Am I making a mistake by learning Japanese instead of Chinese?

38 comments

1. What’s your major? Do you see yourself getting a job as a translator or something like that where the language would be useful? If not, then I’d go with Japanese and not worry about money, since it sounds like Japanese is where your interest really lies.

2. It’s hard to study something you’re not interested in, especially languages since you need to want to pro-actively immerse yourself to learn and understand more….

   A lot of second and third-generation Chinese diaspora out there who have limited or no Chinese ability.

3. Japanese also use chinese character in writing

4. Japanese isnt really used outside of japan.. Chinese is much more wide spread as well as a larger percentage of the populous speaks it.. Like you said, youd probably use chinese more.. japanese is a passion language for sure.. so whats more important to you? Passion or practicality..?

5. Do the one you’re interested in otherwise it will be a major source of regret.

   Don’t make language learning choices based on money, it’s not likely you’ll make a career out of it after all.

6. Lol, yes because the Chinese economy, namely the real estate sector which makes up 20% of their GDP, is doing so hot right now!

7. You love Japan but want to sell out to the Chinese for cash?

8. Learning a second language opens up job opportunities you have not even explored yet in either language. Go with the one you will actually have the passion for learning.

9. Depends on why you wanna learn. The language that interests you more will come more easy to you but if you *need* it for a job that’s a valid reason too.

   One thing to consider: if you already know Chinese, learning kanji comes much easier after

10. If you don’t enjoy the process you won’t learn it. If you love japanese then choose japanese. The job opportunities will come, I guess you just have to know where to look.

    But I’m pretty sure there’s at least one company out there that wants a speaker of japanese.

11. It is not wrong to think about your economic prospects when choosing a degree. In fact I would say it’s healthy to keep a bit of distance between your job and your passion.

    Whichever you choose, there will be times when you absolutely hate the work, there will be times you will find it rewarding. Go in with eyes open, list all the pros and cons, rank your priorities, think what your fallback will be if you fail. Think what your best case will be if you succeed.

    It’s too simplistic to equate Chinese with the political system they have currently. The history and literature are so much more than that, and there is a historical connection with Japan, Korea and beyond. But it is a fair point that to be very fluent you will need to interact with Chinese speakers of various backgrounds. Can you picture yourself doing that?

    It’s also too simplistic to equate Japanese with the pop culture that has gone global. So ditto above, to achieve fluency you will have to interact with everyday Japanese people and society. Can you enjoy that?

    Good luck with your decision and at the end of the day a Bachelor’s is but one step in the road, so don’t stress too much.

12. When I had the opportunity to choose a foreign language for study as an undergraduate student, I was in a slight dilemma as well. A part of me was interested in Chinese, but my interest in Japanese was greater, so I ended up choosing that. Learning Japanese has sustained me well and provided me with various opportunities. If you want to work abroad or travel abroad, Japanese may even be a better option, since Japan is a more open society than the People’s Republic of China. Of course, the positive thing about Chinese is that it is also used in other countries and regions outside the PRC such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and other places. The Chinese diaspora is also larger than the Japanese diaspora, so there may be slightly more opportunities to practice Chinese than Japanese. Having said that, this is a highly subjective and personal decision. You can’t go wrong either way if you dedicate yourself, so you should probably choose the language that interests you more and in which you can see yourself sustaining your interest. Features of the language programs at your university also matter. For example, whether your university has upper level courses or independent study opportunities for learning the foreign language at a higher level. The further the opportunities to advance and make progress, the better it may end up. Good luck with making your decision and all the best with your language study!

13. It depends, and there are overlaps in their cultures when it comes to business but if you are thinking about business, both aren’t great for the following reasons:

    Getting into business Japanese requires a high level of proficiency, especially if you’re going to go to the country. I would go as far to say that it’s better to keep it as a hobby than to think about business in Japanese, just because there’s so much media to consume and people are at least polite and love to see you speak their language, but it’s also the case that many people won’t really engage with you if you don’t speak at a certain level. (JLPT N2 at the least, or so I hear)

    I think a lot of the same applies in Chinese, but I do think they are more business oriented and you will have far less to talk about as far as consumable media goes unless they love Japanese culture too lol. Of course, it seems like China is a sinking ship as far as global business goes, but if you can communicate, I’m sure there may be a lot of local opportunities too, I just don’t know how good 😅.

