Arabic has quite a challenging grammar and phonetic system, as well as a writing and reading system that goes from right to left. For an English speaker, it’s much harder to master Arabic than a more similar language like Italian, for example. You’ll need around 2,200 hours to become fluent, which equals 88 weeks of dedicated daily study. It will take you between 1,000 and 1,200 hours to reach an intermediate Arabic level that allows you to maintain a conversation and understand others. Speaking Arabic online with a professional Preply teacher can speed up the process.