“Hard” is usually asserted rather than measured. This page takes a narrower, checkable question instead: how structurally far is each language from English? Three factors, each derived from the language's own description, each shown so you can disagree with the weighting.
The short version: a language written in a different script, from an unrelated family, with a different word order is about as far from English as it gets. 35 languages score the maximum 5 of 5.
Score 5 of 5 — 35 languages
Different script, unrelated family, different word order.
| Language | Writing system | Family | Word order | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arabic | Arabic (right-to-left) | Afro-Asiatic | verb-subject-object (VSO) | 5/5 Furthest |
| Japanese | Japanese kana and kanji | Japonic | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 5/5 Furthest |
| Telugu | Telugu | Dravidian | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 5/5 Furthest |
| Tamil | Tamil | Dravidian | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 5/5 Furthest |
| Egyptian Arabic | Arabic (right-to-left) | Afro-Asiatic | verb-subject-object (VSO) | 5/5 Furthest |
| Kannada | Kannada | Dravidian | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 5/5 Furthest |
| Malayalam | Malayalam | Dravidian | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 5/5 Furthest |
| Amharic | Ge'ez | Afro-Asiatic | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 5/5 Furthest |
| Myanmar Burmese | Burmese | Sino-Tibetan | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 5/5 Furthest |
| Azerbaijani | Arabic (right-to-left) | Turkic | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 5/5 Furthest |
| Kazakh | Cyrillic | Turkic | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 5/5 Furthest |
| Uyghur | Arabic (right-to-left) | Turkic | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 5/5 Furthest |
| Hebrew | Hebrew (right-to-left) | Afro-Asiatic | verb-subject-object (VSO) | 5/5 Furthest |
| Tigrinya | Ge'ez | Afro-Asiatic | verb-subject-object (VSO) | 5/5 Furthest |
| Mongolian | Cyrillic | Mongolic | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 5/5 Furthest |
| Kyrgyz | Arabic (right-to-left) | Turkic | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 5/5 Furthest |
| Tatar | Cyrillic | Turkic | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 5/5 Furthest |
| Tulu | Kannada | Dravidian | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 5/5 Furthest |
| Meiteilon Manipuri | Bengali | Sino-Tibetan | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 5/5 Furthest |
| Bashkir | Cyrillic | Turkic | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 5/5 Furthest |
| Chechen | Arabic (right-to-left) | Northeast Caucasian | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 5/5 Furthest |
| Afar | Ge'ez | Afro-Asiatic | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 5/5 Furthest |
| Chuvash | Cyrillic | Turkic | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 5/5 Furthest |
| Tibetan | Tibetan | Sino-Tibetan | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 5/5 Furthest |
| Abkhaz | Cyrillic | Northwest Caucasian | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 5/5 Furthest |
| Avar | Cyrillic | Northeast Caucasian | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 5/5 Furthest |
| Buryat | Cyrillic | Mongolic | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 5/5 Furthest |
| Crimean Tatar | Arabic (right-to-left) | Turkic | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 5/5 Furthest |
| Dzongkha | Tibetan | Sino-Tibetan | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 5/5 Furthest |
| Komi | Cyrillic | Uralic | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 5/5 Furthest |
| Meadow Mari | Cyrillic | Uralic | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 5/5 Furthest |
| Nepalbhasa Newari | Devanagari | Sino-Tibetan | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 5/5 Furthest |
| Tuvan | Cyrillic | Turkic | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 5/5 Furthest |
| Udmurt | Cyrillic | Uralic | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 5/5 Furthest |
| Yakut | Cyrillic | Turkic | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 5/5 Furthest |
Score 4 of 5 — 34 languages
Two of the three factors differ strongly from English.
