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For an English speaker the two sit in the same difficulty group, so neither is officially easier: the Foreign Service Institute puts both at 1,012 class hours. A good share of their everyday vocabulary is shared: roughly 4 in 10 everyday words look alike, so many Czech words will feel familiar if you know Polish, though plenty will not.
For an English speaker the two sit in the same difficulty group, so neither is officially easier: the Foreign Service Institute puts both at 1,012 class hours. These are the figures behind the how long does it take to learn a language calculator, from the US Foreign Service Institute's published language training times.
| Czech | Polish | |
|---|---|---|
| FSI difficulty group | Category III | Category III |
| Class hours to working proficiency | 1,012 | 1,012 |
| Full-time weeks | 44 | 44 |
The hours are for a native English speaker in full-time classes aiming at professional working proficiency. Useful everyday conversation comes sooner, and the calculator breaks the time down by level.
A good share of their everyday vocabulary is shared: roughly 4 in 10 everyday words look alike, so many Czech words will feel familiar if you know Polish, though plenty will not.
A few everyday words that look alike in Czech and Polish:
| English | Czech | Polish |
|---|---|---|
| America | Amerika | Ameryka |
| centimeter | centimetr | centymetr |
| continent | kontinent | kontynent |
| creamy | krémový | kremowy |
| family | rodina | rodzina |
| material | materiál | materiał |
| mayonnaise | majonéza | majonez |
| pyramid | pyramida | piramida |
And a few everyday words that look completely different:
| English | Czech | Polish |
|---|---|---|
| Italy | Itálie | Włochy |
| biscuit | sušenka | herbatnik |
| to cook | vařit | przyrządzać |
| egg | vejce | jajko |
| hit | odpálit | uderzać |
| neck | krk | szyja |
| scientist | vědec | naukowiec |
| team | tým | drużyna |
| Czech | Polish | |
|---|---|---|
| Writing system | Latin alphabet | Latin alphabet |
| Grammatical genders | 3 (masculine, feminine, neuter) | 3 (masculine, feminine, neuter) |
| Noun cases | 7 | 7 |
| Tones | No | No |
Study time will not decide this one, because the two ask for about the same. If you want to reach a particular place, a person or a job, start with the one you will actually use: steady motivation counts for more than the difference in hours. Because they share so much, you do not need to pick one forever. Learning one first makes the other noticeably quicker, and the main risk is mixing the two up, so give the first a solid base before starting the second.
For an English speaker the two sit in the same difficulty group, so neither is officially easier: the Foreign Service Institute puts both at 1,012 class hours. Hours are for a native English speaker reaching professional working proficiency in full-time classes; casual learning gets you to useful conversation well before that.
A good share of their everyday vocabulary is shared: roughly 4 in 10 everyday words look alike, so many Czech words will feel familiar if you know Polish, though plenty will not. They are both Slavic languages.
Study time will not decide this one, because the two ask for about the same. If you want to reach a particular place, a person or a job, start with the one you will actually use: steady motivation counts for more than the difference in hours. Because they share so much, you do not need to pick one forever. Learning one first makes the other noticeably quicker, and the main risk is mixing the two up, so give the first a solid base before starting the second.
Watch Your LanguageVocabulary widgets for iPhone & Apple Watch
Watch Your Language puts Czech or Polish words in a widget on your iPhone Lock Screen and on your Apple Watch face, and brings back the ones you keep forgetting, so the practice carries on every time you check the time.
