Hindi vs Bengali: Which Is Easier, and How Similar Are They?

Key takeaways

• Hindi and Bengali are in the same Foreign Service Institute difficulty group (Category III).
• A good share of their everyday vocabulary is shared: roughly 4 in 10 everyday words are recognisably the same word, so many Hindi words will feel familiar if you know Bengali, though plenty will not.
• Study time will not decide it, so start with the one you will actually use.

How hard is each one?

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.

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.

How much do the words overlap?

A good share of their everyday vocabulary is shared: roughly 4 in 10 everyday words are recognisably the same word, so many Hindi words will feel familiar if you know Bengali, though plenty will not.

A few everyday words that are recognisably the same word in Hindi and Bengali:

And a few everyday words that are different words altogether:

Writing system and grammar

• The writing systems differ: Hindi uses Devanagari and Bengali uses the Bengali script.

Which should you learn first?

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.

Frequently asked questions

Is Hindi easier than Bengali?

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.

How similar are Hindi and Bengali?

A good share of their everyday vocabulary is shared: roughly 4 in 10 everyday words are recognisably the same word, so many Hindi words will feel familiar if you know Bengali, though plenty will not. They are both Indo-Aryan languages.

Should I learn Hindi or Bengali first?

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.

Do Hindi and Bengali use the same alphabet?

No. Hindi is written with Devanagari and Bengali with the Bengali script.

Keep going

• How long does it take to learn Hindi?
• Hindi vocabulary test
• How long does it take to learn Bengali?
• Bengali vocabulary test
• Reading Devanagari Before You Speak Hindi

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