Free Language Tool
Select your native language and instantly see the similarity score, vocabulary overlap, estimated learning time, cognates, and key challenges.
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See similarity scores, FSI hours, cognates, and personalised learning tips for 14 languages.
The similarity score is based on a combination of lexical similarity data (primarily from Ethnologue and the ASJP database), structural typological overlap, and FSI difficulty classifications. It reflects both vocabulary overlap and grammatical/phonological distance. A score of 89 (Spanish) means the languages share approximately 89% of core vocabulary via the Swadesh 200-word list methodology.
FSI hours refer to the US Foreign Service Institute's estimate of how long it takes a native English speaker to reach professional working proficiency (roughly B2–C1 CEFR) in a given language. For speakers of other native languages, these numbers shift significantly — a Spanish speaker needs far fewer hours to reach Portuguese B2 than an English speaker does.
On paper, Spanish and Portuguese have nearly identical FSI ratings (both Category I, ~600 hours). In practice, English speakers often find Portuguese harder because European Portuguese has heavy vowel reduction and many consonant clusters that don't appear in Spanish or English. Brazilian Portuguese is generally considered easier for English speakers to understand aurally.
Significantly. Spanish speakers can reach conversational fluency in 3–6 months of daily study. English speakers typically need 12–18 months for the same level. Mandarin or Japanese speakers may need 2–3 years. Using a spaced repetition and mnemonic system like Loci narrows this gap by making vocabulary acquisition dramatically faster regardless of your starting language.