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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. Their everyday vocabulary is close: roughly 8 in 10 everyday words look alike, so learning one gives you a real head start on the other.
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.
| Slovak | Czech | |
|---|---|---|
| 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.
Their everyday vocabulary is close: roughly 8 in 10 everyday words look alike, so learning one gives you a real head start on the other.
A few everyday words that look alike in Slovak and Czech:
| English | Slovak | Czech |
|---|---|---|
| French | francúzsky | francouzský |
| Spain | Španielsko | Španělsko |
| adventure | dobrodružstvo | dobrodružství |
| birthday | narodeniny | narozeniny |
| centimeter | centimeter | centimetr |
| double | dvojnásobok | dvojnásobek |
| octopus | chobotnica | chobotnice |
| photography | fotografovanie | fotografování |
And a few everyday words that look completely different:
| English | Slovak | Czech |
|---|---|---|
| angry | nahnevaný | rozzlobený |
| bottle | fľaša | lahev |
| chair | stolička | židle |
| donut | šiška | kobliha |
| glass | pohár | sklenice |
| many | veľa | mnoho |
| vrecko | kapsa | |
| room | izba | místnost |
| Slovak | Czech | |
|---|---|---|
| Writing system | Latin alphabet | Latin alphabet |
| Grammatical genders | 3 (masculine, feminine, neuter) | 3 (masculine, feminine, neuter) |
| Noun cases | 6 | 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.
Their everyday vocabulary is close: roughly 8 in 10 everyday words look alike, so learning one gives you a real head start on the other. 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.
Some can, to a degree, but it varies a lot from person to person and with practice. Written text is usually easier to follow than fast speech.
Watch Your LanguageVocabulary widgets for iPhone & Apple Watch
Watch Your Language puts Slovak or Czech 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.
