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[The Eraser]

I want to be proficient in multiple languages, I think it would be a useful skill to have. This is a long-term project that I plan on keeping up with over the years. It isn't like a short term goal that by X date I need to accomplish this. I think it will make more sense looking at it that way. Why 5? Admittedly, it's arbitrary. If I ever do accomplish it, I probably won't stop at 5, especially if I'm enjoying myself or getting something out of it. If I feel like I'm not, then I may not go to 5, I'll see and play it by ear.

Good luck then

He'd be better off learning it well and so would you.

Learn it good ?

 

[Days like these...]

Good luck then

Good describes a noun, well describes a verb, adjective or an adverb. You would do well to know the difference

 

[The Eraser]

You would do well to know the difference

Nah I'm good

 

[kruis]

Honestly, I think you are setting your goals way too high. Learning one language and being fluent is a big task. You were unable to maintain Italian according to your own post. Now imagine trying to maintain multiple languages you are weak in.

I would lower your goals to two languages and tell yourself to revisit others when you have become fluent in those two. Setting your goals too high can sometimes be counterproductive and demoralizing.

Yep. I'd start with just one foreign language and ONLY when you've reached a high enough level with that first language add a second one.

I'm Dutch and I speak three other languages that were taught in school. I'm fluent in English, pretty fluent in German and my French is poor. I started learning Russian on a whim in 2019. Started with DuoLingo and "The New Penguin Russian Course: A Complete Course for Beginners ". Six months later I joined a weekly evening class teaching Russian for a year or so.

It's now 2025 and I would rate my knowledge of Russian at the lower end of B2 at most. I can read Russian newspapers, but I still lack the vocabulary to comfortably read short stories or novels in Russian. I still have to look up tons of words.

I listen to a number of Russian language podcasts at B1/B2/C1 level every week and I'm a fan of Russian pop/rock music (enjoy singing along while studying the lyrics), that's how I slowly work my way to higher proficiency. That's just learning ONE language after six years. If I'd tackled three languages at the same time, I'm sure I'd given up after a year and all that effort would have been completely wasted.

 

[Days like these...]

Nah I'm good

Very well then, wallow in the trough that is ignorance

 

[The Lunch Legend]

My English grammar is gooder then yours.

Edit - I had to correct some grammatical mistakes.

 

[Days like these...]

My English grammar is gooder that yours

You prolly don't even talk good

 

[The Eraser]

Very well then, wallow in the trough that is ignorance

I will, thank you

 

[squeakywheel]

I'm doing something similar (learning Korean/Japanese/relearning French/Italian/Spanish). The reading/writing is the hardest thing for Korean/Japanese. My brain couldn't do both at once so I dropped Korean for now until I learn Japanese. Anki decks are crucial as are time and discipline. I'm spending about 30 min on Japanese and 15-30 on the other languages since they're similar (focus is on Spanish). Slow going but my ADHD brain is adapting and learning.

 

[N0S]

I want to work on my German. Maybe some French and a lil bit of Spanish or Portuguese....

Spoiler

 

[Days like these...]

Since this has basically turned into a free for all language thread for the life of me I cant hear the difference between ш and щ in русский

 

[kruis]

Since this has basically turned into a free for all language thread for the life of me I cant hear the difference between ш and щ in русский

This is a pretty good explanation.

 

[Days like these...]

I see щ as a longer form of ш with a slight bump/hesitation/micropause in the middle of that sound. It's easy to conceptualize this when you see the щ in the middle of a word. Just pronounce that word as if it had two consecutive ш sounds.

So it's sh and shhh? I can hear it after the video. I've subscribed. Thanks!

 

[kruis]

So it's sh and shhh? I can hear it after the video. I've subscribed. Thanks!

There's also a pronunciation difference that another video explained better. So I replaced the original video. But perhaps I should include both.

