Have you ever wondered what the world’s most common language are? If you meet 10 different people across the world can you communicate effectively with them? There are roughly 6,500 spoken languages in the world today. However, about 2,000 of those languages have fewer than 1,000 speakers. Estimating these most common language populations can be tricky, and there is a range of data available. Not notwithstanding, this list comprises of the languages that is spoken by the most population in the world. The people who learnt these languages in school are not included as speakers of the language. This list comprises of those that are original owners and speakers of the language. English is the most commonly spoken language in the world, but if you think it is the most spoken, you are wrong. Read on to find out the language that topped the list.
10. French
129 Million Speakers
French is one of the most romantic languages in the world, it is original to France but is also spoken in many other countries such as Belgium, Canada, Rwanda, Cameroon, and Haiti. “Hello” in French is “Bonjour”.
9. Malay-Indonesian
159 Million Speakers
Malay-Indonesian is spoken in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. Even though there are many dialects of Malay they are basically based on the same root language. “Hello” in Indonesian is “Selamat pagi”.
8. Portuguese
191 Million Speakers
Portuguese colonized many countries and spread it’s language around the world. Countries like Brazil, Macau, Angola, Venezuela, and Mozambique all have Portuguese is their official language. Out of the 191 million Portuguese speakers worldwide, nearly 150 million of them speak Brazilian Portuguese, the most common language variant. “Hello” in Portuguese is “Ola”.
7. Bengali
211 Million Speakers
Bengali is the official language of both India and Bangladesh. Bangladesh has a population of over 120 million people and as the population is growing so fast, the language is also spreading creating more Bengali speakers. With 211 million speakers, Bengali is also the second most widely spoken language in India, popular in the easternmost states. “Hello” in Bengali is “Ei Je” (EYE-jay).
6. Arabic
246 Million Speakers
Arabic is one of the oldest and most popular languages in the world. This is because it is the language of the Islamic religion and it is needed to read the Koran. Arabic is spoken throughout the Middle East and found in other countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Nigeria, and Egypt. Arabic, spoken by 246 million speakers worldwide, and has also influenced some other most common languages. For instance, Spanish has approximately 4,000 words with Arabic roots. “Hello” in Arabic is “Al salaam a’alaykum”.
5. Russian
277 Million Speakers
Russia has a large population and so obviously deserves a spot on this list. The language is also spoken in Belarus, Kazakhstan, and the U.S. to mention but a few. “Hello” in Russian is “Zdravstvuite”. You’ll need a local speaker to couch you on that pronunciation.
4. Spanish
392 Million Speakers
Spanish is also one of the most popular languages. It is spoken in Brazil, Europe and South America. The Castilian dialect in Spain is held as a national standard, although Andalusian and Catalan are also spoken. Spanish is very similar to Portuguese and many Spanish and Portuguese speakers understand each other. “Hello” in Spanish is “Hola”.
3. Hindustani
497 Million
Hindustani is the first language of India while Bengali is the second. With the rate at which the language is spreading, Hindustani speakers has potential to outnumber English speakers within the next few years. “Hello” in Hindustani is “Namaste”.
2. English
508 Million Speakers
English the language of the United Kingdom and is also the official language of more countries than any other language. It is spoken in numerous countries all around the world such as New Zealand, the U.S., Australia, Zimbabwe, the Caribbean, Hong Kong, South Africa, and Canada. Scholars have named English the world’s “most influential language,” due to the number of speakers (508 million) and the number of countries in which it is spoken.
If you are reading this you probably already know how to say hello in English, so lets move on to number one.
1. Mandarin
1 Billion+ Speakers
It is no surprise that the most spoken language in the world, Mandarin Chinese, is spoken by the most populated country in the world – China. Although Mandarin is one of the hardest languages to learn, its speakers double the number of English speakers. With over one billion speakers, Mandarin claims the top spot as the world’s most spoken even though not the most common language by country. Mandarin is the official language of China and Taiwan, as well as one of the four official dialects of Singapore, it is also one of the five major dialects of the Chinese people. The language is wide-spread and often requires professional translation for young speakers and writers.“Hello” in Mandarin is “Ni hao”.
