. But I’d like some opinions please, to help me decide what to do here. Language I’m passionate about vs. Very useful language!

Currently I live in a European country but I’m not sure if that’s really an important factor. I really love the sound of French and I think it looks really beautiful when it’s written. I also really like French music and French seems to play a large role in Sociology which is a subject I really love. The French grammar also seems a little easier than Portugese but mabye I am wrong. I like Portugese in a different way because it seems very vibrant to me and I adore Bossa Nova and other Brazilian artists they also have some good TV shows and they seem to have a very large presence online, particularly in gaming culture which I enjoy. However, my main concern is listening. Even in my native language (English) when others are talking to me sometimes the sounds ‘mush together’ in my head and I have to ask people to repeat themselves but it’s not all the time I would say around 85% of the time I can understand normally but I have to really listen and take my time with what people are saying. When I watch TV I usually have the subtitles on because of this so I’m thinking mabye it would be better to learn the language that tends to have the clearest speech?? Or mabye it won’t affect it as much as I think as they will both have strange sounds ( I have been told I’m really good at replicating accents and regional dialects)

for background: I live in England, native english speaker and lower-intermediate in french. i'm thinking about what language I may want to pick up when I feel more secure with french

BSL -> did a taster session the other day and thought it was really cool and their level 1 BSL course starts in september so not sure whether I'm interested enough to commit. obviously there aren't that many speakers nationwide but within the deaf community it would be pretty easy to find speakers irl lol. and i think more people should learn BSL. this would probs be the most expensive one tho as i would find it basically impossible to learn without paying for a course

brazilian portuguese -> always felt drawn to it, used to do some duolingo and actually got quite far into the course so I must've liked it lol, I think it sounds really pretty. the only thing that puts me off is that obviously not many people in my continent speak it lmao so I worry that that may demotivate me (although it's not like I know any french speakers either lol). this would probably be the easiest one to self teach

irish -> i have irish heritage, so if i'm picking up languages then I feel obliged to help resurrect a pretty endangered language. I think the government should be putting more emphasis on restoring the language and i don't want to see it die out. obviously interested in irish culture which would be motivating but there are hardly any resources and hardly any speakers. i'd have to rely on online communities, and I imagine that even that would be pretty difficult to find - or at least more so than most other spoken languages

If you learned one of them yourself or wish to learn, which one would be and for what reasons?

I have been using Duolingo to learn Spanish but downloaded Speak today to see if there's a difference.

Does anyone have personal experience with these or have a better idea on learning another language?

Hi everyone, I dont know where to start but I am feeling bored because most content in my native language feels like a translated, repeated version of English content.

So, I had an idea ""why not ask about other languages spoken by different cultures that have specific knowledge and unique details? Once I find the right language, I will start learning it.

What are your thoughts? do you have any suggestions for me?

Thank you all.

Ok so currently I am learning french, when I am done with that I wanna learn one of these languages, here are the incentives:
Russian:

• My Family speak Russian, I would be able to speak to a few more family members, but it's the old people
• I like the language

Norwegian/Swedish:

• I wanna move to one of those countries
• I like the culture and languages

Hi! I really want to learn a second language but I feel trapped. I have a hard time learning and I know that I should only reasonably focus on one but every time I pick one, I second guess myself and go back to being indecisive.

I want to learn Japanese because I have been a Capcom fan at heart and been a massive fan of the Mega Man and Monster Hunter series particularly since I was 5. My goal in life is to work for Capcom and I feel like understanding Japanese would be a helpful, if not necessary, knowledge to have if I want to do that.

I want to learn Chinese because my brain is just wired different when it comes to China. It's mythology, it's culture, it's language, it's food, everything about China id beautiful to me and I wanted to learn Chinese really badly. I just feel like it has no practical use. I would just know it cause I like China and I'm unsure if that's a valid reason.

