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You’ve fallen in love with Italian culture, been captivated by the musicality of the language, or need to learn Italian for work or travel. Whatever your reason, diving into a new language is like opening a door to a world of connection and personal growth.
But let’s address the elephant in the room: Is Italian hard to learn? Not really! Italian is considered an easier language to learn than most. Let’s see how it could be the right choice for you.
Is Italian hard to learn?
Here’s the short, encouraging answer: Italian is easier to learn than you might think. And its difficulty is actually measurable!
The Foreign Service Institute (FSI) has ranked languages from the easiest and most similar to English to the hardest ones. The classification is based on the average time necessary for English speakers to achieve proficiency and highlighted four groups.
The great news? Italian is classified as one of the easiest languages to learn.
How hard is it to learn Italian and how long does it take?
According to the FSI language difficulty ranking, learning Italian requires 24 to 30 weeks of study—much shorter than the 88 weeks needed for languages in the hardest-languages-to-learn category, which includes Chinese, Korean, Arabic, and Japanese. Basically, if you start learning it now, you will be ready to fly to Italy in the very next season and surprise everyone with your newly acquired Italian skills!
Of course, your fluency level depends on the time you dedicate to learning and how much you practice. Also, everyone learns at their own pace. For some, mastering grammar is straightforward, while perfecting pronunciation might be more challenging. And others might have strong mimicry skills that make them sound fluent early on but take longer to internalize grammar rules.
Why is Italian easy to learn for English speakers?
English belongs to the Germanic language family, including Danish, Dutch, German, Norwegian, Swedish, Yiddish, and Afrikaans. A language family is a way to group languages with a common origin. So all these languages are the local evolution of the language spoken by the Germanic peoples who migrated from northern Europe to the Roman Empire.
Sharing the same language family often makes learning easier, thanks to shared grammatical structures, vocabulary, and cognates. That’s why all Germanic languages are typically easier for an English speaker to learn.
However, English is unique. While it’s a Germanic language, it was influenced by the Romance languages, which evolved from the Vulgar Latin dialects.
This influence means that many English words share roots (the foundational part of a word) with Italian, French, Spanish, and the other Romance languages, making Italian very approachable to English speakers.
Is Italian easy to learn if I also speak Spanish?
If you are familiar with Spanish, Portuguese, or another Romance language, learning Italian will likely be much easier for you! Italian and Spanish share many similarities in vocabulary and grammar.
However, there are differences to consider. For instance, word suffixes in Italian and Spanish often vary, influencing how words are formed and conjugated. Spanish vocabulary also carries a significant influence from Arabic (stemming from historical contact) whereas Italian has remained closer to its Florentine vulgar Latin roots—the foundation of modern Italian. This makes Italian uniquely distinct yet still highly understandable if you’re familiar with Spanish.
What makes Italian so easy to learn?
Like any language, Italian has its quirks and challenges, but it also has features that make it an enjoyable journey. There are several reasons why Italian is considered an easy language to learn.
Italian and English share many similarities and cognates
When asking yourself, “Is Italian hard to learn?” consider this data: 60% of English words are Latin based.
This means that many English words share their origin and roots with Italian words!
All these words with similar spellings and meanings (also known as cognates) make Italian less foreign or challenging for English speakers. They also greatly help understand Italian intuitively, since many words already sound familiar.
Look at how similar the words in the following chart are.
| English | Italian | Pronunciation |
| telephone | telefono | te-LEH-fo-no |
| student | studente | stoo-DEN-te |
| university | università | oo-nee-vehr-see-TAH |
| important | importante | eem-por-TAHN-te |
| similar | simile | SEE-mee-le |
| music | musica | MOO-zee-ka |
| family | famiglia | fa-MEEL-lya |
| natural | naturale | na-too-RAH-le |
| animal | animale | a-nee-MAH-le |
| necessary | necessario | neh-che-SSAH-ryo |
But not all similar words translate the same, so watch out for the false friends! Knowing them will help you communicate more correctly in Italian.
| English | False Friend in Italian | Italian Meaning |
| actually | attualmente | currently |
| argument | argomento | topic |
| casual | casuale | random |
| comprehensive | comprensivo | understanding |
| fabric | fabbrica | factory |
| parent | parente | relative |
| sympathetic | simpatico | nice or likable |
| terrific | terrificante | frightening |
| camera | camera | room |
Italian and English have similar sentence structure
Italian sentence structure is also relatively straightforward for English speakers. The basic structure in both languages is subject + verb + object (SVO):
- Io (subject) mangio (verb) una mela (object). = I eat an apple.
This makes it easier to understand and construct sentences. Additionally, Italian does not require changing the word order to form questions. Instead, you simply use intonation when speaking or add a question mark when writing. So easy!
