Which is easier to learn, Spanish or French?
I have to learn both Spanish and French so I was wondering which one is easier to learn. Some people say it is easier to learn Spanish once you've learned French, so is French harder?
12 Answers
Having learned both French and Spanish, as well as Italian, and having watched my daughter learn French and Spanish, I would definitely rank them as follows: 1. Italian 2. Spanish 3. French
While each language presents its own challenges, my view is that Spanish grammar is more straightforward than French grammar. Similarly, Spanish spelling is much easier. However, personally I feel that the biggest challenge with French is pronunciation.
With regard to Spanish, the speed at which Spaniards speak can be a real challenge to English speakers. Then there are the differences between Castilian Spanish and Latin American Spanish, before we even get to any local differences, though there are, of course, regional variations and dialects even in France (and Italy, for that matter).
In truth, I love all three of these languages. I love how they sound on the ear. I love their range of expression and most of all, I love the possibility of being able to communicate with local people and to understand more about a country's history and culture, so much of which is hard-wired into the language as it has developed.
Don't worry about the difficulties and concentrate on the positives instead. Enjoy learning and relish being able to communicate with other people. Even if what you say isn't perfectly grammatically correct, the French, Spaniards (and Italians) all appreciate you making the effort to speak their languages, and will generally be very encouraging and helpful. In many areas outside the main cities, you will find that people have little or no English. At times like this, inhibitions go out the window and you will be thankful for any language skills you may have, no matter how basic.
On a final note, you will find that when you have learnt one Romance language, it makes it much easier to learn another. Although there are differences between them, there are far more similarities, given their shared linguistic roots. For instance, although I have never studied Gallego (Galician), I can understand quite a bit when I hear it, and can read it fairly easily. Therefore, there are great benefits from learning more both French and Spanish.
Hi blblbl ,I am learning the both of languages Spanish and French and I think French is much more easier than Spanish it doesn't have lots of grammar like Spanish it has clear grammar and easy to learn . 
People who have learned both say that Spanish has a reputation for being easier to learn, but that actually French is the easier of the two. Spanish has a very involved subjunctive mood, which apparently French does not have in such detail.
Nicole, you know both...what do you say? I hope you give us your experienced opinion.
Spanish! What you see is what you get. You don't need four letters to say one syllable 'Vous' or 'Plait' and the accent is soo hard.
My personal opinion.
Es cuestión de apreciación y de las destrezas personales en idiomas. La dificultad del francés radica en la variada pronunciación de los sonidos nasales y seminasales. Cuenta con muchos sonidos que suelen ser bastante cortos y casi imperceptibles pero indispensables para la comprensión del contexto.
El francés es más difícil de pronunciar y de escribir que el español. Creo entonces que el español es más fácil de aprender.
French orthography is a mess. Not as bad, certainly, as English but, nonetheless, chaotic. If you have the written form, the spoken form is easy but the converse is not true. If you know how to pronounce something, there can be a half-dozen ways to spell it.
The subjunctive is alive and well in French. To speak French properly you need to learn the subjunctive.
I am not sure which is easier, but I know that I am having more trouble with Spanish than I ever did with French, and I do not think it is simply because in French I had a one- on-one teaching, whereas I have only been doing Spanish on SD. But I have trouble speaking it , I am not normally shy or introverted but with Spanish I hang back and don"t say a word , for some reason I feel intimidated by it. 
I am French trying to learn Spanish, and I have no problem with Spanish. It seems really easy to me, whereas, when foreigners ask me questions about French gramatic rules and such things, I usually face a lot of trouble answering (well, that's my mother language, so I am not used to think about it that way anymore, but I think there are a lot of irregularities, and things for which you need some kind of "intuition" that you probably get on the field).
Good luck!
Spanish. Straightforward pronunciation and less verb endings. French has more letter sounds and harder pronunciation.
I've studied both and found Spanish much easier. The grammar is more straight forward, the spelling and conjugations are more regular, and the pronunciation (for a native English speaker) is much easier.
Both are romance languages, so they share many similiar concepts. Learning either will help you learn the other.
Kevin B.
On the plus side, English has borrowed many more words from French that from French. To compensate for that, most English speakers find French pronunciation substantially more difficult than Spanish
Also, according to many reports, the French are much less tolerant/accommodating of "bad French" than the Spanish are of "bad Spanish". My personal experience does not bear this out. My French is by no means, fluent, but I've never had problems speaking with French people. Perhaps because my pronunciation is fairly good, they overlook my grammatical mistakes (or lapses in vocabulary) but, at any rate, I've never encountered a Frenchman who simply refused to speak to me in French (including cases in which the interlocutor's English was, in point of fact, better than my French).
Spanish.