 

[Gp1]

Good luck If you think that the Cyrillic alphabet is you main problem... wait until you see the cases table, declinations and inflections.
Props to the guy that learned Polish, Polish from what i heard is like Russian hard version.

My advice would be start with something close to a language that you are fluent. I know that you value the entire Japanese culture etc. but do not underestimate how hard it is to learn a language as an adult.

English? Go Dutch (easy and simple grammar/structure with many English cognates), Nordic languages (Swedish or Norwegian) or German (the "same" as Dutch but the structure is way more complex)

Fluent in Spanish? Go with Portuguese, Italian, French etc.

 

[kruis]

Good luck If you think that the Cyrillic alphabet is you main problem... wait until you see the cases table, declinations and inflections.
Props to the guy that learned Polish, Polish from what i heard is like Russian hard version.

My advice would be start with something close to a language that you are fluent. I know that you value the entire Japanese culture etc. but do not underestimate how hard it is to learn a language as an adult.

English? Go Dutch (easy and simple grammar/structure with many English cognates), Nordic languages (Swedish or Norwegian) or German (the "same" as Dutch but the structure is way more complex)

Fluent in Spanish? Go with Portuguese, Italian, French etc.

There's no point in learning an "easy" language if you're not interested in that culture as well. Why spend hundreds of hours learning Dutch if you really have no interest in reading books by Dutch authors in their native language, listening to Dutch songs and watching Dutch tv shows.

Learning a new language is much easier if you're already "hooked" into one or more aspects of that culture. Perhaps you want to bond with distant relatives? Speak with friends or colleagues in their native language? Perhaps you want to learn a new language so you can enjoy books, movies or tv shows that would otherwise be off limits to you? You need a strong motivation to help you stick with learning a new language, otherwise you're going to fail.

 

[touchfuzzy]

What was your last major hobby/project

 

[Gp1]

There's no point in learning an "easy" language if you're not interested in that culture as well. Why spend hundreds of hours learning Dutch if you really have no interest in reading books by Dutch authors in their native language, listening to Dutch songs and watching Dutch tv shows.

Learning a new language is much easier if you're already "hooked" into one or more aspects of that culture. Perhaps you want to bond with distant relatives? Speak with friends or colleagues in their native language? Perhaps you want to learn a new language so you can enjoy books, movies or tv shows that would otherwise be off limits to you? You need a strong motivation to help you stick with learning a new language, otherwise you're going to fail.

It was an example. Of course you're going for something that you are, at least mildly interested with.

 

[Tams]

There's no point in learning an "easy" language if you're not interested in that culture as well. Why spend hundreds of hours learning Dutch if you really have no interest in reading books by Dutch authors in their native language, listening to Dutch songs and watching Dutch tv shows.

Learning a new language is much easier if you're already "hooked" into one or more aspects of that culture. Perhaps you want to bond with distant relatives? Speak with friends or colleagues in their native language? Perhaps you want to learn a new language so you can enjoy books, movies or tv shows that would otherwise be off limits to you? You need a strong motivation to help you stick with learning a new language, otherwise you're going to fail.

A lot of this really depends on why you are learning a language and how you best learn.

Some people do just like the challenge of learning a language. Some like the grammar and going through verb declension table is their idea of a good Friday night in.

That said, most people probably are learning a language to enjoy a certain culture, and for that immersive learning is great.

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

I'd have a go at a natural language conversation style app like -Talkpal. Seems to be a better everyday approach to learning a language, verbally at least.

Also as a curveball how about a programming language? Shit literally changes the way you think.

