Novak Djokovic is one of the most successful tennis players of all time, with a grand total of 96 titles, including 24 Grand Slams under his belt. The Serb is known for his various quirks, ranging from his bizarre on-court antics, gluten-free diet, and his belief in levitation. Another fascinating characteristic of Djokovic is that he is a polyglot, capable of speaking 11 languages.
It seems quite far-fetched, but not unbelievable. Especially, when one considers that the 36-year-old Serb spends a significant portion of his time traveling to and participating in tournaments across many different countries.
Novak was asked by the Spanish press at the Davis Cup whether he missed the presence of Roger and Rafa on the tour. Hear his deep and witty reply in perfect Spanish. pic.twitter.com/20QWd0SBxN
— दिविर जैन (@divirj04) September 15, 2023
Even though the number 11 is often thrown around while talking about the number of languages Djokovic can speak, it does not give a clear picture. This number includes those in which he is only capable of speaking a few phrases. These languages are:
- Serbian
- English
- French
- Chinese
- German
- Italian
- Spanish
- Arabic
- Russian
- Portuguese
- Japanese
To offer some context, these 11 languages belong to three different language families, namely Indo-European, Sino-Tibetan, and Central Semitic. Therefore, Novak Djokovic‘s capability to speak all these languages at even at a basic level is not something that can be shrugged off.
Languages That Novak Djokovic Speaks Fluently: Serbian, German, English, Italian and French
Novak Djokovic is fluent in Serbian, German, English, Italian and French. As he was born and raised in Serbia, Djokovic speaks Serbian fluently. He learned English from his mother picked German at a young age as he went to Nikola Pilic’s academy outside Berlin at the age of six.
Djokovic also picked up a good understanding of French, and Italian while competing and interacting with his fellow tennis stars. Fluency in Italian means he is also capable of understanding and speaking in Spanish and Portuguese on a conversational level.
It is an indicator of the high degree of intelligence Djokovic possesses. 43% of the people in the world speak two languages fluently and only 17% of people are capable of speaking three or more. Conversational Fluency in a whopping seven languages is not something many people can boast about.
Can Djokovic speak Arabic, Chinese, and Japanese?
Novak Djokovic has made a sincere effort to learn these languages but is not fluent on a conversational level. The Djoker is known for hiring language tutors to help him explore different languages.
During a press conference in 2013, Novak Djokovic said, “We have a saying in our country: The more languages you know, more is your worth as a person.”
While playing at a tournament in Doha, Qatar, in 2016, Djokovic tried speaking the local dialect of Arabic, leaving the audience stunned. He gave the winner’s speech in broken Chinese after clinching the Shangai Shanghai Masters title in 2018. After winning the singles title at the Japan Open in 2019, Djokovic talked and thanked the fans in their native language.