What is so difficult about Chinese?

Question

I'm just wondering because I've been thinking about learning Chinese or Japanese but both have a reputation for being very difficult to learn.

What exactly makes it so difficult: grammar? pronunciation?

And about how many years (or months) would it take for someone to learn enough Chinese to have a conversation if he/she studies 5 days a week for about 2 hours a day?

Answer 1

English is a language of alphabetic writing, the language region in the brain in native English-language people is in Wernike area of the brain, Wernike areas are connected to the hearing area, Chinese is a graphical language, the areas of Chinese language is in the Broca area of the brain, Broca area is connected to the region of movement and color functional areas of human, Wernike area is incompatible with Broca area,

If we use Wernike area to learn Chinese, it will become extremely difficult.

Therefore, native alphabetic writing people who want to learn Chinese, must overcome the resistance in native-protection systems and enter the Broca area, because it is linked to the movement and color functional areas of human, So it is necessary to increase the active time of Broca area through using more visual, auditory sensory organ !

Answer 2

(Just a note: "Chinese" is the umbrella term for all the dialects of Chinese. The official dialect of China - and the dialect you should probably learn - is called "Mandarin.")

The grammar is actually a piece of cake. It's very similar to English, and has essentially no verb conjugations (it will use words here and there to indicate past or present action, but the verbs themselves don't change).

The two difficult things about Chinese are: (1) the tones, and (2) the characters.

In Chinese, they have what are called tones. You know when you ask a question? And your voice rises at the end? Like this? That's a tone. Chinese has five tones: (1) steady (mā), (2) rising (má), (3) falling then rising (mǎ), (4) falling (mà), and (5) no tone (ma). Each of those versions of "ma" mean different things: mother, horse, marijuana, to scold, and the question particle. So you see, you have to have a good ear when speaking Chinese, lest you accidentally curse at someone.

Chinese also has no alphabet. They have characters, each one representing a distinct idea. These characters can be simple (人) or intricate (醉) and you have to know them all. There's not just 20 to 40 letters you have to memorize, there are thousands of characters. What's interesting about these characters though, is that since they represent an idea (愛 for instance, which means "love"), all dialects of Chinese use these characters. The phrase 我愛你 means the same thing in all dialects: "I love you." But in Mandarin it's pronounced "wǒ ài nǐ" and in Cantonese "ngóh oi néih."

That being said, Japanese trumps both of those with its godforsaken grammar. I'd take Chinese over Japanese any day. It's a beautiful language, but it has about twenty different verb conjugations, and you constantly have to worry about which version of "polite" you're using when talking to people. It's insane.

As for how much you'll be studying, it really just depends on how much your brain takes in the language. Some people just pick up languages easier than others, so it all depends. Don't try to race time - enjoy learning the language, and do a thorough job of it. Also, try learning it with someone else. Having conversation skills is essential to learning a language, so if you learn it with someone else, you can practice speaking it as well.

Best of luck with your studies!

Answer 3

its a matter of both don't use the english characters, they don't use l;letters, but for chinese you have one character per word, not sound.

Answer 4

Most asian languages are hard because of the pronunciation,

like the most chinese languages require a "lazy" tongue.

It could take as long as 6 months.