Hey guys, I just started learning Japanese after getting to C1-ish level Chinese. I’ve only had two classes so far, but have noticed similarities in the pronunciations of some words (e.g. 医生，岁，and 三), and how some aspects of how the language work (e.g. 高中+学生=高中生). I’m also aware of interesting differences such as 老婆 and 太太 being normal ways to call a wife in Chinese, but very much not in Japanese.
I want to ask other people who have studied both languages what the most interesting similarity/difference you’ve come across is.
6 comments
[you aren’t the first person to ask this](https://www.google.co.jp/search?q=chinese+similarity+difference+r/learnjapanese+site:www.reddit.com&client=safari&hl=en-jp&prmd=ivbn&sxsrf=APwXEddQjKKaV_AqCbrJdsczMtJ603aGqg:1679914439690&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj46Lj7-Pv9AhXGdN4KHRRtARkQrQIoBHoECBUQBQ&biw=375&bih=716&dpr=3), and fortunately not a lot have changed in these languages in the last few years.
Native chinese speaker, able to read the language before even knowing how to speak it 🙂
Majored in Chinese and lived in Japan for 15 years. THe similarities are 90% in vocabulary words that come from Chinese. Though there are quite a few kanji words that originate in Japanese and have been adapted to CHinese. i.e 電気、電話. Japanese grammar is nothing like Chinese and the reason why there are so many homophones in Japanese is because there is no way for Japanese to make up for the TONES you find in Chinese. Japanese is polysyllabic and sounds do not have meanings by themselves, Chinese is monosyllabic where one syllable utterances almost always convey a meaning. You wil be amazaed at how different the languages actually are. I would even venture to say that English and CHinese are closer than Japanese and Chinese. Enjoy.
I’ve studied both but better at Japanese. Got to HSK2 in Chinese. Grammar is very different. There is vocab overlap though. The Kanji, given it is from Chinese, has 2 readings. OnYomi (Chinese reading) or KunYomi (Japanese reading). The Chinese reading has a lot of overlap, but pronounciation different. This was useful for me to learn Chinese vocabulary as I had somewhere to “file” it in my brain. I could pair it up with the Japanese word. Words like battery (電池) or new (新) are the same although pronounced slightly differently (less tones in Japanese, more of a rythm). Other words are the same but used less often or in a different context. A very obvious one to me was 現在（げんざい）which means “now” but is a bit more formal and less common in Japan, but used all the time in Chinese (现在 xianzai). Other words are a trap and part of a different cultural history – bit misleading! For example, Hotel in Chinese 酒店 (jiudian). I was in China thinking “there are liquor shops everywhere”! Literally means liquour shop. You would recognise the “酒 jiu” part from the “shu” part of nihonshu 日本酒.
one of the most interesting difference i have come across is 結束, it means the end, to end in Chinese but means to unite in Japanese, which is the literal meaning of these kanji, which makes me question why does 結束 mean to end in Chinese
another one is 天衣無縫, it means “something like a plan is perfect without flaws” in chinese, but means 人柄が無邪気で、何の飾りもないこと。天真爛漫(てんしんらんまん)なこと。「━な性格」「━にふるまう」in Japanese. although they both have the nuance of flawless, in Chinese, it can’t be used on people, let alone to describe their purity.
Chinese is basically to Japanese like Latin is to English, providing (parts of) the writing system and a great deal of vocabulary. However, they are not related otherwise