 

[dsp]

Wouldn't it be a bit easier... a lot easier to stick to languages that fall within the same family or at least have something, ANYTHING, in common? I don't say this to deter you but the languages you've picked are all very difficult and Russian has nothing even remotely in common with the other two, afaik. I don't know anything about Japanese or Mandarin but, after looking through Wikipedia, at least Japanese uses a lot of loan words from Chinese which, I imagine, will make it a somewhat easier to understand the two when you start to dig into etymology for a broader understanding. The point is, I think you should scratch either Russian or Japanese AND Mandarin from your list. Learning both Mandarin and Japanese will take a long time (lifetime) but at least there's something in common between the two (loanwords, beyond that I have no idea if there's anything in common at all) even if it's small... Unfortunately I imagine (because I genuinely have no idea) that the similarities between Japanese and Chinese are about as close as Russian is to English so... good luck! but at least there's SOME relationship, something that might reinforce your knowledge of one language with the other, no matter how small.

If you said to me that you were wanting to learn 5 different Romance languages then I'd say go for it because that's absolutely a doable thing. At that point the hardest thing you're going to face is having an acceptable accent in all 5. I don't really speak any of those languages but you could show me the title of some scientific paper written in Italian and I could probably decipher most of it just because of how ingrained Latin is in English and the sciences... in that sense of learning, you're just taking some existing linguistic foundation, strengthening its roots and creating new branches instead of trying to plant some entirely new and foreign tree.

English? Go Dutch (easy and simple grammar/structure with many English cognates), Nordic languages (Swedish or Norwegian) or German (the "same" as Dutch but the structure is way more complex)

English is such a strange bastardized language. I was watching some videos on Dutch grammar and the lady said werkwoorden to mean verbs and it really just angered me that we don't have or use so many compound words like werkwoorden when teaching grammar in English. How much easier would it be for a child to understand workwords over verbs? Simple words with a prefix and suffix that already have some real associations inside a child's mind.

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

You'll definitely need some excuse to also speak the languages, because speaking is a whole different skillset then just passively translating.

 

[kruis]

Wouldn't it be a bit easier... a lot easier to stick to languages that fall within the same family or at least have something, ANYTHING, in common? I don't say this to deter you but the languages you've picked are all very difficult and Russian has nothing even remotely in common with the other two, afaik. I don't know anything about Japanese or Mandarin but, after looking through Wikipedia, at least Japanese uses a lot of loan words from Chinese which, I imagine, will make it a somewhat easier to understand the two when you start to dig into etymology for a broader understanding. The point is, I think you should scratch either Russian or Japanese AND Mandarin from your list. Learning both Mandarin and Japanese will take a long time (lifetime) but at least there's something in common between the two (loanwords, beyond that I have no idea if there's anything in common at all) even if it's small... Unfortunately I imagine (because I genuinely have no idea) that the similarities between Japanese and Chinese are about as close as Russian is to English so... good luck! but at least there's SOME relationship, something that might reinforce your knowledge of one language with the other, no matter how small.

Russian has hundreds of loanwords from English and there are many more cognates because of the thousands of words borrowed from other European languages like French and German.

Here's a list of 100 words I let ChatGPT generate, but there are many, many more.

Technology & Internet

#	Russian Loanword	English Source
1	Компьютер	Computer
2	Файл	File
3	Блог	Blog
4	Сайт	Site
5	Сервер	Server
6	Интернет	Internet
7	Принтер	Printer
8	Сканер	Scanner
9	Модем	Modem
10	Чат	Chat
11	Лайк	Like
12	Пост	Post
13	Хакер	Hacker
14	Гаджет	Gadget
15	Софт	Software
16	Юзер	User
17	Апгрейд	Upgrade
18	Драйвер	Driver
19	Флешка	Flash drive
20	Клик	Click

---

Business & Work

#	Russian Loanword	English Source
21	Маркетинг	Marketing
22	Менеджер	Manager
23	Бизнес	Business
24	Офис	Office
25	Стартап	Startup
26	Финансы	Finance
27	Инвестор	Investor
28	Бренд	Brand
29	Дистрибьютор	Distributor
30	Фрилансер	Freelancer
31	Консалтинг	Consulting
32	Лизинг	Leasing
33	Партнёр	Partner
34	Ресурс	Resource
35	Сервис	Service
36	Тренинг	Training
37	Фактор	Factor
38	Фонд	Fund
39	Холдинг	Holding
40	Брейншторм	Brainstorm

