Trying to decide between learning Italian or Spanish? That’s not always an easy decision to make, especially if you’ve already come to the stage where you have to select between two pretty comparable languages. Or so you might suppose.
Assuming you don’t have an obvious connection to either language because of your heritage, a topic you’re studying in school, a skill set you need for work, or plans to relocate to a new country, you’re probably wondering which language will broaden your horizons the most or be the most beneficial to learn. Spanish and Italian are close cousins in the Romance language family; they are both embedded in cultures that have provided the world with a lot of tasty, tasty food; and they are both relatively easy languages for English speakers to learn (meaning you won’t have any trouble finding resources, classes, and study buddies to help you along the way).
Nonetheless, a decision must be made. Or maybe not. If all else fails, you can always eat your torta or tarta (which is “cake” in Italian and Spanish).
Italian Vs Spanish
How similar are Italian and Spanish?
We’ve already touched on this, but Italian and Spanish are both Romance languages, which implies they originated in Latin. That suggests they have a large number of cognates, which are words that sound similar and often share a common origin. Given that Spain and Italy are geographically adjacent, this makes sense. Generally, the closer two language populations are geographically, the more likely they are to understand one another.
So, how much mutual intelligibility, or crossover, exists between Italian and Spanish? Learning one Romance language makes it easier to transition to the others.
Ethnologue calculated lexical similarity coefficients for each Romance language, which are quantifiable percentages indicating the degree of closeness between the languages. Spanish and Italian are 82% comparable, which is not awful. However, the closest cousins, Spanish and Portuguese, are 89% similar.
Overall, Spanish and Italian share many similarities, including comparable phonology, conjugation rules, and verb tenses, as well as an SVO (subject-verb-object) sentence structure familiar to English speakers. And, no, you will not be able to avoid learning grammatical gender using either of these languages.
What are some of the key differences between Italian and Spanish?
The history of Spain and Italy forms a significant portion of their differences. While Italian is derived almost entirely from common Latin, the Moorish invasion of the Iberian Peninsula in 711 had a significant impact on Spanish. As a result, Arabic contributes 4,000 current Spanish terms.
Spanish and Italian differ slightly in their use of the past tense. Italians use the perfect tense more frequently, whereas Spaniards choose the simple past tense.
Arguably, the most significant tradeoff is that learning Spanish pronunciation is simpler than Italian, but Italian contains more irregular verbs that do not fit expected patterns
Which language is easier to learn?
Technically, we compiled a list of the ten easiest languages for English speakers to learn, and the good news is that both Spanish and Italian are on the list. If you want to split hairs, Spanish is higher up the list, ranking third (as opposed to seventh for Italian). Still, Italian is a little easier than French.
We’ve already noted that one of the reasons Spanish is so easy is that it has simple pronunciation guidelines – what you see is what you get, which isn’t always the case with learning Italian. However, it is not as straightforward as “Spanish is easier to pronounce than Italian.” Some argue that Italian is simpler to speak (and understand) because the musical intonation and separation of individual sounds, as spoken, are easier for learners to process than the comparably quicker and monotone Spanish.
However, Italian contains more irregular verbs to learn. Grammatical gender rules are also less simple.
Finally, whether Italian or Spanish is easier or harder depends on whatever you struggle with the most: pronunciation or grammar. However, the difference in overall complexity is unlikely to deter you or influence your selection. Ultimately, they are both among the easiest languages to learn.
Which language is more useful to know?
If you frame this question in terms of raw demographics, Spanish will most likely win by a wide margin. Spanish has the world’s second-largest native speaker population, behind Chinese, with a total of 543 million speakers available to chat with. Knowing Spanish will also allow you to travel to many parts of the world, including Spain and the majority of Latin and Central America. Spanish is an official language in 20 countries and is widely spoken in many more.
In comparison, Italian is the world’s 20th most spoken language, with around 66 million speakers. It is the official language of Italy, San Marino, Switzerland, and Vatican City, as well as some areas of Croatia and Slovenia. There are large populations of Italian speakers in over 30 nations, so it likely relies on where you intend to use your talents. Or, you know, what types of eateries you believe you’ll frequent the most.
However, whether Italian or Spanish is more valuable to know will most likely be determined by how and where you intend to use it. To connect with more individuals overall? Probably Spanish, then. Want to connect with more people in your Italian neighborhood? It sounds like Italian is your best bet. To improve your career prospects? Due to its widespread use, Spanish is a popular business language; however, if you work in fashion, for example, learning Italian may be more practical.
Overall, choosing between Italian and Spanish may be a simple or difficult decision after considering all the factors. But this is not a one-size-fits-all decision. Begin by clearly outlining your personal goals and reasons for pursuing this opportunity. The rest should be evident from there.
Kickstart Your Language Journey with LanguagLearnings
No matter which language you choose—Spanish or Italian—Language Learnings is the perfect partner for your journey. Offering expertly designed courses, interactive tools, and flexible learning options, this platform makes mastering a new language engaging and accessible for learners of all levels. Whether you’re aiming to travel, boost your career, or simply expand your horizons, you’ll find everything you need to succeed. Dive into a world of immersive learning experiences and track your progress with ease. Explore Spanish, Italian, and many other languages at Language Learnings—where your perfect language match begins.
