Hi all. I would like to ask — has anyone here started studying Japanese after learning Chinese (or any other challenging language) to a high degree of fluency ??
I’m asking because I’m in this boat myself and getting cold feet knowing just how much time it’s going to take before I get comfortable with the language.
For background, I’m keen on Japanese out of personal interest only. No work or family reasons. I’ve traveled to Japan loads of times over the years (I’m based in Asia) and love the television programs, literature, video games, etc. Being able to consume native materials in Japanese would be a dream! So after building a foundation in the language , I would happily focus on passive skills only.
I guess I should also add that I actually like the grind of learning a language and setting aside time everyday to review vocab. It gives me a small sense of accomplishment. My Chinese isn’t perfect by any means, but I’ve definitely passed the learner stage and don’t need a teacher anymore. So while I enjoy using Chinese everyday, I kind of miss the study part of it.
I’m just a little reluctant to “dive in” because it took me 15 years to get to a comfortable place in Chinese. There’s no way I could spend the same amount of time learning Japanese at my stage in life now. That activates this nagging voice in my head — So why even bother then??
TLDR:: Should I put in the time to learn Japanese after already investing so much time learning another language? Or am I overthinking this?
Thanks in advance!
5 comments
Chinese is a totally different language. You may get very confused most of the time cause Japanese will use very different pronunciations for Kanjis. Sometimes Japanese will use the original native Japanese (sound) words to pronounce Kanjis. Many Japanese Kanjis use some southern Chinese languages (they call dialects), that are totally different from Mandarin, to pronounce Kanjis.
Besides the pronunciation of Kanjis, Japanese grammar is also very different. Some Japanese grammar may resemble a little bit of classical Chinese, but that will be like only 5 to10%. I studied classical Chinese when I was in high school. Some logical construction of Japanese phrases will resemble some Chinese languages (dialects). But again that will be about 20% and you need to have a thorough understanding of the logic of those dialects which can be very different from Mandarin or written Chinese.
If you have mastered written Chinese, you will have a head start in learning Japanese. BUT then you still need to study Japanese grammar, Hiragana, and Katakana intensively. I am very fluent in 2 Chinese dialects (languages) (meaning I don’t need to do internal translation before I speak) and written Chinese and I still find Japanese very difficult.
As for pronunciation and grammar, it’s completely different, so you need to learn from the beginning.
However, there are many kanji with a common meaning in Japanese and Chinese. Therefore, you will improve a little faster than others.
> I’m just a little reluctant to “dive in” because it took me 15 years to get to a comfortable place in Chinese. There’s no way I could spend the same amount of time learning Japanese at my stage in life now. That activates this nagging voice in my head — So why even bother then??
I think you have to admit languages are your favorite thing.
Yes you should learn JP even if it takes you another 15 years, you will be happy for 15 years then.
Chinese will help a little. People who grew up in China / went through the entire Chinese education system get more benefit than people who learned it later as an adult, but there is some small advantage you can have.
i get how you feel. i have the same ‘thing’ with korean and chinese. honestly just dabble a bit. watch some youtube channels aimed at beginners like japanese ammo with misa and cure dolly(not sure what else is popular these days). also benjiro and sayuri saying(bit more towards intermediate). just get a feel for the language. you dont have to drop everything and go 100% japanese
you wont know if its worth it without trying it out for a while in my opinion
Being ethnically chinese, I was forced to learn mandarin in school for 12 years. Growing up I spoke cantonese at home and then english. I watch a lot of anime, recently started Jdramas, and also watch english shows. I don’t watch any mandarin stuff at all, there is still lingering resentment from being forced to learn the language. I’m not conversationally fluent in mandarin but I have a good visual memory and remember a lot of the kanji.
I took up learning japanese a few months ago and knowing the kanji helps a lot. Not so much the grammar.