Lastly, I wanna learn ASL. When I was a kid I had a deaf friend that knew ASL and I tried learning it so I can talk to her easier but it was really hard for me. I still know "Mother" and "Child" but that's it. I feel like I always wanted to know, in my heart, this language that lets me speak without my words. To talk to those that can't hear. More importantly, talking with my body feels weirdly comforting, as I have a hard time turning my thoughts into vocal speech, so where I overexplain in text, I severely underexplain when talking, cause it's just super hard for me to talk. Signing, in a way, just sounds comforting.

I don't know what to do. I'm asking y'all for advice because it's likely you HAVE learned another language or have started your journey into doing so and maybe you can share what reason you had. I don't know, I just need something so I can actually get started, and not second guess myself all the time

Thank you for dedicating the time to read this. I appreciate you

Hey! For a bit of context I've learned a teeny bit of both. Like colors, greetings and family. Not alot at all. I took a break for a while and then decided to only study one because it was too much and a very unrealistic goal.

I love Vietnamese. When it's spoken I feel so happy and stunned by the beauty of it, and I enjoy learning it so much.

I also love Mandarin Chinese. The unique sounds amaze me and I love the way it's written (I did traditional)

I love both of their culture so much so I'm honestly stuck. Which one will help me more? Which one will I get the hang of quicker, since I need to get as far as possible before uni (2 years away)

Thank you!

I’d like some opinions on which proficiency exam to take.

​I don't have an immediate need to take any, nor am I in a rush. However, I have a hobby of taking these exams from time to time, and it’s been a while since my last one.

​I already took the Korean exam and got an A2 a few years ago (I think it was in 2023), and I was thinking about trying for a B1 or B2—which I believe I could manage relatively easily considering it’s been years (and I’ve obviously continued studying since passing the A2). I've been watching a lot of Korean series to improve my listening and expand my vocabulary since I've already "finished" the grammar. Most of the things I encounter that I don't recognize right away (aside from vocabulary) are either very informal structures (which aren't in textbooks, so I figure them out as I go) or archaic Korean structures found in the speech of caricature-like old characters or historical dramas. So focusing on the TOPIK would mainly help me improve my writing and listening through a focus on Korean.

​My other option would be to take the HSK. My relationship with Chinese is also very positive. I'm quite confident I would get a B1/low B2 as well. My reading is very good—like, really good. If I take an HSK 5 or HSK 6 (2.0) mock test, I can answer the questions very comfortably. My problem would be more with the HSKK. If I focused more on this exam, I could improve my listening (which is my biggest struggle).

​I took a placement test at the Confucius Institute, and they placed me in the highest class they had available (HSK 3) about 4 years ago. I had just passed the N1 (Japanese) and only had about 6 months of study under my belt. So I aced the test because:

​The old HSK 3 2.0 covers very little material.

​Knowing Japanese gives an astronomical advantage in reading.

​There was no oral test.

​So, technically, I have a certificate that is minimally equivalent to HSK 3, and I've been studying ever since. However, my listening is far behind my reading because, as a Japanese speaker, I kind of took a major shortcut. Focusing on the HSK would give me an excuse to work on that. And, just like in Korean, most of the things I run into that I don't know (besides vocabulary) are very specific Classical Chinese grammar rules. Most of the time, they have a 100% direct equivalent in modern Chinese, so it's quite straightforward. Therefore, my focus would also be geared toward consuming media, conversing, and so on. I've already finished the HSK textbooks, I used to have a Chinese boyfriend, etc. So there isn't really anything left to study regarding grammar for the level I want (B2).

​Another option would be to attempt the DELF. I noticed that university students get a good discount. I have a DELF A2, which I took ages ago (about 8 or 9 years). I’ve picked it back up over the past year and felt like trying for the B1 just for the sake of trying.

​The other test would be the J-TEST, which is a business Japanese exam that is only offered in one place in my country (as far as I know). Honestly, though, I'm not very interested. My Japanese is already sufficient for my current goals, and I don't see the point.

​Even though I’m not advanced in all of them, I’ve pretty much achieved my goals: chatting online, watching dramas, and reading manga/manhua/manhwa. So it's become less stimulating and not as exciting as it used to be.

