Top 10 languages ​​by number of native speakers

Top 10 languages ​​by number of native speakers

These are the languages ​​that are most widely spoken in the world when only native speakers are counted.

1. Native Chinese speakers: 1.3 billion

There is no doubt that Mandarin is the most widely spoken language in the world, with an estimated 1.1 billion native speakers (Ethnologic estimates 1.3 billion native speakers) of all languages. This course is for you if you want to study a language spoken by one in six people on the planet. Since Chinese is a tonal language with countless logograms, it will undoubtedly keep you busy.

2. Native Spanish speakers: 471 million

Spanish has roughly 471 million native speakers, which puts it ahead of English if we were to compare native speakers only. Spanish is your best choice if you want a language that gives you access to entire continents. Ask any Catalan or Quechua speaker if Spanish is their first language, and you'll likely get a vastly different answer than you would with any other language on this list. Language policy and related identity issues are also hotly contested. But it is undeniably the native language of most of South and Central America, Spain and, well, most of the US.

3. Native English speakers: 370 million

If you are reading this, you may be one of the approximately 370 million native English speakers or one of the 978 million speakers of English as a second language. This demonstrates the astounding success of English as a common language used in business, travel and international relations. English will continue to rule the international arena for the foreseeable future because it is relatively easy to learn (especially compared to Chinese) and because American culture is so widespread. For some people, English continues to be associated with opportunity and a higher standard of living.

4. Native Hindi speakers: 342 million

There are 23 official languages ​​in India, with Hindi/Urdu being the most widely spoken. It is still hotly disputed whether Hindustani is one language or two dialects. Hindi uses the Devnagri script, while Urdu uses Persian notation and is spoken primarily in northern India and parts of Pakistan. If you ever visit the Indian subcontinent, learning a little Hindi will be quite useful. What's not to love about this language that gave us shampoo, jungles, jodhpurs and bungalows?

5. Native Arabic speakers: 315 million

According to recent estimates, there are 315 million native speakers of Arabic. But even in this case, the numbers don't tell the whole story: Chinese and Arabic are both languages ​​that, although lumped together for convenience, are actually different languages ​​with drastically different dialects. The Classical Arabic of the Qur'an is closely related to Modern Standard Arabic, which is mostly used for writing. However, the varieties of Arabic spoken in, say, Oman and Morocco are so different that two philosophy professors from those nations would be able to discuss the intricate details of the ancient classics without having a problem ordering lunch.

6. Native Portuguese speakers: 232 million

Another language whose widespread use can be directly attributed to colonial times. Passionate Portuguese explorers and traders began to colonize the Americas, Asia and Africa in the 15th century, spreading their language with them. Portuguese may have initially been a product of European colonization, but the vibrant cultures of the colonized peoples changed the language indelibly. 232 million people worldwide currently use Portuguese as their first language, mainly in Brazil, Goa, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Sao Tome and Principe and Macau. Assis, Bossa Nova, Mia Couto, Fernando Pessoa and Aqualisa spoke.

7. Native Bengali speakers: 229 million

Admit it: you didn't expect Bengali to appear on the list of most spoken languages. When the British partitioned Bengal in 1947, they created East Bengal, now Bangladesh, and West Bengal, now primarily Hindu and now part of India. It is the language of 130 million Bangladeshis, many of whom are particularly at risk from climate change, the Andaman Islands, delicious sweets, and Kolkata. The population is expected to quadruple by the next century, while 15% of the Earth's landmass is predicted to be submerged by rising seas.

8. Native speakers of Russian: 154 million

Russian is the ninth most widely spoken language in the world with 154 million native speakers. One of the six official languages ​​of the United Nations, known for its cryptic grammar and magnificent alphabet, it gave rise to authors such as Dostoyevsky, Nabokov, Chekhov, Gogol, Tolstoy and Pushkin.

9. Native Japanese speakers: 126 million

Japanese has 126 million native speakers, almost all of whom live in Japan, making it the language on this list with the highest geographic concentration. Japanese uses the Chinese Kanji characters frequently and has two unique writing systems, hiragana and katakana. Brazil, the Philippines, and the United States are home to the largest populations of Japanese speakers outside of Japan.

10. Native speakers of West Punjabi (Lahnda): 118 million

The last position on the list belongs to..., with various estimates of around 118 million native speakers. Lahnda, the macro language of Pakistan mostly used by West Punjabi! (Sorry, German; you were kicked off the world's top languages ​​list a few years ago.) East Punjabi, a language spoken in India, isn't even included. When the British left, they split Punjab in half and forced millions of people to leave their homes, businesses and families. However, they are slowly getting their revenge Bollywood-style: Punjabi music currently accounts for 50% of the top songs on the charts. If ever there was a comeback, it's him.