Struggling to choose which language to learn?
As an English speaker, you should take the simplest one.
So come along with us to find out if it’s better to learn Spanish or Russian!
About the Spanish language
Before choosing this new language you are going to learn, there are many things you should know about the Spanish language. They will make you feel familiar and close to any language, not just Spanish or Russian.
Spanish is also known as Castilian because it originated in the medieval kingdom of Castile in the Iberian Peninsula. This is the territory where Spain is located today.
It´s a language that has traveled around the world and has become an official language in more than 20 countries. This happened after the incorporation of new territories to the Crown of Castile, because of the conquest.
Spanish Language Ranking
Second place
- Most spoken native language worldwide.
Third place
- Most used language in international communications.
- World’s most literate population.
- Most used language in the production of information in the media.
- Language with the most Internet users.
Fourth place
- Most spoken language, with more than 550 million people.
Spanish-speaking places
Spanish as an official language
- Argentina
- Bolivia
- Chile
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
- Cuba
- Ecuador
- El Salvador
- Spain
- Guatemala
- Equatorial Guinea
- Honduras
- Mexico
- Nicaragua
- Panama
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Dominican Republic
- Uruguay
- Venezuela
Spanish as a non-official language
- Puerto Rico
- California
- New Mexico
- Texas
- Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
- Belize
Organizations
- United Nations
- European Union
- African Union
- Organization of American States
- Organization of Ibero-American States
- North American Free Trade Agreement
- Union of South American Nations
- Caribbean Community
- African, Caribbean, and the Pacific States
- Antarctic Treaty
- FIBA
- FIFA
- International Association of Athletics Federations
Spanish Alphabet
The Spanish alphabet is the same as the Latin alphabet. Just that in the Spanish alphabet there are 27 letters used.
a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, ñ, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, z.
Spanish Grammar
From Spanish grammar, we discover that it´s a fusional inflectional language. This means that it resorts to the use of prepositions and abstract connecting words. Through inflection, you indicate the relations between the elements of the sentences.
It´s also considered a nominative-accusative language because of how the arguments of transitive and intransitive verbs are marked. The categories of number and gender are obligatory in adjectives and nouns. Their tense form, aspect, voice, mood, singular, and plural, distinguish verbs.
About the Russian language
Surprisingly, Spanish and Russian are descendants of Indo-European languages, but from different branches. Now we will mention some interesting facts about the Russian language.
Russian History
Russian history divide into six relevant stages. Although we will only mention them, we suggest you delve deeper into them and learn more about this amazing language.
- Origins (Proto-Slavic language).
- The period of Kievan Rus (9th-11th centuries).
- The period of the Vladimir Principality (12th-14th centuries).
- The Muscovite period (15th to 17th centuries).
- The period of the Russian Empire (from the 18th century to the beginning of the 20th century).
- Soviet-era and present time (20th to 21st century).
Russian language ranking
Eighth place
- Most spoken languages worldwide
- Most spoken native language
Russian-speaking places
Although Russian is the eighth most spoken language in the world, there are many Russian-speaking places. Let’s learn a little about these places and organizations.
Russian as an official language
- Russia
- Belarus
- Kazakhstan
- Kyrgyzstan
- Uzbekistan
- Tajikistan
- Turkmenistan
Russian as a non-official language
- Armenia
- Azerbaijan
- Bulgaria
- Latvia
- Estonia
- Finland
- North Korea
- Moldova
- Georgia
- Israel
- Ukraine
- Lithuania
- Mongolia
- Norway
- Afghanistan
- Poland
- Czech Republic
- Slovakia
- Ukraine
- Moldova
- Gagauzia and Transnistria
- Romania
- Abkhazia
- South Ossetia
- Transnistria
Organizations
- UN
- Unesco
- IAEA
- WHO
- IEC
- EurAsEC
- CSTO
- CSO
- OSCE
- Antarctic Treaty Secretariat
Russian alphabet
Russian alphabet consists of 33 letters, 6 more than the Spanish alphabet. These characters are written with a modern version of the Cyrillic alphabet. This is the alphabetical table of the Russian language.
- А /a/
- Б /b/
- В/v/
- Г/g//
- Д/d/
- Е/ʲe/
- Ё/ʲo/
- Ж/ʐ/
- З/z/
- И/i/
- Й/j/
- К/k/
- Л/l/
- М/m/
- Н/n/
- О/o/
- П/p//
- Р/r/
- С/s/
- Т/t/
- У/u/
- Ф/f/
- Х/x/
- Ц/ʦ/
- Ч/ʨ/
- Ш/ʂ/
- Щ/ɕː/
- Ъ/-/
- Ы/ɨ/
- Ь/ʲ/
- Э/ɛ/
- Ю/ʲu/
- Я /ʲa/
Russian grammar
As for Russian grammar, it´s an inflectional and synthetic language. This feature seems to be a common factor in merging languages. Here are some highlights you should know.
- Highly inflectional nominal and verbal morphology.
- Vernacular origin.
- Inheritance of Russian Orthodox liturgical language.
- Western European style.
- Preserves forms characteristic of the spoken language.
- Dialects with many non-standard grammatical elements.
Spanish vs Russian
We have made a review of the most relevant features of both languages. Now let’s move on to the contrast shown by Spanish vs Russian. Being both descendants of Indo-European languages, they have not only differences but also similarities.
Differences between Spanish vs. Russian
- The number of Spanish speakers and native speakers is superior to Russian.
- While Spanish has two forms of the verb “to be” which are “ser” and “estar”. Russian does not have a present form of the verb “to be”, only past and future.
- Neither Russian nor Spanish frequently use the English letters W (Spanish) and A (Russian).
Similarities between English vs. Russian
- Official languages of several countries in Europe and America.
- Second languages in the United States, Gibraltar, and Belize.
Tips to boost your Russian or Spanish learning process
Maybe the balance of your interest is tipped towards one or the other. That is why we will give you some interesting tips to boost your Russian or Spanish learning process.
- Language immersion.
- Learn redundant codes and grammatical subtleties.
- Never give up.
- Enjoy the literature of the language of your interest.
- Learn and review grammatical explanations.
- Focus on the exciting aspects of each language and its culture.
Indescribable beauty
No matter which one you choose, Russian or Spanish, both are indescribably beautiful. If you only look at them from a linguistic point of view, you might end up getting bored. So take the most attractive elements of each culture as part of your motivation.
Remember that true beauty is not what you see. The most beautiful things are often difficult to discover. Discover your greatness by learning a second language!