---

Sports & Fitness

#	Russian Loanword	English Source
41	Футбол	Football
42	Баскетбол	Basketball
43	Теннис	Tennis
44	Хоккей	Hockey
45	Фитнес	Fitness
46	Тренер	Trainer
47	Спорт	Sport
48	Боди-билдинг	Bodybuilding
49	Матч	Match
50	Рекорд	Record
51	Стадион	Stadium
52	Фанат	Fan
53	Чемпион	Champion
54	Лига	League

---

Media & Pop Culture

#	Russian Loanword	English Source
55	Реалити	Reality
56	Ток-шоу	Talk show
57	Кастинг	Casting
58	Клип	Clip
59	Фильм	Film
60	Саундтрек	Soundtrack
61	Сериал	Series
62	Трейлер	Trailer
63	Шоу	Show
64	Фан-клуб	Fan club
65	Бестселлер	Bestseller
66	Ремейк	Remake
67	Хит	Hit
68	Поп	Pop
69	Диджей	DJ
70	Сингл	Single
71	Подкаст	Podcast
72	Косплей	Cosplay
73	Медиа	Media

---

Fashion & Lifestyle

#	Russian Loanword	English Source
74	Тренд	Trend
75	Лук	Look
76	Фэшн	Fashion
77	Шопинг	Shopping
78	Бутик	Boutique
79	Дресс-код	Dress code
80	Аутфит	Outfit
81	Стайл	Style
82	Дизайнер	Designer
83	Топ	Top
84	Джинсы	Jeans
85	Легинсы	Leggings
86	Фидбек	Feedback
87	Лайфхак	Life hack

---

Slang & Everyday Speech

#	Russian Loanword	English Source
88	Окей	Okay
89	Краш	Crush
90	Фейк	Fake
91	Хейт	Hate
92	Хайп	Hype
93	Фан	Fun
94	Кейс	Case
95	Рофл	ROFL
96	Флексить	To flex
97	Челлендж	Challenge
98	Митап	Meetup
99	Блогер	Blogger
100	Инфлюенсер	Influencer

---

 

[Neolombax]

Good for you OP. Mandarin is a good choice.

 

[pachura]

Good for you OP. Mandarin is a good choice.

Especially that it is a tonal languge

 

[jufonuk]

I've been looking for a new hobby or obsession to sink my teeth into. I'm someone who doesn't have a ton of hobbies, but when I find one, I become really into it. My next one is I want to learn 5 languages. I've decided on 3 of them and they seem to be among the harder languages to master, Japanese, Chinese, Russian. Yes, I know there are different dialects and forms of the Chinese language. I'm thinking Mandarin. I haven't figured out the other 2 of the 5 just yet. I'm going to do one at a time, so I have time to figure out the other two.. I also don't know if I plan on completely mastering them. I think that's hard to do without living within those cultures and being surrounded by people speaking it everyday and having to use it everyday. But basically I want to get to a level with 5 languages where I can have a lengthy conversation with people, and read and generally understand the language. I decided to do this because I think it'll be a fun challenge to take on and I also think it's a valuable skill to have for a variety of reasons.

Any general tips to accomplish this are welcome. I plan to start with language learning software, but not sure which one. I really don't want to pay for it if I don't have to. Also different ones have different languages and methods, and apparently free ones work pretty well.

Good luck

Benny Lewis might be a good person to check out.

You will definitely need classes.

 

[Days like these...]

Russian has hundreds of loanwords from English and there are many more cognates because of the thousands of words borrowed from other European languages like French and German.

Here's a list of 100 words I let ChatGPT generate, but there are many, many more.

