What is the best language to learn for international business?

For what I gather through the internet the Languages that are most spoken in the world are as follows:

1) Chinese

2) Spanish

3) English

4) Hindi

how ever that does not mean they are the best to learn for business, I was researching on the internet and found an interesting article and picked the top 4 out of 10

The 10 Most Useful Business Languages for English Speakers

1. Mandarin Chinese - The Business Language of the Future. ...
2. German - The European Business Language. ...
3. Arabic - The Gateway to the Middle East. ...
4. Spanish - The Language of the Fastest Growing American Market Segment.

Here is the link to multiple articles:

https://www.rocketlanguages.com/blog/the-10-most-useful-business-languages-for-english-speakers/

https://bilingua.io/10-best-languages-to-learn-for-business

http://blog.languageline.com/the-most-important-business-languages-in-the-global-market

https://nomadcapitalist.com/2013/11/03/top-5-best-language-learn/

I hope this helps you. Its fun learning a new language.

Chinese may be the most recommended language to learn for International business, but at the end, you also need to choose a language that you feel excited about learning. It may not be easy to learn a second language, but it is for sure very rewarding and it will help you differ from candidates that doesn't speak a foreign language. Best of luck!

Hi Gabriella,

Good question. You just so happen to be in luck as the main language of international business is actually English. That withstanding, knowing more than one language never hurts and it puts you in an advantageous position if you speak more than just English. I would recommend learning Chinese (Mandarin, not Cantonese) as not only is it the world's most spoken language (over 1.4 billion active speakers), but China is becoming increasingly central to global business and finance. You will make a better impression during a business meeting in China if you are able to speak the language. I learned Chinese and by no means was it easy, but it was worth it.

I hope this helps and I wish you the best of luck!!

Best,

Austin

It may depend on the area of business but due to the sheer magnitude of the Chinese economy I'd say probably Mandarin or Cantonese.