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Frisian is one of the closest living languages to English, but what is meant by that? I can pick out the meaning of words in French or Spanish as a non-native speaker far better than I can in Frisian text. What metrics do linguists use to determine Frisian is closer to English than say French or Spanish?
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The reason you might find it easier to pick up on words in French is because English historically borrowed an incredible amount of words from the language as well as from Latin.
However, despite these borrowings, English is fundamentally a Germanic language that was originally spoken along the coast of the North Sea, where Frisian remains spoken today. (French, on the other hand, is a Romance language that reciprocally borrowed words from German languages and, more recently, English.) In fact, around 100 BCE to 100 CE, English and Frisian were both part of what are called the Ingvaeonic languages. Sometime between 100 and 600 CE, this group split into two major branches: Southeast Ingvaeonic, which developed into Old Saxon, and Northwest Ingvaeonic, which later gave Old Frisian and Old English. Old English gradually distinguished itself from Old Frisian starting from the time ofthe settlement of Britain (600-1100). Frisian ultimately split into the Frisian varieties, while English gave way to the modern varieties of English and Scots.
So technically speaking, Scots is the closest living language to English. Further up the branch (see this table on Wikipedia), however, Old Frisian is the closest relative to Old English, a language that has since greatly changed.
So while you might not be able to understand Frisian, I would assume that certain aspects of the two languages are closer than with other Germanic languages (e.g. closer cognates, closer phonology). Wikipedia cites an example of a rhyme between the two languages: "Butter, bread, and green cheese is good English and good Frise," which is pronounced more or less the same in both languages (Frisian: "Bûter, brea, en griene tsiis is goed Ingelsk en goed Frysk.") Someone with more expertise in this field might be able to give you better examples, but I hope this helps explain a bit.
Obligatory Eddie Izzard video
Well that was certainly more relevant than I had anticipated
His Anglisc is awful, mind, and not really a good representation of anything but how even mangled Old English gets you somewhere in a tiny corner of the Netherlands.
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Not a linguist either but wanted to tack on a bit more. English has borrowed a lot from French and Latin. But it's Germanic ancestry is still evidently there if you stick to simpler and/or more archaic sounding sentences. Compare (sorry for the language choices; they're what I'm familiar with):
or
I think remember reading it goes deeper than that though; how the verbs are conjugated for example. But perhaps someone with more knowledge might explain more or give better examples.
It's actually Katten åt all min fisk! if you want an even closer and better-sounding translation.
Changed it accordingly. Tack så mycket!
So "fisk" stays singular for the collective plural like in English? ie. "The fish are"
When it is said that Frisian is one of the closest languages to English, it specifically refers to a genetic connection. That is, they are both descended from a common ancestor language. In this case the most recent common ancestor is probably Proto-Germanic, from which also developed languages such as German, Dutch or Swedish. However, the ancestors of English (or more properly, Anglic) and Frisian developed on close proximity with each other long after the breakup of Germanic languages, so they share more features with each other than with the other Germanic languages.
Now, as to why it seems to be easier to understand French or Spanish. This is because during the last thousand years (basically since the Norman conquest of England), English has absorbed massive numbers of loanwords from French (and to a lesser extent many other languages). Frisian has retained much more of the ancestral Germanic vocabulary, and thus many words today seem very different in Frisian when compared to their English counterparts.
Or, to make a an attempt at an analogy, English and Frisian are siblings, while French is a somewhat abusive significant other with whom English has a long love-hate relationship and from whom English has adopted many mannerisms and modes of dress. So at first glance English may seem close with French, but deep down it cannot shake off its familial ties to Frisian.
I'm not sure which is more fascinating: the fact that the Battle of Hastings is the reason I speak the way I do today, or the fact that no history teacher in 14 years of beating that historical event with a stick ever once mentioned it.
The most recent common ancestor of both is Anglo-Frisian, a variety of West Germanic belonging to the Ingvaeonic group, whereas (High) German and Dutch descend from the Irminonic and Istvaeonic groups respectively (Swedish being even more distantly related).