| Language | Writing system | Family | Word order | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hindi | Devanagari | Indo-European | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 4/5 Very distant |
| Bengali | Bengali | Indo-European | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 4/5 Very distant |
| Urdu | Arabic (right-to-left) | Indo-European | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 4/5 Very distant |
| Persian | Arabic (right-to-left) | Indo-European | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 4/5 Very distant |
| Cantonese | Chinese characters | Sino-Tibetan | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 4/5 Very distant |
| Marathi | Devanagari | Indo-European | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 4/5 Very distant |
| Hausa | Arabic (right-to-left) | Afro-Asiatic | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 4/5 Very distant |
| Thai | Thai | Kra-Dai | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 4/5 Very distant |
| Pashto | Arabic (right-to-left) | Indo-European | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 4/5 Very distant |
| Gujarati | Devanagari | Indo-European | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 4/5 Very distant |
| Bhojpuri | Devanagari | Indo-European | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 4/5 Very distant |
| Chinese Traditional | Chinese characters | Sino-Tibetan | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 4/5 Very distant |
| Awadhi | Devanagari | Indo-European | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 4/5 Very distant |
| Maithili | Devanagari | Indo-European | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 4/5 Very distant |
| Sindhi | Arabic (right-to-left) | Indo-European | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 4/5 Very distant |
| Fulani | Arabic (right-to-left) | Niger-Congo | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 4/5 Very distant |
| Kurdish Kurmanji | Arabic (right-to-left) | Indo-European | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 4/5 Very distant |
| Nepali | Devanagari | Indo-European | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 4/5 Very distant |
| Sinhala | Sinhala | Indo-European | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 4/5 Very distant |
| Khmer | Khmer | Austroasiatic | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 4/5 Very distant |
| Dari | Arabic (right-to-left) | Indo-European | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 4/5 Very distant |
| Marwadi | Arabic (right-to-left) | Indo-European | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 4/5 Very distant |
| Kurdish Sorani | Arabic (right-to-left) | Indo-European | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 4/5 Very distant |
| Baluchi | Arabic (right-to-left) | Indo-European | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 4/5 Very distant |
| Tajik | Arabic (right-to-left) | Indo-European | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 4/5 Very distant |
| Armenian | Armenian | Indo-European | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 4/5 Very distant |
| Georgian | Georgian | Indo-European | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 4/5 Very distant |
| Lao | Khmer | Tai-Kadai | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 4/5 Very distant |
| Dogri | Devanagari | Indo-European | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 4/5 Very distant |
| Konkani | Devanagari | Indo-European | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 4/5 Very distant |
| Chinese | Chinese characters | Sino-Tibetan | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 4/5 Very distant |
| Jawi | Arabic (right-to-left) | Austronesian | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 4/5 Very distant |
| Ossetian | Cyrillic | Indo-European | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 4/5 Very distant |
| Sanskrit | Devanagari | Indo-European | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 4/5 Very distant |
Score 3 of 5 — 45 languages
Meaningfully distant, usually a different script or family.
| Language | Writing system | Family | Word order | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Russian | Cyrillic | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 3/5 Distant |
| Tagalog | Latin | Austronesian | verb-subject-object (VSO) | 3/5 Distant |
| Turkish | Latin | Turkic | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 3/5 Distant |
| Ukrainian | Cyrillic | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 3/5 Distant |
| Oromo | Latin | Afro-Asiatic | verb-subject-object (VSO) | 3/5 Distant |
| Uzbek | Latin | Turkic | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 3/5 Distant |
| Tamazight Tifinagh | Latin | Afro-Asiatic | verb-subject-object (VSO) | 3/5 Distant |
| Cebuano | Latin | Austronesian | verb-subject-object (VSO) | 3/5 Distant |
| Somali | Latin | Afro-Asiatic | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 3/5 Distant |
| Kinyarwanda | Latin | Niger-Congo | verb-subject-object (VSO) | 3/5 Distant |
| Greek | Greek | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 3/5 Distant |
| Zulu | Latin | Niger-Congo | verb-subject-object (VSO) | 3/5 Distant |
| Serbian | Cyrillic | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 3/5 Distant |
| Ilocano | Latin | Austronesian | verb-subject-object (VSO) | 3/5 Distant |
| Quechua | Latin | Quechuan | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 3/5 Distant |
| Bulgarian | Cyrillic | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 3/5 Distant |
| Santali Latin | Latin | Austroasiatic | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 3/5 Distant |
| Bikol | Latin | Austronesian | verb-subject-object (VSO) | 3/5 Distant |
| Tamazight | Latin | Afro-Asiatic | verb-subject-object (VSO) | 3/5 Distant |
| Kanuri | Latin | Nilo-Saharan | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 3/5 Distant |
| Turkmen | Latin | Turkic | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 3/5 Distant |
| Balinese | Latin | Austronesian | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 3/5 Distant |
| Belarusian | Cyrillic | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 3/5 Distant |
| Bosnian | Cyrillic | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 3/5 Distant |
| Macedonian | Cyrillic | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 3/5 Distant |
| Batak Toba | Latin | Austronesian | verb-subject-object (VSO) | 3/5 Distant |
| Iban | Latin | Austronesian | verb-subject-object (VSO) | 3/5 Distant |
| Jingpo | Latin | Sino-Tibetan | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 3/5 Distant |
| Kokborok | Latin | Sino-Tibetan | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 3/5 Distant |
| Chamorro | Latin | Austronesian | verb-subject-object (VSO) | 3/5 Distant |
| Chuukese | Latin | Austronesian | verb-subject-object (VSO) | 3/5 Distant |
| Fijian | Latin | Austronesian | verb-subject-object (VSO) | 3/5 Distant |
