Neither one is easier...

There are sounds in both languages which can be very difficult for English speakers: French has the infamous R apical (learn more), nasal vowels (learn more), and the subtle (to untrained ears) differences between tu/tous (learn more) and parlai/parlais (learn more). In Spanish, the rolled R, the J (similar to the French R), and the B/V are the trickiest sounds.

Nouns in both languages have a gender and require gender and number agreement for adjectives, articles, and certain types of pronouns.

The use of prepositions in both languages can be difficult, as there is often little correlation between them and their English counterparts.

Confusing pairs abound in both:

• French - c'est vs il est, encore vs toujours
• Spanish - ser vs estar, por vs para
• Both have the tricky two past-tense division (Fr - passé composé vs imparfait; Sp - pretérito vs imperfecto), two verbs that mean "to know," and the bon-bien, mauvais-mal (Fr) / bueno-bien, malo-mal (Sp) distinctions.

Both French and Spanish have reflexive verbs, numerous false cognates with English that can trip up non-native speakers of either language, and potentially confusing word order due to the positions of adjectives and object pronouns.

Keep reading:

1. Introduction
2. Spanish is easier...
3. French is easier...
4. Neither is easier...
5. The bottom line

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