Language is not only a matter of thousands or even millions of word for communicating with others, but also becomes a part of culture. The following list will tell you about the ten most spoken languages and this list is based on the number of native speakers.
1. Mandarin
Mandarin is spoken by more than 845 million speakers and people commonly call it as Chinese especially for the non-speakers. It is actually only one of many other Chinese languages, but it becomes the most spoken one. Taiwan and Republic of China use Mandarin as their official language.
2. Spanish
There are for about 329 million speakers and almost all of states in Latin America use Spanish as their official language. Now, it is officially claimed as one of six languages of United Nations. Few of Spanish words are such as hola (hello) and also Que pase un buen día which means Have a good day.
3. English
This is the third most spoken language with approximately 328 million speakers. In fact, some people still assume that English is the most widely spoken language. Nowadays, 53 countries use English to be the official languages, including Ireland, South Africa, Canada, Jamaica, and New Zealand. For US, UK and Australia, English is the de facto language.
4. Hindi-Urdu
If you are not really familiar with Hindi-Urdu language, you probably should learn more about it. The 242 million speakers have made this one of Indo-Aryan languages becomes so popular, together with Bengali. You can find two official forms namely Standard Urdu and Standard Hindi. In this case, Hindi is India’s official language, while Urdu is Pakistan’s.
5. Arabic
The Arabic language is spoken by 221 million people and often associated to the Middle East. In fact, it also becomes the official language for 26 countries. The most vivid example of Arabic language can be found in Holy Qu’ran. The common phrases of Arabic phrases are such as “as-salaamu ‘alaikum” (formal greeting) and na’am (yes).
6. Bengali
Bengali (as explained above) is the member of Indo-Aryan language family, together with Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi. It is spoken by 181 million people and has rich literary tradition and the script is related to the Hindi scripts and Sanskrit. For example: Nômoshkar (Hello) and Apnar nam ki which means what is your name.
7. Portuguese
The 178 million speakers of Portuguese should be proud because this language is included into ten most popular languages in the world. The native Portuguese and Brazilian speak this language together with people from Angola, East Timor, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau and also Mozambique. Few popular phrases are such as Bom dia (Good day) and also Como está (how are you?).
8. Russian
Russian has 144 million speakers and quite similar to Belarusian, Ukrainian, and Rusyn languages. Some of Russian-speaking countries (besides Russian people, of course) are such as Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine.
9. Japanese
How many people speak Japanese? It is approximately 132 million people and
The native speakers mostly live in Japan as well as its territories. Some popular greetings are including konichiwa (hello), sayonara (goodbye) and arigato (Thank you).
10. German
There are over 90 million speakers of German and this language is official for some countries such as Austria, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein. Several countries also use it as their minority languages, such as Poland, Hungary, Denmark and also Czech Republic. Guten tag (Good day), and auf wiedersehen (Goodbye) are the two most common words/greetings.
1. Mandarin
Mandarin is spoken by more than 845 million speakers and people commonly call it as Chinese especially for the non-speakers. It is actually only one of many other Chinese languages, but it becomes the most spoken one. Taiwan and Republic of China use Mandarin as their official language.
2. Spanish
There are for about 329 million speakers and almost all of states in Latin America use Spanish as their official language. Now, it is officially claimed as one of six languages of United Nations. Few of Spanish words are such as hola (hello) and also Que pase un buen día which means Have a good day.
3. English
This is the third most spoken language with approximately 328 million speakers. In fact, some people still assume that English is the most widely spoken language. Nowadays, 53 countries use English to be the official languages, including Ireland, South Africa, Canada, Jamaica, and New Zealand. For US, UK and Australia, English is the de facto language.
4. Hindi-Urdu
If you are not really familiar with Hindi-Urdu language, you probably should learn more about it. The 242 million speakers have made this one of Indo-Aryan languages becomes so popular, together with Bengali. You can find two official forms namely Standard Urdu and Standard Hindi. In this case, Hindi is India’s official language, while Urdu is Pakistan’s.
5. Arabic
The Arabic language is spoken by 221 million people and often associated to the Middle East. In fact, it also becomes the official language for 26 countries. The most vivid example of Arabic language can be found in Holy Qu’ran. The common phrases of Arabic phrases are such as “as-salaamu ‘alaikum” (formal greeting) and na’am (yes).
6. Bengali
Bengali (as explained above) is the member of Indo-Aryan language family, together with Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi. It is spoken by 181 million people and has rich literary tradition and the script is related to the Hindi scripts and Sanskrit. For example: Nômoshkar (Hello) and Apnar nam ki which means what is your name.
7. Portuguese
The 178 million speakers of Portuguese should be proud because this language is included into ten most popular languages in the world. The native Portuguese and Brazilian speak this language together with people from Angola, East Timor, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau and also Mozambique. Few popular phrases are such as Bom dia (Good day) and also Como está (how are you?).
8. Russian
Russian has 144 million speakers and quite similar to Belarusian, Ukrainian, and Rusyn languages. Some of Russian-speaking countries (besides Russian people, of course) are such as Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine.
9. Japanese
How many people speak Japanese? It is approximately 132 million people and
The native speakers mostly live in Japan as well as its territories. Some popular greetings are including konichiwa (hello), sayonara (goodbye) and arigato (Thank you).
10. German
There are over 90 million speakers of German and this language is official for some countries such as Austria, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein. Several countries also use it as their minority languages, such as Poland, Hungary, Denmark and also Czech Republic. Guten tag (Good day), and auf wiedersehen (Goodbye) are the two most common words/greetings.