| Hakha Chin | Latin | Sino-Tibetan | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 3/5 Distant |
| Hawaiian | Latin | Austronesian | verb-subject-object (VSO) | 3/5 Distant |
| Inuktut Latin | Latin | Eskimo-Aleut | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 3/5 Distant |
| Inuktut Syllabics | Latin | Eskimo-Aleut | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 3/5 Distant |
| Maltese | Latin | Afro-Asiatic | verb-subject-object (VSO) | 3/5 Distant |
| Mam | Latin | Mayan | verb-subject-object (VSO) | 3/5 Distant |
| Maori | Latin | Austronesian | verb-subject-object (VSO) | 3/5 Distant |
| Marshallese | Latin | Austronesian | verb-subject-object (VSO) | 3/5 Distant |
| Sami North | Latin | Uralic | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 3/5 Distant |
| Samoan | Latin | Austronesian | verb-subject-object (VSO) | 3/5 Distant |
| Tahitian | Latin | Austronesian | verb-subject-object (VSO) | 3/5 Distant |
| Tongan | Latin | Austronesian | verb-subject-object (VSO) | 3/5 Distant |
| Yucatec Maya | Latin | Mayan | verb-subject-object (VSO) | 3/5 Distant |
Score 2 of 5 — 67 languages
Some structural distance, but recognisable footing.
| Language | Writing system | Family | Word order | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malay | Latin | Austronesian | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Swahili | Latin | Niger-Congo | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Vietnamese | Latin | Austroasiatic | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Javanese | Latin | Austronesian | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Yoruba | Latin | Niger-Congo | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Indonesian | Latin | Austronesian | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Sundanese | Latin | Austronesian | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Igbo | Latin | Niger-Congo | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Filipino | Latin | Austronesian | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Lingala | Latin | Niger-Congo | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Chichewa | Latin | Niger-Congo | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Shona | Latin | Niger-Congo | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Bambara | Latin | Niger-Congo | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Hungarian | Latin | Uralic | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Madurese | Latin | Austronesian | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Rundi | Latin | Niger-Congo | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Hiligaynon | Latin | Austronesian | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Kituba | Latin | Niger-Congo | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Twi | Latin | Niger-Congo | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Tswana | Latin | Niger-Congo | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Xhosa | Latin | Niger-Congo | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Guarani | Latin | Tupian | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Tshiluba | Latin | Niger-Congo | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Minang | Latin | Austronesian | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Luganda | Latin | Niger-Congo | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Sesotho | Latin | Niger-Congo | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Finnish | Latin | Uralic | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Tiv | Latin | Niger-Congo | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Bemba | Latin | Niger-Congo | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Dyula | Latin | Niger-Congo | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Kikongo | Latin | Niger-Congo | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Luo | Latin | Nilo-Saharan | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Sepedi | Latin | Niger-Congo | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Ewe | Latin | Niger-Congo | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Tsonga | Latin | Niger-Congo | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Baoule | Latin | Niger-Congo | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Acehnese | Latin | Austronesian | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Waray | Latin | Austronesian | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Betawi | Latin | Austronesian | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Dinka | Latin | Nilo-Saharan | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Pangasinan | Latin | Austronesian | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Kapampangan | Latin | Austronesian | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Fon | Latin | Niger-Congo | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Makassar | Latin | Austronesian | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Tumbuka | Latin | Niger-Congo | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Ga | Latin | Niger-Congo | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Nuer | Latin | Nilo-Saharan | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Kiga | Latin | Niger-Congo | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Acholi | Latin | Nilo-Saharan | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Swati | Latin | Niger-Congo | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Mizo | Latin | Sino-Tibetan | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Ndau | Latin | Niger-Congo | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Venda | Latin | Niger-Congo | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Estonian | Latin | Uralic | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Ndebele South | Latin | Niger-Congo | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Alur | Latin | Nilo-Saharan | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Batak Karo | Latin | Austronesian | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Batak Simalungun | Latin | Austronesian | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Breton | Latin | Indo-European | verb-subject-object (VSO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Dombe | Latin | Niger-Congo | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Irish | Latin | Indo-European | verb-subject-object (VSO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Krio | Latin | Niger-Congo | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Latin | Latin | Indo-European | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Manx | Latin | Indo-European | verb-subject-object (VSO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Scots Gaelic | Latin | Indo-European | verb-subject-object (VSO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Tetum | Latin | Austronesian | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 2/5 Moderate |
| Welsh | Latin | Indo-European | verb-subject-object (VSO) | 2/5 Moderate |
Score 1 of 5 — 31 languages
Close to English on two of three factors.
