Why is learning Spanish more difficult than learning English?

Spanish is one of the languages that belong to the Romance language family, so learning Spanish for a native French or Italian speaker is much easier than for an English speaker. Although it may come as a surprise, English and Spanish are not so different, since both belong to the Indo-European language family, they are more similar than they may seem at first glance.

The richness of the Spanish language is immense and for this very reason, the language can be difficult to learn. It is full of peculiarities that can make learning difficult for both native and foreign learners. The grammar and vocabulary make the Spanish language difficult and have some of the most difficult skills to master.

If you want to learn Spanish, the best solution is to start with Classgap's online lessons. On our platform, you will find a wide list of verified Spanish teachers with whom you will be able to learn and review the most interesting concepts of this language. Discover all the advantages of learning online with Classgap!

Register on Classgap

10 Interesting facts about Spanish

Sure there are many things you don't know about the Spanish language, such as in which countries Spanish is spoken, or what is the longest word. Here are some facts and curious things about the Spanish language that will surprise you.

1. Spanish is spoken in many parts of the world: In Europe it is spoken in Spain, and in America it is spoken in all central and southern countries, with the exception of Brazil. On the African continent, Spanish is spoken in Ceuta, Melilla and the Canary Islands, but it is also the language of Equatorial Guinea and Western Sahara. It may come as a surprise to many, but on Easter Island, the language is also spoken there.
2. It is the fastest language to pronounce: it shares this position with Japanese, both of which have speakers with a great capacity to pronounce a large number of syllables per minute.
3. The special and unique letter "ñ'". What's its origin? The symbol above the "n" comes from another "n" that was written above it and that, over the years, has been flattened until it reached its current form. Spanish is not the only language that has this letter; Galician and Basque, among others, also have it.
4. The longest word in Spanish: it is “Electroencefalografista” and it has 23 letters. Even though, it is far from the longest word in the world, which is “Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis” in English.
5. Words with 5 vowels: there are many words that contain the 5 vowels (which are many in one single word). For example "educación" (education), murciélago (bat) or ayuntamiento (town hall).
6. The tagline "¿me entiendes?" (do you understand me?) is the one that bothers Spanish speakers the most, because it questions the receiver's ability to understand. Although, it's widely used in daily conversations.
7. The "unpronounceable" words: although Spanish is an easy and simple language to pronounce, it also has words that are impossible even for native speakers, such as "deoxyribonucleic" or "paralelepiped". We dare you to try it.
8. Palindromes: these are words that are read the same from left to right as from right to left, such as the word "reconocer" (recognize). Although this fact is also repeated in whole sentences such as “Ella te dará detalle” (She will give you detail) or “Eva usaba Rimel y le miraba suave” (Eve wore mascara and looked at him softly).
9. Three vowels and three syllables: is that possible? In Spanish, it is. The verb "oía" (listened)  is composed of three vowels and each one of them forms a syllable of its own. Isn't that curious?
10. The word "ojalá" (I wish): it is one of the most commonly used words when we wish for something, but do you know its meaning? The concept behind the expression is "God willing" and it comes from Arabic.

Start learning Spanish in Classgap

If you want to know more of these interesting facts about the Spanish language or just want to keep improving, search for your online Spanish tutor on Classgap. Register and access the list of teachers and select the one that best suits your needs and objectives.

The most difficult Spanish things to learn

As said before, Spanish is not the easiest language to learn from scratch. Before starting to learning it, you should know the things that will be most difficult for you, even though they are far from impossible! 

• The subjunctive: It is not that it is complicated to learn the subjunctive verb forms, the problem is to apply them correctly. Spanish learners have a hard time knowing when to use them, sometimes it is clear, but other times it is not so clear and students often get confused.
• “Ser” and “estar”: in English, there is only one word for both verbs, that’s the verb to be. In Spanish, there are two different ones. This makes it difficult for non-native speakers to distinguish when one is used and when the other is used.
• The gender of words: in English, the words don’t have gender. But in Spanish, every word has the gender masculine or feminine, followed by its own article (el/la). The basic rule is that words ending in -o are masculine and words ending in -a are feminine. There are many exceptions such as: "el mapa" (the map, masculine) or "la mano"(the hand, feminine).
• False friends: when Spanish speakers learn English, there are certain words that confuse us because of their resemblance to Spanish. Well, the same thing happens to English-speakers when they learn Spanish. An example is the word "jam", which does not mean "jamón". Jam in Spanish means marmalade. And the same happens with many other words.

