French or German? which is more useful and appealing?

Question

I need to learn French or German for Grad school... which language is more useful? more people speaking it? more appealing? easier to learn for an English speaking person? Easier to achieve reading knowledge? thanks!

Answer 1

French is spoken by around 300 million people, German by around 100 million.

French grammar is probably a lot easier to learn than German and most people prefer the sound of French over German. However, I have known people who thought German was easier to learn even than English, so I guess it also depends on what language suits you.

Which language is more useful depends on what you want to do with it. If you are interested in specializing in an area such as religious studies and philosophy (and probably other subjects as well) German is usually recommended if not required. The same might be true in other subjects for French.

Answer 2

French is more appealing since it flows and everything, while German doesn't. A lot of people think German sounds very "harsh" or "anrgy" even though I don't hear it.

French is more useful since there are many countries that either speak French as it's official language, or many people in that country speak French for whatever reason.

For an English speaking person, I think French is easier to learn, since:
1) Even though nouns in French have 2 genders, in German they can have 3.
2) There are many French words that are either spelled the same as English words, or they are very similar to English words. (But this is also somewhat true for German.)

I don't know which is easier to achieve reading knowledge, sorry. :( My guess is French though.

Hope this helps!

Answer 3

I take French, but I have a friend who has been taking German for 9 years and French for 4 years. She says she learnt French faster, because the rules are a little more similar to English that German.
French, to me, is more appealing. The sound is much more pleasant.
As for usefulness, they are probably equally useful, as there are words in the english language that derive from both of those.
I also enjoy French film and music much more than German music...if that affects the way you feel.
French is more commonly spoken than German, but only by a little.

Answer 4

French Is Easier And More Useful

Answer 5

French, it's cool and easy to learn and easy to pronounce than German. And French is widely known than German.

Answer 6

French has some difficult sounds and if you don't pronounce them perfectly, many French people will pretend they don't understand you. I understand this occurs most frequently in and around the city of Paris.

Answer 7

French,
i learned both.
and i have learned that in any business learning Spanish and French is very useful!
French is more sexy and German sounds like a bunch of Hubbabaloo

Answer 8

I would prefer German