Top 8 languages to earn money in 2018

Learning a new language is not just a hobby anymore, it is becoming increasingly important to advance in your career all the time. If you add an extra language to your repertoire it will surely give you an edge over the others. In this world where more and more firms are aiming to globalize, more bilinguals, trilinguals are needed than ever. So having the knowledge of at least one foreign language opens up a whole new world of opportunities. It gives a boost to your job prospects. You can work as a translator, interpreter, teacher etc. 

There are endless job opportunities for individuals who are capable of communicating in more than one language. Although there are hundreds of languages in this world, unfortunately only a few of them are significant enough when it comes to earning money. Since you are reading this post I assume that you can understand English, therefore I won't include it in my list. Today we are going to talk about some of the most important languages that can help you earn a lot of money.

Spanish - A romance language with around 470 million speakers is one of the best options for people looking to learn a second language. Spanish enjoys official status in 20 countries. It is the second most spoken language in the world after Chinese Mandarin. Due to its similarities to the English language, people often choose Spanish as their first foreign language.

 There are tons of jobs available to those who have a profound knowledge of Spanish. If you want to work in countries like Spain, Mexico then you must learn Spanish. Furthermore, it will also allow you to access job opportunities in Argentina.

Difficulty Level (for an English speaker) - Easy

Spoken in - Spain, Argentina, Costa Rica, Cuba etc

Chinese Mandarin - Chinese mandarin, the language of the world's second-largest economy. China is going places and so is its language. Spoken by more than a billion people this language has attracted more learners than most of the other languages of late. More countries than ever want to trade with China, and that requires some professionals who can converse in Mandarin. 

Besides that, it is also spoken in Taiwan and Singapore. Some Chinese speaking communities also exist in Malaysia, Indonesia, Mongolia, and even the USA. So if you can master Mandarin, job opportunities are plentiful. Chinese Mandarin is considered to be one of the hardest languages to learn for the English speakers but the reward is also bigger than the most.


Difficulty Level - Hard

Spoken in - China, Taiwan etc


French - The national language of France. It is spoken in many countries like Switzerland, Belgium, Canada, Cameroon, CAR to name a few. It is the 3rd most spoken language in Europe. Besides that, several African countries use French as their primary language, and with the population of these countries is expected to rise in coming years, the importance of French is only going to be stronger. 

One more thing that goes in its favor is its vocabulary, which is quite similar to the English language, making it an obvious choice for people around the world who knows English. Although the French pronunciation might be a bit difficult initially for the English language speakers, over time it can be learned.

Difficulty level - Easy

Spoken in - France, Belgium, Canada etc

German - Number 3 goes to the most spoken language in Europe, and guess what, it is not English. It is the language of Germany. This West Germanic language is widely spoken in countries like Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Liechtenstein etc. Moreover, it is also spoken to varying degrees in Denmark, Hungry, Czech Republic as well, and with Brexit around the corner, its significance will only grow. 

German is not very difficult to learn for a person who has a good knowledge of English. Having said that, it is slightly harder than French or Spanish. At the same time, it is less difficult than Chinese or Arabic.

Difficulty level - Medium

Spoken in - Germany, Austria, Switzerland etc

Arabic - With more than 300 million native speakers around the globe, Arabic is the 5th most spoken language in the world. It is used as a means of communication in countries like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, and several other countries in middle east Asia and the African continent. More and more countries are showing interest in doing business with Arabic-speaking parts of the world. Thus creating a multitude of opportunities for those capable of conversing in Arabic.

Arabic is one of the toughest languages for a native English speaker to comprehend. Different alphabets, sounds, grammar make it a hard nut to crack. Unlike French, Spanish there are hardly any similarities between English and Arabic.

Difficulty level - Hard

Spoken in - Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Egypt etc 

Japanese - Japan as a country, may not be as big China or the USA, but it is the 3rd largest economy in the world behind only the two above-mentioned giants. It manufactures everything from your favorite televisions to cars. That makes it the go-to destination for the entrepreneurs. This opens up a whole new world of chances to Japanese speakers. 

Japanese has about 130 million speakers around the world, but this number is bound to go up. With Japan possessing most of the Japanese speakers, it is also spoken in other parts of the world like the USA, Brazil, Peru, Taiwan and the Phillippines. Much like Chinese, Japanese does not come easily to an English speaker. It takes months and even years of laborious practice to learn it.

Difficulty level - Hard

Spoken in - Japan

Hindi - This one might surprise you a bit since Hindi is not even spoken throughout India, but it is the most spoken language in the country. With more than 500 million speakers, it is the 4th most spoken language in the world. It is predominantly spoken in north India. Many people assume that English is by and large understood in India but sadly that is not the case. Some educated individuals do speak it but it is not the language of the masses. 

Thus if you want to do business in the world's sixth largest economy then, Hindi is the language for you. Of course, there are several states in India where Hindi is almost non-existent, in the rest of India it is widely spoken. 

As far as the difficulty level is concerned, Hindi is neither very easy nor very tough. A different writing system is used, the grammatical pattern is also dissimilar to English. So it requires some effort on the part of the learner to learn Hindi

Difficulty level - Medium

Spoken in - India, Mauritius, Fiji etc

Russian - This is the world's eighth most spoken language. Having around 260 million speakers, it is widely spoken in Russia. Besides that, countries like Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan also have a significant Russian speaking population. Many organizations are looking to expand their businesses to these countries, in doing so they are increasing the demand of people who can communicate in Russian.

Russia, in difficulty level, is quite similar to Hindi. It is not as hard as Japanese, nor is it as easy as French. It takes more than a few months if not years to get the hang of Russian.

Difficulty level - Medium

Spoken in - Russia, Belarus etc

So these are the languages that are in high demand. It can be put down to the countries they are related to. In addition to that, there are several other languages that can be highly beneficial if chosen as a career. So now, it is time to shed this tag of being a monolingual and embark on a new language learning voyage that is going to be immensly enriching and fulfilling.

Good luck