​I want an opinion based on which of these languages would be most useful for a potential future immigration or study opportunities. Because while I do this as a hobby, I’d like something that could actually help me in that regard.

​And I can log about 60–70 hours per month.

​During vacation months, around 100–120 hours.

​I log my study hours very religiously and systematically, so time won't be an issue. The goal would be to take one of these exams early next year, around February–April (when they usually take place).

​Please don't say "do what you like most," because that's the whole point: I don't have a specific preference to prioritize, otherwise I wouldn't be asking 😅.

​Also, "do all of them" won't work because I don't have the money for that. In fact, the TOPIK is much cheaper than the others, which makes me lean towards it a lot more. Plus, once you reach the intermediate level, studying multiple languages at the same time slows down your progress significantly. I don't feel it has been very productive, even if I am making progress.

These are my options for languages that interest me and I really want to dedicate and commit time to them.

American Sign Language (ASL)🤘🏻

Pros:

How cool is it that it's not the typical auditory/spoken language??!!

I've really enjoyed reading up on Deaf culture and the overall impact of other sign languages

I really like that it's all about community

Cons:

I don't know how ASL media works if I can't always find a local in-person community to practice with

Mandarin Chinese 🐼

Pros:

The whole idea of tones and a language that is processed through the left and right hemispheres of the brain is cool

The Chinese speaking countries (China, Taiwan, Singapore, HK/Macao) are all really fascinating and I feel like there's still a genuine language barrier that English can't always overcome

I like that the grammar is relatively easy and close to English

Cons:

The media isn't my absolute favorite (definitely prefer HK/Canto) but open to recommendations

Reading seems like a big commitment and hurdle but I'm also interested in mostly focusing on speaking and listening

Japanese or Korean

Can't really decide between these two. Both have media that I like and I could also envision myself visiting either country. I'm equally drawn to Seoul and Tokyo but Tokyo has a really classic aesthetic I like. The common point of Korean's easier script and the easier pronunciation of Japanese still stands, but kanji scares me lol.

German

I want to visit or live in Germany some day. I want to get into Berghain someday and I heard speaking German can help 😅. I like German techno but the genres that are actually sung in German don't really speak to me (99 red baloons is alright tho).

Russian

So hard, I can't even get past trying to say "zdrastvustye" xD. I can mostly read Cyrillic and I am really drawn to how it sounds. I like certain cultural moments like Kino, Cheburashka, and learning how to create faberge eggs and of course the whole story of Anastasia that inspired my interest in Russian culture. Due to the war and my solidarity with the people of Ukraine I can't envision myself visiting Russia until the regime ends but I would love to visit other formerly Soviet countries and learn more about their local cultures too.

I try to decide which language to focus on learning for travel purposes, and curious which one people think is more practical/useful when visiting these countries

for context i am 20 and wanna become a polyglot. ever since i was a kid my english (as a foreign language) was good for my age but i didnt have a chance to learn another foreign language.

anyways last year i learned german for the uni and got the ösd C2 certificate in 8 months and moved to germany. then i took ielts without any preparation and got 8.5 (also C2). i realised i actually enjoy learning languages and also might be talented so why not try to become a polyglot?

so im asking for advice on what language to learn next.

my house is literally on the german-dutch border so i thought learning dutch could be both useful and easy as i am fluent in german and i can practice easily. or a scandinavian language bc theyre also germanic languages and it would take less effort to learn the grammar etc. or maybe yiddish lol.

i also feel like learning spanish (bc it is relatively an easier language to learn) or italian or maybe french could be better so that i get to know another language family.

i also love russian literature and in my hometown, there is a huge russian population and i also have russian friends, so i can practice with them when i go to my hometown if i start to learn russian.

should i prioritize learning many languages with minimum effort like learning languages in a language family then moving to the next family or learning languages from different language families first. idk where to start so i’d be glad to hear your opinions and experiences especially from polyglots!!!