Italian is a logical language
While Italian does have irregular verbs and exceptions to rules, its grammar is generally logical.
An excellent example of this is noun-adjective agreement in Italian, which is straightforward and predictable.
In Italian, adjectives must agree with the noun they modify in gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural). This can be easier for English speakers to grasp than it might seem at first.
For instance, once you know that most Italian nouns ending in “-o” are masculine and those ending in “-a” are feminine, you can quickly determine how adjectives and articles will change.
- un ragazzo simpatico = a nice boy
- una ragazza simpatica = a nice girl
This logical and consistent structure is common throughout Italian grammar. So, once you understand the basic rules, many aspects of the language become easy to predict and apply.
Italian is a phonetic language
Phonetics is another reason Italian is easier to learn than other languages. Unlike English, which has many irregular spellings and silent letters, Italian words are pronounced as they are written. This makes it much easier for English speakers to pick up the correct pronunciation early on.
For example, the word telefono (telephone) is pronounced “te-LEH-fo-no,” just like it’s written. Of course, some letter combinations may challenge you a little bit. For instance, the following sounds usually need more attention because they differ slightly from English.
| Italian letter | Sound | Example | Pronunciation |
| r | rolled, with a quick vibration of the tongue | Roma (Rome) | ROH-mah |
| gli | similar to “lli” in “million” | famiglia (family) | fa-MEEL-lya |
| gn | similar to “ny” in “canyon.” | gnocchi (gnocchi) | NYO-kohe |
| c (before the vowels “i” or “e”) | like “ch” in “church” | cielo (sky) | CHE-loh |
| c (before other vowels) | hard “k” sound, like “car” | casa (house) | KAH-sa |
| ci/ce | soft “ch” like in “chees.” | cibo (food) | CHEE-boh |
| g (before the vowels “i” or “e”) | like “j” in “jam” | gelato (ice cream) | jeh-LAH-toh |
| g (before other vowels) | hard “g” as in “go” | gatto (cat) | GAH-toh |
| sc (before the vowels “i” or “e”) | like “sh” in “shoe” | scena (scene) | SHEH-nah |
| sc (before other vowels) | like “sk” in “sky” | scuola (school) | SKWO-lah |
Practice daily, and you’ll master even these sounds—no one could stop you then!
Frequently asked questions about learning Italian
So, considering all this: Is Italian a hard language to learn? Definitely not! Italian is considered one of the easier languages for English speakers to learn.
But if you’re still wondering whether learning Italian is for you, here are learners’ most common questions—and the answers that might inspire you to take the plunge.
What’s the best way to learn Italian?
Immersion is highly effective, such as traveling to Italy (or living there) and speaking with native speakers. Combining this with study and regular practice works best.
Remember that language learning isn’t just about grammar drills. Embrace every chance to get in touch with Italian culture—it’s practical and fun!
Can I really learn Italian in six months?
Yes, absolutely! You can learn how to speak Italian in a really short time. However, success largely depends on choosing the right approach and staying consistent. Most learners can be conversationally confident in just 24 to 30 weeks with dedicated practice.
Rosetta Stone’s Dynamic Immersion Method breaks down language learning into manageable, bite-sized lessons, perfect for busy schedules or those who find big traditional grammar books overwhelming. Give it a try.
What is the hardest part of learning Italian?
Many learners find Italian verbs quite challenging. The good news is that there are many regular verbs, so you will quickly get them right once you memorize the suffixes.
Conjugating Italian articles or using articles with Italian prepositions is also something that differs from English so it may be more challenging. However, it’s something that you can master once you learn the rules.
What should I focus on first when learning Italian?
Start by building a solid base. You need to learn the Italian alphabet and how to conjugate regular Italian verbs and articles. But mix it with the fun stuff, like learning practical phrases and Italian numbers and building your basic everyday vocabulary.
Combining these two aspects of Italian will allow you to start speaking in no time, boosting your confidence and making you even more eager to learn.
Where can I learn practical Italian to use right away?
Start by mastering standard Italian greetings to open any conversation confidently. You can also explore Italian sayings—they’re a playful way to connect with the language and discover the unique charm of Italian life.
How can I improve my Italian pronunciation?
Practice speaking aloud and listening to native Italian through podcasts, music, or films.
Italians tend to speak quickly, so at first, you might need extra focus, but you’ll adapt with time.
Using Italian subtitles while watching can help you catch more words and connect spoken and written language.
And when speaking with locals, don’t hesitate to ask them to slow down politely. You can say: Potrebbe ripetere più lentamente, per favore? (Can you repeat that more slowly, please?). The key is consistent exposure and imitation to build confidence and fluency.
Plus, you can try tools like Rosetta Stone TruAccent speech recognition engine, which helps you perfect your pronunciation. Or download the Rosetta Stone App, where you can find stories, phrasebooks and more.