| Language | Writing system | Family | Word order | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | Latin | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 1/5 Close |
| Spanish | Latin | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 1/5 Close |
| Portuguese | Latin | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 1/5 Close |
| German | Latin | Indo-European | subject-object-verb (SOV) | 1/5 Close |
| French | Latin | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 1/5 Close |
| Italian | Latin | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 1/5 Close |
| Polish | Latin | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 1/5 Close |
| Romanian | Latin | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 1/5 Close |
| Czech | Latin | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 1/5 Close |
| Portuguese Portugal | Latin | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 1/5 Close |
| Albanian | Latin | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 1/5 Close |
| Croatian | Latin | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 1/5 Close |
| Slovak | Latin | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 1/5 Close |
| Sicilian | Latin | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 1/5 Close |
| Romani | Latin | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 1/5 Close |
| Catalan | Latin | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 1/5 Close |
| Lombard | Latin | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 1/5 Close |
| Hunsrik | Latin | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 1/5 Close |
| Lithuanian | Latin | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 1/5 Close |
| Slovenian | Latin | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 1/5 Close |
| Galician | Latin | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 1/5 Close |
| Venetian | Latin | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 1/5 Close |
| Latvian | Latin | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 1/5 Close |
| Occitan | Latin | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 1/5 Close |
| Limburgish | Latin | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 1/5 Close |
| Silesian | Latin | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 1/5 Close |
| Corsican | Latin | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 1/5 Close |
| Friulian | Latin | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 1/5 Close |
| Latgalian | Latin | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 1/5 Close |
| Ligurian | Latin | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 1/5 Close |
| Papiamento | Latin | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 1/5 Close |
Score 0 of 5 — 7 languages
Latin script, Germanic family, same word order — the closest group to English.
| Language | Writing system | Family | Word order | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dutch | Latin | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 0/5 Closest |
| Swedish | Latin | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 0/5 Closest |
| Afrikaans | Latin | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 0/5 Closest |
| Danish | Latin | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 0/5 Closest |
| Norwegian | Latin | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 0/5 Closest |
| Faroese | Latin | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 0/5 Closest |
| Frisian | Latin | Indo-European | subject-verb-object (SVO) | 0/5 Closest |
What the score does not capture
Structural distance is one input among several. Finnish and Hungarian use the Latin alphabet and score low here, yet both are commonly rated hard for their case systems — Finnish has fifteen. Mandarin scores high on script and family but its grammar is comparatively simple, with no conjugation, no gender and no plurals; the difficulty sits in tone and in memorising characters, neither of which this model sees.
Treat a high score as “fewer footholds” rather than “harder”. It is also a reasonable proxy for where machine translation struggles: unrelated languages with different word orders have fewer cognates and require sentences to be rebuilt rather than substituted word by word.
Related
Method and limitations
Each language scores 0–5 across three factors that can be derived from its structure, rather than from opinion:
- Writing system (0 or 2) — 0 if it also uses the Latin alphabet, 2 if it uses a different script entirely.
- Language family (0, 1 or 2) — 0 for Germanic languages, English's own branch; 1 for other Indo-European languages; 2 for unrelated families.
- Word order (0 or 1) — 0 if the language is subject-verb-object like English, 1 otherwise.
This is not the FSI ranking, and it is not a claim about how long a language takes to learn. It measures structural distance on three axes only. It says nothing about tone, honorifics, case systems, verb aspect or vocabulary overlap — Hungarian and Finnish score low here despite being widely considered difficult, because they use the Latin alphabet and are not tonal.
Word order in particular compresses badly. German is listed by its source description as “verb-second in main clauses, SOV in subordinate clauses”; Hebrew as “VSO and SVO”. A single three-letter code cannot carry that, which is why the raw description is shown for every language below rather than only the score.
Of 252 languages with structural data, 219 could be scored on all three factors. The rest are omitted rather than guessed at.