8 sexiest languages in the world

German is direct, Russian is scary, and English sounds the most polite. But what about the sexiest languages in the world?

While many would think it is French, the language was recently dethroned by another. Sacré bleu! (French for “Holy blue!” and said when you’re shocked or surprised)

Italian is the “most sexy,” “most romantic,” and “most passionate” language in the world, a survey by language learning platform Babbel found. 

But if you look at the rankings, you’ll find that most of the sexiest languages in the world are European.

Why? Because European countries are more romantic?

While what is considered a “sexy” language may differ from one person to another, there is a reason behind our choices: romance languages.

Romance languages are modern-day languages, like French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and Romanian, that have evolved from Roman times and, more specifically, Vulgar Latin.

Most Romance languages have a gentle intonation; they flow easily without much harshness and pauses in between speaking — hence, they might give the impression that they are soft and melodic.

“The rise and fall of pitch in the Italian language can create a musical quality, which some people find alluring and attractive,” Babbel language teacher Noël Wolf explained to the Daily Mail.

“Certain phonetic features, like the rolling of ‘r’ sounds, can be unique in Italian, which is charming or attractive to many.”

But European countries are not the only countries with “sexy” languages.

Japanese, for example, is spoken in short, quick syllables at a consistent pace but turns music-like with a change in pitch. You only need to watch one episode of the hit TV series “Shogun” to agree with this.

On the other hand, Arabic is unique for its pure vowels and strong “hoarse” sounds.

These languages carry a unique charm that can be just as “sexy,” reflecting its people’s culture, history and spirit.

Sexiest languages in the world aren’t all about how they sound

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and language is no different.

As people, we like what we like. There’s comfort in familiarity, like the springy mattress in your bedroom, as opposed to the plush hotel bed or a home-cooked meal instead of going out.

The same can be said when it comes to spoken language.

According to an article by The Guardian, when a language has a different linguistic structure to the listener’s native language, it’s harder on their ears. That difference can sound like anything — phonetics or consonant clusters. 

That would explain why a language as widely spoken as Mandarin, for example, may come across harshly to an English speaker.

And why Italian, recognised as one of the most attractive languages across the world, is so loved.

The sounds are similar (if not the same) to other European languages, with little to no harsh tones and only a few consonant clusters.

But there’s more behind why a language may or may not appeal more than others.

The attractiveness of a language often results from how we associate it — whether we have a positive lens of the community that speaks it, the opportunities that knowing the language could boost our life or career, and if we like the face of the person speaking it.

In fact, a study on language preferences even found that people prefer breathy female voices when speaking. 

To put it simply, the beauty of a language comes off as not only subjective to each individual, but also as a product of their environment and how well they’re able to utilise it.

The 8 sexiest languages in the world

 

Lingala

Lingala, also called “Ngala,” is a Bantu language spoken by millions in Central Africa, especially in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Influenced by French, the language is considered very romantic, with a melodious and attractive rhythm. What’s more, Lingala is easy to learn, with its simple and straightforward grammar.

Sexiest word in Lingala: “‘Bolingo” (which means love).

 

Mandarin 

While Mandarin may seem hard to learn, it has much simpler grammar rules than European languages.

Plus, the song-like quality in the way it’s spoken (as it is a tonal language), along with the long tradition of romantic poetry and landscape paintings, makes Mandarin one of the sexiest languages in the world.

Sexiest word in Mandarin: “月亮代表我的心 (yuè liàng dài biǎo wǒ de xīn). This is a phrase from a famous song, which means “The moon represents my heart.”

Swahili 

Swahili is another Bantu language with rhythmic and melodic characteristics that make it pleasant to listen to.

With influence from Arabic, Portuguese, and German, the language eases trade and communication across diverse ethnic groups in Tanzania, Kenya, Congo and Uganda.

Sexiest word in Swahili: Nakupenda (which means “I love you”)

Thai

Thai is another language that can be added to the list of sexiest languages in the world. A melodic language, Thai uses a visually appealing script unique to Thailand, with intricate curves and lines.

Sexiest word in Thai: เผ็ด (pèt) — this means spicy, a slang word closest to sexy as there’s no Thai equivalent for that.

Japanese

The Japanese language — which flourishes through poetry and polite language — is filled with a load of nuance when it comes to the expression of beauty.

It’s a language with plenty of uses aside from expression, like increased job prospects and career growth. After all, Japan is one of the richest economies in the world.

Sexiest word in Japanese: Koi (恋 / こい) — think of it of a passionate kind of young love, like a crush.

Persian

There are about 62 million people who speak Persian in this world, plus it’s the main language used in Iran. It’s a language that flows like a musical harmony soothing to the ear.

The best part: it’s relatively easy to learn, especially since there have been no major changes between classical and modern forms of Persian over the years.

Sexiest word in Persian: Joonam (which means “my life”)

 

Finnish

Finland has been titled the happiest country in the world for seven years now, so to learn Finnish means you have a chance to thrive in a land of freedom.

Finnish is the definition of finding beauty in simplicity, as it’s a clean language with soft consonants and vowel use.

Sexiest word in Finnish: Muru — this English equivalent of “babe” is short for “kullanmuru” which literally translates to “nugget of gold.”

Arabic

With over 25 dialects — Syrian, Palestinian, and Lebanese, to name a few — the Arabic language is now spoken by over 420 million people across the world.

The language has a history that dates over 1,500 years back, with the earliest known form, Old Arabic, written in the Quran. It’s lyrical, melodic, and known for the subtle but effective prose and poetry.

Sexiest word in Arabic: Habibti (for a girl) and habibi (for a boy) — these mean “my love.”

Honourable mentions

At Study International, we’re all about celebrating languages from all over the world.

Too many international students feel shy about their native tongue, thinking it’s inferior to the more popular languages today, like English and French,

That’s never the case. Each language has its own strengths and weaknesses and we will defend everyone’s right to talk about and be proud of their language as much as they’d like.

This makes for part of the many reasons why we’ve added this section on honourable mentions.

Mostly, thought, it’s because we can’t get over the fact that some languages didn’t make the list of the sexiest languages in the world.

So, to right this wrong, we’re here to argue why the following languages, which have captured so many hearts and minds, should be included.

Sign language

With sign language, you use many body parts, not just your mouth. You use your hands, face and even some body parts. It is visibly more expressive and emotional.

Of course, like any other language, not everyone signs beautifully. But those who sign with grace in their movement and rhythm are like artists at work.

Hindi

Over half a billion people speak Hindi as their first language and there are hundreds of Bollywood films with so much charisma and star power that they put the “R” in “romance films.”

And we’ve not even gotten into the great songs that emerge from their legendary film soundtracks and all the poetries from one of the world’s oldest civilisations.

It seems almost a crime not to include Hindi in the list of the sexiest languages in the world.

Indonesian

An estimated 230 million people speak Indonesian worldwide and even more speak Malay, the language it evolved from.

But big numbers alone don’t make it one of the sexiest languages in the world.

It’s one of those languages that come across as soft-spoken to foreigners and much of it is due to the temperament of the people in the Malay archipelago. “Adab” or manners is a big part of local culture here.

If Italian and Hindi come across as passionate, the best way to describe Indonesian and Malay is how gentle the classic versions can be.