Should i learn Chinese or Japanese?

Question

I'm interested in learning an Asian language (i'm drawn to them for some reason). I'm a native English speaker and i wanted to know if Chinese was an incredibly difficult path to take as opposed to Japanese, since Japanese is obviously easier, with simpler writing methods and no tones, so what do you guys think? it would be helpful for opinions of people who know one or even BOTH of these languages, tell me which one is more fun to speak, etc. etc.

Answer 1

Learn Chinese (only, or first), But many many more people speak mandarin chinese then Japanese.

You might struggle with the tonal system though, but I'm sure you could get through it ;-).

Answer 2

Chinese would probably be more practical in the real world depending on the path you want to take in life, as their society is developing into a huge business giant and many more people speak the language than japanese.

however, i take japanese because i'm more drawn to the culture than i am to that of the chinese. i've also found that it's easier. although you still have to memorize hundreds of characters to be fluent, it's not even close to the amount of characters you'd need to know in chinese. plus, as you know, the tone concept is quite difficult to grasp. Plus, to me, the language sounds nicer when spoken than Chinese. :)

It all depends on the path you want to take in life. Hope I helped, and good luck! (Ganbatte!--Japanese :D)

Answer 3

Japanese is much more easier to learn and quicker to learn as well. Mastering the accents in Japanese would be easier as well compared to Chinese. Trust me, i tried.

Answer 4

I'm fluent in Chinese and know only a little Japanese. Yes, Japanese is more fun to speak. And if you learn it well, you won't have to watch anime with subtitles anymore :P

But China is developing fast, and not only Chinese people speak the language. There are still Taiwanese...Malaysians...Singaporeans...... all speak Chinese.

If you're looking for a fun and educational hobbie, go with Japanese. But personally, I'd think ahead and see that Chinese would be so much more beneficial, and not only in the career aspect :)

Answer 5

I'm a native Chinese speaker and i kno a little about Japanese(just a little). believe it or not, both are hard to learn. i have a lot of classmates learning Japanese since they r obsessd with Japanese cartoons. with that kind of strong interest, they can't speak fluently.

Not even that, chinese is much more widely used, i mean, not only because of the huge population, but there are Chinese all over the world! (e.g.vu c lots of chinese and korean international students but rarely Japanese...)

But i don't really kno about Japan. i think u should choose the one whose culture truly interests u. (their history r taught soooooooo different, nd chinese govn't has been blinding almost all the Chinese till now! anyway, japan did bad things 2 that really sucks)

Likewise, i'm now hesitating if i should learn Spanish or French. Same problem: Spanish seems more widely used in the States; French sounds more beautiful. spanish seems easier but becomes difficult later...  till now idk which to choose since im not familiar with both and their culture. but the only thing i kno is that im not gonna learn both cuz for a Chinese, it's so easy to mix up. nd for u i guess it's the same. i'm gonna learn one both for fun and usefulness, no matter it's easy or difficult. the only thing i'm uncertain is that idk if Spanish is that useful.

anyway i tend to choose the one that's more useful. if it's hard for u to decide which interests u more, just pick Chinese cuz of the usefulness.

Answer 6

If you want something much more easier, I suggest Japanese.

But you'll find greater success with Chinese, because I believe

they are more open to Americans.

And Japanese does have tones, but small.

For example:

'Hashi' can mean:

Chopsticks

Edge

or Bridge

It all depends on tone.

You'd be better off with Japanese, since it takes decades to learn Chinese. Regardless whether it was Mandarin or Cantonese.

Would you want a difficult language that makes you a more successful person? Or an easier language but still difficult and smaller opportunities? >3