Find your Spanish tutor

• Irregular verbs: you may think that English language is the queen of irregular verbs, but get ready to know all of the Spanish irregular verbs, which are a lot. And moreover, there are verb forms that don’t look anything like their own infinitive form, like “si fuéramos” (if we went) to “ir” (go).
• Accents: here is where Ensligh-speakers get lost. In Spanish, contrary to English, there are many words that are accented, for example “música” (music). It is important to learn how to put this accent correctly. There are a few rules, and you will see that once you get it, it’s much easier than it looks.
• The idioms: these are expressions that should not be taken literally. If we translate the expressions literally you will see that it is very funny, but it is not their true meaning. English also has many of these idioms, such as “Break a leg”, which in Spanish the idiom would be “Mucha mierda”. If we translate it literally, it means “A lot of shit”. See the funny thing? And that’s why we have to be careful with them.

As you may have seen, Spanish has many more grammatical difficulties than most other languages. While other languages lack gender in nouns or their irregular verbs have similarities with the infinitive, Spanish has different laws that make it difficult to learn even for native speakers. Therefore, if you want to train and learn Spanish, start with Classgap's online classes.

Tips and recommendations for learning and practicing Spanish

Nowadays, it is very important to know different languages in order to be in contact with more people. Spanish has become one of the most demanded languages, thanks to its high number of speakers. The Spanish language and culture are fascinating, but we are not going to deny that it can be a bit difficult to learn. Therefore, we are going to give you some tips to make your learning more comfortable and easier.

• Online Spanish lessons: the best method to learn Spanish is online lessons with a private teacher. Classgap is a platform that will put you in contact with teachers from all over the world, native and bilingual, with whom you can learn and develop your learning.
• Read in Spanish: this is an infallible trick to learn any language and, above all, the way of writing and its spelling rules.
• Listen to podcasts and music in Spanish: there are thousands of podcasts in Spanish with which to learn, not only pronunciation but also about its culture and history. In addition, its music is one of the best known in the world, with great artists and legendary songs listened all over the planet.
• Learn 10 words a day: one method to start with vocabulary is to memorize 10 words a day. Little by little, your lexicon will increase and it will be easier for you to build sentences. Set yourself this goal and go for it!

Find your perfect Spanish tutor

• Watch Spanish movies or tv series in VO: the Spanish film industry has created great series and movies. Take advantage of platforms such as Netflix to watch series in original version such as "La Casa de Papel", "Narcos" or "Veneno".
• Speak Spanish: the most important thing to learn a language is to speak and practice. Find a partner to speak and practice with, or an online tutor to chat a little bit.
• Write in Spanish: try to make your shopping list in Spanish or write your personal diary in the Spanish language, this way, you will practice spelling and grammar by applying Spanish to your daily activities.
• Patience is the key: don't panic. Spanish is difficult to learn, but far from impossible. Learning a language tests all our skills, but the rewards we get when we succeed is enormous.

In order to learn Spanish it is very important to practice, practice and practice. To help you with your training, register on Classgap and find a Spanish teacher, native or bilingual, that meets your goals.

Differences between Spanish in Spain and America

As with British and American English, Spanish also has differences depending on the part of the world in which it is spoken. Depending on the country in Latin America, there are many variations of words and accents. The same is true for Spain. In the following table we will show the different words that Spanish speakers use to refer to the same concept:

There are words that are used more in some countries than in others. Within Spain, you can also find different words or expressions specific to a region or locality. Thanks to this, Spanish is a very lexically rich language.

Online Spanish lessons at Classgap

Classgap is the best online lessons platform to learn Spanish. It has its own virtual classroom, multiple resources and tools to learn from home. Classgap allows you to select the teacher that best fits your budget and meets your goals.

How does Classgap work? 

It is a very easy platform to use. With the following steps we will show you how it works:

• Contact your tutor: you can send him/her a message to find out if he/she meets your requirements.
• Take a 20-minute free trial: take the opportunity to introduce yourself and explain what your goals are. This way you'll be able to meet each other and see if you have a good feeling.
• Book a lesson: once you have chosen a teacher, book your lesson by selecting the day and time on their calendar.
• Leave a review at the end of the lesson explaining your experience in order to guide other users to find their perfect tutor.

Now you know everything about the Spanish language and our platform, register today to start your online Spanish learning journey! You just have to find your ideal tutor and enjoy the process. You’ll see, once you try the advantages of online lessons, you won't want to give them up.