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For an English speaker Hebrew is the easier of the two: the Foreign Service Institute puts it at 1,012 class hours against 2,200 for Arabic. On the surface their everyday vocabulary is mostly different: roughly 1 in 10 everyday words sound alike. Underneath, both build words from roots of three consonants, and many roots are shared, so the second one gets easier once you start to spot them.
For an English speaker Hebrew is the easier of the two: the Foreign Service Institute puts it at 1,012 class hours against 2,200 for Arabic. 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.
| Hebrew | Arabic | |
|---|---|---|
| FSI difficulty group | Category III | Category IV |
| Class hours to working proficiency | 1,012 | 2,200 |
| Full-time weeks | 44 | 88 |
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.
On the surface their everyday vocabulary is mostly different: roughly 1 in 10 everyday words sound alike. Underneath, both build words from roots of three consonants, and many roots are shared, so the second one gets easier once you start to spot them.
A few everyday words that sound alike in Hebrew and Arabic:
| English | Hebrew | Arabic |
|---|---|---|
| America | אמריקהamerika | أمريكاamrika |
| Italy | איטליהitalia | إيطالياitalya |
| champagne | שַׁמפַּנִיָהshampanya | شمبانياshambanya |
| Italian | אִיטַלְקִיitalki | إيطاليitali |
| lemonade | לִימוֹנָדָהlimonada | ليموناضةlimunada |
| milliliter | מיליליטרmililiter | ملليلترmilliliter |
| million | מיליוןmilyon | مليونmilyun |
| onion | בָּצָלbatsal | بصلbasal |
And a few everyday words that sound completely different:
| English | Hebrew | Arabic |
|---|---|---|
| France | צרפתtsarfat | فرنساfaransa |
| butter | חֶמאָהchem'a | زبدةzubda |
| custom | מִנְהָגminhag | عادة'ada |
| forest | יערya'ar | غابةghaba |
| juice | מִיץmits | عصير'asir |
| painter | ציירtsayar | رسامrassam |
| round | סִיבּוּבsivuv | جولةjawla |
| team | קבוצהkvutsa | فريقfariq |
| Hebrew | Arabic | |
|---|---|---|
| Writing system | Hebrew script, written right to left | Arabic script, written right to left |
| Grammatical genders | 2 (masculine, feminine) | 2 (masculine, feminine) |
| Noun cases | None | 3 in formal Arabic |
| Tones | No | No |
If your main aim is the fastest route to holding a conversation, Hebrew asks for fewer hours. 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.
For an English speaker Hebrew is the easier of the two: the Foreign Service Institute puts it at 1,012 class hours against 2,200 for Arabic. 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.
On the surface their everyday vocabulary is mostly different: roughly 1 in 10 everyday words sound alike. Underneath, both build words from roots of three consonants, and many roots are shared, so the second one gets easier once you start to spot them. They are both Semitic languages.
If your main aim is the fastest route to holding a conversation, Hebrew asks for fewer hours. 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.
No. Hebrew is written with the Hebrew script, written right to left and Arabic with the Arabic script, written right to left.
Watch Your LanguageVocabulary widgets for iPhone & Apple Watch
Watch Your Language puts Hebrew or Arabic 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.
