Is it difficult to learn Russian?
Russian is widely believed to be one of the most difficult languages to learn. This is mostly true, if you have no knowledge of other Slavic languages (e.g. Bulgarian or Czech). The grammar rules in Russian are very complex and have numerous exceptions.
How long does it take to learn Russian? The US Department of State says that it will take 1,100 class hours (or 44 weeks) to learn Russian to a proficient level. But these numbers vary depending on your natural ability to acquire language, or if you already speak a language that is similar to Russian.
Russian is allegedly one of the most complex languages to learn; its Cyrillic alphabet is enough to scare you away. In fact, the Foreign Service Institute classifies it as a category-four language.
The Russian language is easier when you look at their writing style. On the basis of Sounds: There are more sounds in the Korean language as compared to the Russian language.
The Foreign Service Institute (FSI for short) places Russian into one its highest categories in terms of its relative difficulty for native English speakers (in other words one of the most challenging major languages).
The Foreign Service Institute of the United States has determined that it takes about 1100 hours of study to reach fluency in Russian. If you're willing to study 3 hours every day, it could take you a year to reach that level.
Many studies have suggested that learning a new language improves brain function, providing better memory, more mental flexibility, and creativity. Learning a language from a different language family from your native language – for example, Russian – is a great way to maximize these benefits.
While total fluency will take years of practicing Russian and will likely require you to spend time in a Russian-speaking country, it's absolutely possible to learn the Cyrillic alphabet, plenty of Russian words, and the basics of Russian grammar in six months.
Across multiple sources, Mandarin Chinese is the number one language listed as the most challenging to learn. The Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center puts Mandarin in Category IV, which is the list of the most difficult languages to learn for English speakers.
- соответственно (sootvetstvenno) – accordingly.
- свидетельствовать (svidetel'stvovat') – to testify.
- среднестатистический (srednestatisticheskii) – average.
What is harder Greek or Russian?
Greek is a relatively difficult language to master, even more so for English speakers. But it's still easier to learn than Russian or Arabic. The reason many English speakers find Greek to be so difficult is that it's not closely related to the English language.
Russian is more difficult, in that the grammar is more complex, although verb tenses in Spanish are no piece of cake, and there other tricky elements. It is also true that having to read in a less familiar alphabet also makes the language more difficult, and more tiring to read.

The New York metropolitan area contains by far the largest number of Russian-speakers.
Noun case is probably the hardest part of Russian for English speakers to fully master. And this of course makes us ask: What exactly is Russian noun case? Simply put, the ending of a Russian noun tells you what it does/what role it has in a sentence.
Duolingo offers a complete Russian course, but that doesn't mean it teaches the language well. If you're looking to pick up some useful words and phrases, it's a great option. If you want to become fluent in Russian though, Duolingo is not the best choice. Apps like Rocket Languages and Babbel are better.
The US government sponsors various programs for learning the Russian language (e.g., Intensive Summer Language Institutes, Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistants, Teacher Exchange), and there are Russian programs at many US universities.
Elementary with a vocabulary of 750 words, Basic: 1300 words, Level 1 Intermediate: 2300 words, Level 2 Advanced: 10000 words, Level 3 Proficient: 12000 words (with 7000 active) and level 4 Fluency with 20,000 words (8000 active).
It's one of the most spoken languages in the world
Not only is it the official language of Russia, but it has official status in Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. It's also spoken regularly in Israel, the Baltics, China, Ukraine, Armenia and even the United States.
It is considered one of the most in-demand languages for trade, international relations, and diplomacy.
Of all the European languages a native English speaker can learn, Russian is among the most difficult. The Germanic and Romance languages have a lot of the same core because they both have roots in Latin. Russian is from a completely different language branch called the Slavonic branch, which includes Czech and Polish.
What is the most spoken language in the world?
1. English (1,452 million speakers) According to Ethnologue, English is the most-spoken language in the world including native and non-native speakers. Like Latin or Greek at the time, English has become the world's common language.
добре́ • (dobré) OK, all right.
A sneeze sound in Russian can be apchkhi; in Korean, achee. In the medical world, ACHOO is an acronym for a sternutation disorder called Autosomal Dominant Compelling Helio-Ophthalmic Outburst Syndrome that results in uncontrollable sneezing.