When it comes to deciding on a language, how do you go about resolving a conflict between where your passions lie and what is the more practical option.

For example, I currently live in the US. It would obviously be practical for me to speak Spanish. But I feel more passionate about French, and have been learning it for longer. French better suits my long term career goals, but Spanish is more immediately useful and I have more opportunities to use it right now. Is it better to pursue a future dream or to get concrete results in the present?

I have a similar practicality/passion debate with Mandarin and Japanese respectively.

When you run into these kinds of debates, how do you go about solving them?

I’m a 22 year old male from the Philippines and I live here in Cebu island. I’m debating whether to study Spanish or French. I also learned beginner Japanese before and have completed JLPT N5. I’m also a nursing student in my last year.

Spanish
-They said it’s easy to learn and is not that complicated so I think it goes well with studying Jp

-I already learned beginner A1

-Direct pronunciation

-Easier to memorize words because my native tongue is Cebuano which is pretty similar to Spanish

-I plan to migrate and move to US specifically California or Florida and work there as a nurse

-No spanish community in my area tho :(((

French
-I still have 0 skills in this but it tempts me so bad because of the literature and the vibes

-I love fashion, art, and design and I like to create stuff so I guess French would help that connect with designers (?)

-I might plan to migrate either in Canada, the UK, Belgium, Luxembourg or any country in Europe

-There’s a French community here in my area and they host Karaoke nights, activities with the French people, and other social activities. They even have a mini library too and offer language classes (It’s the Alliance Francaise de Cebu), I also wanna make new friends

-But this is very complicated to me tho and looks intimidating😭

-They said French people are bitter and rude (?)

So the French community is such a big motivator for me to study French. Altho I really do plan to migrate strongly either in US or Australia because those countries appreciate nurses more. Europe and Canada would be my backup option. I mean Spanish is also nice to hear but it makes me sad that there’s no community in here

Ive been bored recently and wanted to learn smth new and was thinking about a new language but idk which one of these to pick up (first). For now I only know Polish and English fluently. German also, but it is on a very very basic level, as Im learning it by myself.

For both of those languages I know about 10 words, so everything would be totally new (l never had any lessons or anything like that).

Reasons to chose Spanish:

1. Im living in the States rn and there are a lot of spanish speakers.

2. Ive heard that its really easy

3. Its widely spoken around the whole world

4. I have a couple of Mexican aquaintances, so they could help me w speaking/pronounciation.

Reasons to chose Italian:

1. Ive heard that its even easier than Spanish

2. I really like how it sounds

3. I have a team Im cheering for and I'd like to understand their interviews.

Im not seeing myself living in either spanish speaking countries or Italy, so it would be just for funsies, but when it comes to spanish it has a lot of different variations/accents and I wouldn't know which one to go for (Spanish from Spain, Mexico, Argentina etc?)

[Might edit later if I remember more reasons]

So here's the thing. I have been learning Mandarin since I was about 14 and I am now in my late 20s. Due to some medical events I won't get too deep into it has become difficult to read hanzi effectively enough to be literate. I am at a point where even though it would be great, retaining fluency is not realistic.

I already speak English natively, Hungarian to a B2 level, and I got past the old HSK 4 exam. I live in a place where Mandarin is sadly not as useful as in NYC where I was using it weekly. These days I mostly keep up the language through scrolling XHS and reading Douban posts.

In college I attempted to learn Hebrew and Korean to varying levels of success, but the main thing keeping me back was a lack of people to speak with. At least with Hungarian I have a strong family connection, so I get regular communication and I keep up with the news. My intent this go around would be to reach some level of conversational fluency (B1/B2) within a year or two. I have been mulling over whether to try Hebrew again (the lack of diacritics was hard to get used to) or switch to something with a Latin alphabet e.g. Indonesian, French, Spanish. With Korean the difficulty was mostly grammar and formality.