Technology & Internet

#	Russian Loanword	English Source
1	Компьютер	Computer
2	Файл	File
3	Блог	Blog
4	Сайт	Site
5	Сервер	Server
6	Интернет	Internet
7	Принтер	Printer
8	Сканер	Scanner
9	Модем	Modem
10	Чат	Chat
11	Лайк	Like
12	Пост	Post
13	Хакер	Hacker
14	Гаджет	Gadget
15	Софт	Software
16	Юзер	User
17	Апгрейд	Upgrade
18	Драйвер	Driver
19	Флешка	Flash drive
20	Клик	Click

---

Business & Work

#	Russian Loanword	English Source
21	Маркетинг	Marketing
22	Менеджер	Manager
23	Бизнес	Business
24	Офис	Office
25	Стартап	Startup
26	Финансы	Finance
27	Инвестор	Investor
28	Бренд	Brand
29	Дистрибьютор	Distributor
30	Фрилансер	Freelancer
31	Консалтинг	Consulting
32	Лизинг	Leasing
33	Партнёр	Partner
34	Ресурс	Resource
35	Сервис	Service
36	Тренинг	Training
37	Фактор	Factor
38	Фонд	Fund
39	Холдинг	Holding
40	Брейншторм	Brainstorm

---

Sports & Fitness

#	Russian Loanword	English Source
41	Футбол	Football
42	Баскетбол	Basketball
43	Теннис	Tennis
44	Хоккей	Hockey
45	Фитнес	Fitness
46	Тренер	Trainer
47	Спорт	Sport
48	Боди-билдинг	Bodybuilding
49	Матч	Match
50	Рекорд	Record
51	Стадион	Stadium
52	Фанат	Fan
53	Чемпион	Champion
54	Лига	League

---

Media & Pop Culture

#	Russian Loanword	English Source
55	Реалити	Reality
56	Ток-шоу	Talk show
57	Кастинг	Casting
58	Клип	Clip
59	Фильм	Film
60	Саундтрек	Soundtrack
61	Сериал	Series
62	Трейлер	Trailer
63	Шоу	Show
64	Фан-клуб	Fan club
65	Бестселлер	Bestseller
66	Ремейк	Remake
67	Хит	Hit
68	Поп	Pop
69	Диджей	DJ
70	Сингл	Single
71	Подкаст	Podcast
72	Косплей	Cosplay
73	Медиа	Media

---

Fashion & Lifestyle

#	Russian Loanword	English Source
74	Тренд	Trend
75	Лук	Look
76	Фэшн	Fashion
77	Шопинг	Shopping
78	Бутик	Boutique
79	Дресс-код	Dress code
80	Аутфит	Outfit
81	Стайл	Style
82	Дизайнер	Designer
83	Топ	Top
84	Джинсы	Jeans
85	Легинсы	Leggings
86	Фидбек	Feedback
87	Лайфхак	Life hack

---

Slang & Everyday Speech

#	Russian Loanword	English Source
88	Окей	Okay
89	Краш	Crush
90	Фейк	Fake
91	Хейт	Hate
92	Хайп	Hype
93	Фан	Fun
94	Кейс	Case
95	Рофл	ROFL
96	Флексить	To flex
97	Челлендж	Challenge
98	Митап	Meetup
99	Блогер	Blogger
100	Инфлюенсер	Influencer

---

Seems like the Russian vocabulary needs more words. Ручка is an example that comes to mind.

 

[AJUMP23]

You should let us choose your hobby/project.

I want you to learn to build.

 

[cormack12]

That's easy op, I already learned

English
Australian
American
Jamaican

Just one more.

 

[N0S]

Canadian

 

[DragoonKain]

Watashi no namae wa DragoonKain desu. Chokoretu to mizu ga suki desu.

 

[p_xavier]

I can't even speak one properly... good luck.

 

[Cfh123]

Being able to read Tolstoy in the original Russian would be awesome.

I started learning Japanese a few months ago. It will take me years to acquire any level of proficiency. But it's fun learning a new language!