- Afrikaans. Like English, Afrikaans is in the West Germanic language family, once thought of as a Dutch dialect. ...
- French. ...
- Spanish. ...
- Dutch. ...
- Norwegian. ...
- Portuguese. ...
- Swedish. ...
- Italian.
- Mandarin. Mandarin is spoken by 70% of the Chinese population, and is the most spoken language in the world. ...
- Arabic. ...
- Japanese. ...
- Hungarian. ...
- Korean. ...
- Finnish. ...
- Basque. ...
- Navajo.
The /z/ becomes the unvoiced /s/. Further, the /θ/ and /ð/ sounds do not exist in Russian. Thus, words such as thin, then and the are very difficult for Russian speakers to pronounce.
The second О (O) is in the unstressed syllable right before the stressed one, which is why it's also pronounced as А (A).
- #1 Классный (Great, awesome cool)
- #2 Крутой (Cool)
- #3 Клёвый (Great, good, awesome)
- #4 Здорово (Great! Awesome!)
- #5 Ништяк (Very good)
- #6 кайф (Bliss, euphoria)
After reading through all the differences, Russian probably comes across as the easier language to learn. And it is! For native English speakers, Russian is categorized as taking 44 weeks to learn (or 1,100 hours), while Japanese takes 88 weeks (2,200 hours).
- Frisian. ...
- Dutch. ...
- Norwegian. ...
- Spanish. ...
- Portuguese. ...
- Italian. ...
- French. ...
- Swedish.
Why is English so hard for Russians?
Many Russian speakers have difficulty pronouncing the English consonant sounds /w/, /v/, /r/ & 'th'. Russian has a quarter of the vowels that English does so many English vowels are challenging. Word stress is often flatter and more even than an English native speaker.
Can I learn Russian in 6 months? While total fluency will take years of practicing Russian and will likely require you to spend time in a Russian-speaking country, it's absolutely possible to learn the Cyrillic alphabet, plenty of Russian words, and the basics of Russian grammar in six months.
Can you learn Russian in two months? Unfortunately, even if you spend 2-3 hours studying daily, two months won't be enough. Especially challenging this process is going to be for those who do not speak any other Slavic language (e.g. Czech or Polish).
- Frisian. ...
- Dutch. ...
- Norwegian. ...
- Spanish. ...
- Portuguese. ...
- Italian. ...
- French. ...
- Swedish.
Noun case is probably the hardest part of Russian for English speakers to fully master. And this of course makes us ask: What exactly is Russian noun case? Simply put, the ending of a Russian noun tells you what it does/what role it has in a sentence.
I think 3000 to 3500 words or more may be more realistic a word count for level 1 to take into count the case endings. I think 20000 words in Russian is going to be a minimum and 30000 to 50000 words would be a more comfortable fluency level. Any thoughts? 15000 or 20000 words is a huge number.
A1 « Introduction to Russian language »
S/he can introduce him/herself and others and can ask and answer questions about personal details such as where s/he lives, people s/he knows and things s/he has. S/he can interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.
Of all the European languages a native English speaker can learn, Russian is among the most difficult. The Germanic and Romance languages have a lot of the same core because they both have roots in Latin. Russian is from a completely different language branch called the Slavonic branch, which includes Czech and Polish.
- Mandarin.
- Japanese.
- Arabic.
- Xhosa.
- Russian.
- Spanish. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language after Mandarin, and not a surprise at the top of languages to learn. ...
- German. ...
- Arabic. ...
- Mandarin. ...
- Portuguese. ...
- Russian. ...
- French.
What is the closest language to English?
The closest language to English is one called Frisian, which is a Germanic language spoken by a small population of about 480,000 people. There are three separate dialects of the language, and it's only spoken at the southern fringes of the North Sea in the Netherlands and Germany.
Chamicuro. Chamicuro, also known as Chamicura or Chamicolo, is a traditional language in Peru. There are only two known speakers of the language today.
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- https://www.expresstorussia.com/travel-tips/tipping-in-russia.html
- https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/high-income-countries