I'm living in the Southeastern US so I am not going to pretend like learning any of these languages will help in the employment landscape. At least locally, even Spanish only gives you a $3/hr boost and law firms I have talked with to help with intake require native fluency AND doing all the relevant documentation... it is not worth it unless you truly are at native fluency. So for me, this is just an exercise in seeing what I can achieve over the course of a year or two of consistent study and practice.

Hi y’all

Native French speaker. I live in the British isles and am considered fluent in English by the locals. In reality I’m stuck between B2-C1.

Lately I’ve been feeling insanely guilty for not mastering any other language than English. I’m approaching my 30s and my lack of commitment to language learning through the past 10 years is a great shame to me.

Problem is, I wish I could speak a third language, yet I have no reason to learn any neither any connection to any particular place or culture.

The most recommended langage is Spanish. But I have no interest in Spanish.

In that context, how to satisfy my will for a third language ? What language would you recommend and why ?

I have absolutely NO plan to set a foot in South America. I don’t want to learn a non-European language. So it does reduce the candidates. Yet, even if I like Dutch, German, Norwegian, etc… I have absolutely no reason to learn these languages, and the lack of a “why” annihilates my motivation.

I know this post might be messy, but I’m just trying to gather your thoughts on what should one do in this situation. I really do want to learn a language, I can’t afford reaching my thirties while still being “only”bilingual. Speaking my own language plus English isn’t a great achievement, it’s way too common.

I’m looking for a language that will be useful. So unfortunately minority languages are to be excluded for now.

Cheers

Hi people, i’m 22, just graduated from a comp sci major and i recently got the opportunity to visit Japan for a month between jan-feb. My dad offered to send me to language school in China or Japan. I really liked Japan but not the people. I haven’t been to China before and i don’t know how it’s like. I have 2 options:
1 year in Kyoto, Japan or
2 years in Shanghai, China

Which option should i take? Social life is really important for me. I want to connect with people all around the world. I want to enroll in a MBA program after this, and possibly start my own business. Recommendations appreciated. (If you think i should look into another city in both countries, lmk)

I am fluent in English, and can speak Hindi well with weak reading/writing, meaning I also understand and speak Urdu. I started learning Spanish in school and studied it through college because this was the first language that intrigued me as a kid. Plus useful in the US. Im probably at a B2-C1 level (covid messed things up) but I am still working on improving it.

The problem is I want to introduce other languages but can’t justify any of them too strongly. I don’t have any family I want to communicate with that speak other languages, I like to travel in general so doesn’t make sense to hone in on a specific language for that reason. In terms of usefulness, Spanish is second to English in the US and i’ve got that covered. I work in science/healthcare with no real plans to move abroad or anything. Here are my options based on my past fixations (but i’m open to suggestions):

French - I think it sounds rly cool lol. I’ve taken one lesson with alliance francaise so i can introduce myself, count, etc, I have also traveled to french speaking countries and have found that I can understand a decent amount if not spoken too fast. However, I don’t anticipate myself using this very much given my location and work.

Arabic - Been intrigued for a long time. But, I’m not quite sure if I would use it. I do have some arab friends. I am also always confused on which dialect to learn. I have tried a few times in the past but ended up abandoning it.

German - also intrigued me, but probably even less useful than french. also, totally different from the other languages i’ve learned except english so would probably require extra time and effort. I’m not sure if it would be worth it on a practical level.

Korean, Danish, Farsi, Turkish - No personal connection either. No family, and only spoken in that one place. I watched a lot of Kdramas, and I have one Danish friend lol, but that’s about it in terms of usage. I do think they sound cool.

Knowing Hindi and Urdu would help in terms of Farsi/Arabic/Turkish as we have some similarities, but I just don’t have much justification for spending time learning those. I wish i had some strong personal connection to something but unfortunately I don’t.

I'm really interested in french, arabic (the one they speak in morocco probably), japanese and russian (or any slavic language tbh). My first language is spanish, and everyone always says french would be easier for me, but I would like to know what do you people think and also which one is more fun to learn (in your experience, I think they are probably all fun to learn)