Jan 31 2010
Would It Be Difficult For Me To Learn Japanese When I Already Know A Little Of Chinese (mandarin)?
i did a two year course in high school learning mandarin chinese, now deciding on university im very keen on a course that offers a year abroad in japan (if they offered a year in china there wouldnt be a problem) so the problem is, would it be very hard for me to move from chinese to japanese (university offers a compulsory japanese language course with the subject i will be studying)?
i understand kanji is similar to chinese (if not the same) but does it sound the same in both languages? when does hiragana and katakana come in?
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10 Responses to “Would It Be Difficult For Me To Learn Japanese When I Already Know A Little Of Chinese (mandarin)?”
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I would say quite the opposite: knowing Chinese would make learning Japanese easier. For most people, learning the characters in either language is the biggest hurdle, and if you’re already comfortable with them, you can treat Japanese almost like any other language.
As for your other questions, first, kanji is much closer to traditional characters than to simplified characters. The Japanese have also made their own simplified versions for some of the character, though not as many as the mainland Chinese.
Also, the sounds attached to the characters are not always the same or even similar to the Chinese. Most characters have at least two pronunciations, one Chinese and one Japanese. The change in pronunciation usually doesn’t change the meaning much, however. Even then, the “Chinese” pronunciation reflects the Chinese of the Tang dynasty, and may not even be originally Mandarin. The main period of China’s influence on Japan was over 1000 years ago, and the words they use reflect that. When I was living in Taiwan, the little Taiwanese I learned seemed to line up better with Japanese pronunciation than Mandarin.
But consider:
one yi ichi
two ni ni
three san san
four si shi
air qi ki
There are definite parallels, and you will begin to hear the pattern of change between the two languages.
Where kanji usually shows the meanings of nouns, verbs and often adjectives in Japanese, the hiragana is used for other things, like particles (similar to English prepositions), verb and adjective endings, adverbs and the like. These things are either native Japanese features or changeable, like verb endings. Katakana is used almost exclusively for writing foreign words in Japanese, the way people use italics in English.
You’ll have a head start on the kanji, most likely! The sounds might well be the same, actually. I know that Japanese has a Chinese reading (on-yomi) and a Japanese reading (kun-yomi) for each one.
Hiragana are used for particles, grammatical unction and for parts of words not written in kanji. Katakana are used for foreign words such as ‘cake’, ‘hotel’, ‘mansion’ and ‘part-time work (Funnily enough, using the German word for it!)
Ganbatte kudasai
Learning Mandarin does not guarantee that you will know the pronunciations of Kanji in Japanese pronunciation: Japanese borrows from Cantonese, Shanghainese, and other dialects, but NOT MANDARIN!!! Some Japanese words are of European origin, like Kohi, which is from the Dutch word for “coffee”, and some other words are of Portuguese origin, so these words would NOT sound like Mandarin Chinese. The original word for “coffee” is of Greek origin, not Italian or French!
when does hiragana and katakana come in?
They were introduced later on, when someone suggested that Chinese characters were not suitable for Japanese grammatical particles / inflections / suffixes, so then the two syllabaries were invented.
kanji is identical to simplified chinese characters – but the way they are read is very different.
there can be 1,2,3 or more ways to read one kanji.
e.g. 先生 (sensei) – teacher
with this one, the reading is based on the chinese reading but its not the same
e.g. 姉 (ane/nee) – older sister
姉妹 (shi mai) – sisters
the first kanji is pronounced the ‘japanese’ way (kun yomi)
and the second word is pronounced the ‘chinese way’ (on yomi)
its generally when the kanji is alone that you use the ‘kun yomi’ and if the kanji is with other kanji that you use the ‘on yomi’ – its not ALWAYS like that but it is most of the time….but this is something you will learn in class!
a year abroad is probably the best way to learn! i’ve done it!
its amazing!
GOOD LUCK!
がんばって！
(ganbatte = work hard – lol)
its kinda hard. cuz, yeah your right the kanji is similar and you can easily mix it up with chinese. but it does not sound the same. japanese kanji is alittle different.
hiragana is for writing and reading japanese. like an alphabet.
katakana is for foreign words, for ex: Lemon would be in Japanese Remon, and ice cream Isu, soup suupu (they just make it wear the japanese can easily speak it)
it will be quite difficult, but you have to be commited to learn.
Japanese is a bloody sight easier than Chinese, so my guess’d be “nah!” Get yerself on a Japanese language course, (IF one’s available in your area), or get yerself some Japanese tuition C.D.s, and good luck! Peace and love! Be lucky!
Japanese words are similar to chinese words and some written japanese words have the same meaning as written mandarin words. so yea it shouldn’t be a problem!
nah it will be fine. If you have a basis in chinese, you would be fine in Japanese
no difference…
you are asking “would it be difficult for me to learn German when i already know a little French”…
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