Mandarin Chinese is the simplest language; no plurals, no verb conjugation, and it’s even an SVO language - yet most westerners find it a struggle.
RE: Mandarin Chinese is the simplest language
Simplest in the structural sense. But the master the 4 tones and to learn the thousands of characters ( and combinations of characters ) takes YEARS of intense learning and actually daily living and conversing with natives.
I know, I speak Mandarin and can reasonably converse with any Chinese. I can even write their characters. However, I am not even close to being called literate in the ordinary sense of the word.