(crossposted from r/japanese.)
I’ve developed a liking for Japanese recently and would like to learn it, even if it is from scratch. I am a fluent speaker of Korean (native) and English (acquired, C1 fluency).
I’ve been thinking of learning it in Korean since, from my observations, the Japanese gramar structure is strikingly similar to that of Korean (sentence structure, honorifics system, particles, etc). I also know a fair bit of individual Kanji as well from my childhood education.
I’ve come across some Korean starter guides on Japanese, and a fair bit suggested that I get the basics down in the context of English pronunciation instead of Korean, but doesn’t mention how to approach Japanese further down the line.
TLDR: Should I learn Japanese in English or Korean, given that I am fluent in both?
21 comments
I don’t personally know what Korean materials are like, but I imagine it would be an easier and more reliable path than the English one, so you might as well make full use of it! Still though, you also might as well shop around a little in both languages and see what appeals to you.
Korean is a better choice since it resembles japanese a lot at least grammatically speaking
Definitely learn it in Korean. It is hands down easier than learning it in English. The grammar, the similar vocab makes it so much easier to learn in Korean. Try the 일본어 무작정 따라하기 series. They are excellent and do a far better job than Genki, MNN, or Tobira. Apple iBooks has the ebooks so other booksellers might have the eBook as well. If you prefer physical books the Bandibook US store does free shipping when you order $95 worth of books.
I have Korean American friends who speak Korean poorly (like with their grandparents only) and they learn Japanese in Korean since “it’s so much easier like the words translate” they say
Korean is much better to learn Japanese from. Especially if you’re native and not just high level second language Korean speaker.
Welp it seems the overwhelming answer is Korean.
past that – aim for that slow monolingual transition
Korean, no doubt. Check a university library or a large book store for what kind of materials there are for advanced learners. You can practice pronunciation with audio or video materials. If you know some linguistics I guarantee you that the Korean materials will also have linguistic descriptions of how to pronounce Japanese sounds.
Another tip for further down the line: a great resource for learners is the “A handbook of Japanese grammar patterns for teachers and learners”. This resource should only be used after acquiring basic knowledge of Japanese (grammar). They also have a Korean version, i.e. all example sentences and explanations are given in the original Japanese and with a Korean translation (similar bilingual versions are available for English, Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese). The title is [日本語文型辞典 韓国語版](https://www.9640.jp/nihongo/ja/detail/?530).
Definitely Korean! I did it the other way round when I was learning Korean, translating it to and from Japanese rather than English. Much more logical.
I think a mix is better as you can get more idea of how a word is used in English and Korean as well
Korean without a second thought.
Many Koreans learn to speak fluent Japanese in months, as it is a direct plug and play language variant (or was 1500 years ago).
Definitely Korean. When I did my study abroad, I knew Korean students who arrived having studied zero Japanese and they were comfortably shooting the shit with Japanese students within months. Maybe they weren’t perfect but they spoke well enough to comfortably hold their own in casual native conversations. Whereas the other foreign students, like me, were still stuttering our way through the most basic of interactions even after several years.
It won’t really matter much in the long run. After the first few weeks or months, 99.9% of your study will be in Japanese regardless.
I’m japanese as L2, English is L1. I learned Hangul in English and then bought all my korean books in Japan. It was a lot easier to understand grammar. There are some things I might not understand the nuance of and that’s when I google it, but 90% of my korean learning has been through Japanese. Absolutely recommend.!
English resources are plenty but they are full of mistakes along the way. It’s like they are trying to explain Japanese with an English mindset, and I understand it can be hard otherwise, but sometimes they force it too much and ends up being terrible for the person learning the language.
I don’t know Korean, but I would have definitely preferred to start from Asian resources in general, since they share a lot of similarities.
Lol. Learn it in Spanish
I will add that OP should balance the language they best learn/absorb information in alongside side the accessibility of learning materials.
I don’t know Korean so I have no idea how much learning material for Japanese learners is out there, so if OP learns best in Korean AND there’s heaps of learning materials for Japanese in Korean then it sounds like the choice is clear.
If (on the other hand), learning materials are fewer in Korean than English, then maybe that might be a better option.
I’m sure others can address/add onto my comment here.
The Korean students in my classes had a big advantage at the beginner level. I think that is some shared grammar, vocabulary, hanzi, and pronunciation. Some of the younger Koreans said hanzi teaching was declining in Korea.
By intermediate level, that Korean advantage seemed to evaporate. I felt the Chinese pulled ahead with their shared kanji and vocabulary.
Regardless, there are a lot of Korean teaching resources so I would consider those TBH.
Both can work. Korean is easier, since the translation is more direct. But I learned Korean in English, and while it wasn’t convenient, the severe contrast forced me to think harder about the nuances forced by a natural translation of Korean into English.
For example, nominalization is extremely common in Korean (in Japanese too it seems), and seeing how it is used in different ways compared to English increased my fascination with languages and maintained my motivation for learning different ones.
멋있는 [것] 같네—
Damn, that does seem cool.
I also really liked how Korean provides different noun forms that sound punchier when it’s spoken…
배우[기] 싫어
Naw— ain’t learning that
If you don’t fall into the habit of direct translating to speak, then your brain gets a good workout from seeing Japanese stand on its own… and it can be quite fascinating.
Of course this holds true with learning Japanese via Korean as well. But English can provide more angles of questioning that shine a light on the fringe nuances of a grammar concept, when you need it. It’s another tool in your kit.
Just my take.
My Japanese course at college was half Korean students just there to elevate their GPA.
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Edit: Downvote this all you want, this was what they told the professor when we were all asked why we took the course.
Which one has better materials, that’s the question you should really be asking.
Obviously Korean, right? Not only is it your native language it’s also culturally and linguistically much closer. To learn it in English makes about as much sense as me trying to learn French in Japanese.