The 10 Most Commonly Spoken Languages Around the World

There are almost 7,000 different languages spoken throughout the world, some with just a handful of speakers and some with hundreds of millions. In fact it is estimated that 94% of languages are spoken by just 6% of the world’s population, meaning there are a small number of languages spoken by millions of people and many languages each spoken by just a few. So which are the world’s most commonly spoken languages, where are they spoken and what is it that makes them so popular?

1. Mandarin

With estimates ranging between 845 million and a billion speakers, Mandarin Chinese is without a doubt the language spoken most across the world. Mandarin is the official spoken language of the People’s Republic of China and its origins can be dated back thousands of years to Early Chinese.

With the 20th century popularity in migration from China to countries such as America, Australia, Canada and the UK, Mandarin was spread across the globe, successfully retaining its usage amongst migrant settlers and their children. “Ni hao” is how you would say hello in China, while “my name is” would be “wo jiao”, “thank you” is “xie xie” and “goodbye” is “ziajian”.

2. Spanish

Next on the list is Spanish, with over 358 million native speakers and well over 400 million speakers in total. Modern Spanish first began to develop in 15th century Spain, but was spread across the world with the colonization efforts of Spanish conquistadors. It now has official status in 25 countries, with Mexico boasting the most native speakers. To greet someone in Spanish we say “hola”, whereas to say goodbye we would say “adios”. “My name is” in Spanish translates to “mi nombre es” and “thank you” is “gracias”.

3. English

With an estimated 330 million speakers, English is the world’s next most common language. English has a fascinating history and finds its present form thanks to contributions from Germanic, Romantic, Scandinavian, African and Asian languages. Like Spanish, English was spread throughout the globe with British colonization efforts and is now the official language of many countries including America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, as well as the United Kingdom.

4. Hindi-Urdu

After English, it is believed that Hindi-Urdu is the next most widely spoken language, with approximately 242 million speakers across the globe. Dating back from the 13th century, this language actually has two official forms, Hindi – the official language of India – and Urdu – the official language of Pakistan. The two languages are very similar, although they are written using different alphabets. “Hello” is “namaste”, “goodbye” is “namaskar”, “mera nam …….. hai” is “my name is” and “thank you” is “dhanyavad”. Like English, however, Hindi-Urdu is subject to a wide variety of regional variations.

5. Arabic

Arabic, a Central Semitic language similar to Hebrew, is next on the list of world’s most commonly spoken languages, with approximately just over 220 million speakers. Arabic has very close ties with the Islamic holy book – the Quran – and is spoken predominantly in Islamic countries.

Arabic is the official language of 26 different nations, including much of the North of Africa and the Middle East. In order to say “hello” in Arabic you should say “marhaba” and to introduce yourself to someone you would say “ana Ismi” followed by your name. To thank someone for something you would say “shukran” and to bid someone farewell you say “ma`a as-salaamah”.

6. Bengali

After Arabic, Bengali is thought to be the world’s next most widely spoken language, boasting around 180 million speakers across the globe. Like Hindi-Urdu, Bengali belongs to the Indo-Aryn family of languages, with the majority of native speakers living in Bangladesh and the Indian states of Assam, West Bengal and Tripura. There are also many Bengali speakers living in Australia, Europe and North America. “Hello” in Bengali is “nomaashkaar”, whereas saying goodbye is “khudaa hafiz”. To tell someone what your name is in Bengali you should say “amar nam” and to thank them you should say “dhonnobad”.

7. Portuguese

With just less than 180 million speakers across the world, Portuguese is thought to come just behind Bengali in terms of the most commonly spoken languages. Just like Spanish and other languages belonging to the Romance family (such as Italian and French), the Portuguese language is a descendant of Latin, though modern Portuguese has a much harsher sound than its Romantic counterparts.

As with English and Spanish, Portuguese was spread by traveling colonialists hundreds of years ago and so despite finding its home in Portugal, it is now most widely spoken in Brazil, as well as being spoken in a number of African countries. You say “olá” to say hello to someone in Portuguese and “adeus” to say goodbye. “Obrigado” is Portuguese for “thank you”, whereas “Meu nome é” is how to tell someone your name.

8. Russian

There are around 150 million Russian speakers in the world, making Russian the world’s next most commonly spoken language. Russian is a Slavic language and unlike many of the other languages in this list, the vast majority of its speakers actually reside its country of origin – Russia – making it the most widely spread native tongue in Europe.

Russian is also used by many of those living in countries surrounding Russia and those that were once part of the former USSR. “Hello” in Russian is “Zdravstvujte”, “goodbye” is “Do svidanija”, “my name is” is “Men’a zovut” and “thank you” is “Spasiba”.

9. Japanese

With somewhere in the region of 130 million speakers, Japanese follows Russian in terms of most widely spoken languages across the globe. Most of the language’s speakers do actually live in Japan, although there are strong migrant communities – particularly in America and Australia – where Japanese is also spoken. Interestingly, Japanese is written using Chinese characters (called kanji), as well as modified versions of the Chinese script. “Konichiwa” is Japanese for “hello”, “sayonara” is “goodbye”, and “arigato” is “thank you”.

10. German

Finally, the tenth most commonly spoken of all the world’s languages is thought to be German, with an estimated 90 million speakers. The majority of German speakers live in Germany, however German is also an officially recognized language in Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

As well as these countries, German is also spoken in parts of Luxembourg, Northern Italy, Belgium, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Russia, Africa and South America thanks to colonialism and migration. There are also 5 million German speakers in the US. German for “hello” is “hallo” or “guten Tag”, goodbye is “aufwiedersehen”, “danke schön” is “thank you” and “mein name ist” is German for “my name is”.

This was a guest post written by TravelSupermarket, a travel comparison site who have great deals available on holidays, flights, hotels, car hire and everything else travel related.