    Keep in mind I am biased towards Japanese, but I also follow Chinese current events fairly closely and it’s not looking good over there, Japan at least has some stability.

    Idk man, but I wish you luck! Hopefully my two cents helps in something.

14. Both are very challenging. The minor bits you’ve picked up from anime will have virtually zero effect on your learning path. You’re starting from scratch, regardless of which you pick.

    That said, go take some time with Chinese media. Chinese movies are fucking awesome and their dramas are solid too. Their animation has been pretty, we, *rough*, but very recently (like, literally just this year) it seems to be catching up. Take a week, give Chinese a taste, and see what you think.

    Personally, I’m torn right down the middle with Japanese and Chinese. They’re both incredibly interesting. But I didn’t realize it until I happened to watch a handful of Chinese movies, and that really got the ball rolling for me.

    Edit: You love Japanese kids shows, not Japan. Nothing wrong with that–i do too–but it doesn’t mean you actually like Japan as a country, much less the language itself. Both Japan and China are pretty awesome countries, in wildly different ways. I recommend checking out YouTube walking tours of each, watching some adult, workplace oriented live action media, and maybe exploring the history, art, and literature a bit too. Maybe even read the first chapter of a grammar book, just to give you a sense of the “flavor” of the languages (dont let the characters fool you, they’re extremely different –though knowing one will help you learn the other, if you choose to down the road)

15. If you’re learning any foreign language just to make money and you live in the English-speaking world, just stop now before you realize you’ve wasted a shitload of time for no good reason. imo

16. Study the language you have interest in or you won’t learn any language at all.

17. Due to the long process of learning either language (I studied Japanese for 4 years at college and taught English there for a number of years and am not close to fluent…and I also took a year of Chinese but forgot most of it by now), combined with the extremely limited jobs (at least in most places) using them in a fluent manner (and companies can almost always find ethnic Japanese and Chinese who know those languages better than you and also know English better than you will know their language), I’d say that if you plan on staying in the US, you may find that multiple years of work will not be sufficient to get a job with that skill.

    Of course, I could be wrong in your case, but I think I am at least right statistically. I also think that if you are confused about which to pick, that also means that you may have less interest than those who know exactly which they want to study and why.

    So I’d say not to take focus too much on the job aspects and just choose the one that you prefer. Obviously, Chinese is more common in the US and most of the world. But neither can be considered common, maybe except for certain areas of Hawaii and California, and maybe certain parts of New York City.

    If you do want to work for that Chinese museum, I’d recommend going there and asking about how often jobs come up and what level of Chinese they’re looking for, so you can gauge if you think that’s obtainable through a school program.

    And finally, make sure you ask the same question on a Chinese language subreddit, as each subreddit will overall be biased towards their preferred language.

18. Depends on what your major is. Can’t really go wrong with either. My major’s in Japanese studies and had to study Chinese to earn my degree. Before that I studied German in high school. My heritage is Mexican so my first language was Spanish but then picked up and have used English. Also volunteered at an English school where I picked up a couple of words in Korean and Vietnamese. In my career in education, this has helped me to bring people together by understanding a little of their cultures and helping to improve communication in the workplace. For Japanese, just like you I jumped in because I love games and Anime, but over time I’ve come to appreciate the culture more and more. I think I’d feel the same way about Chinese culture if I followed those studies as well. Personally, I’d study the language I find most interesting.

19. They are both category 4 languages, so expect 4X the work to reach an equal level of Spanish, French, etc.

    You’re looking at 8 years of full-time study to reach the equivalent of two years of Spanish. With this kind of investment, be sure that you have a high motivation and respect for at least some aspect of the culture.

    Thinking anime is cool will not sustain you when you begin to learn the degre that hierarchy undermines equality and democratic ideals–and you must make that a part of your identity and language to continue improving.

    Given the chance again, I would only learn a language whose culture I respect.

20. Assuming you want to eventually get really good at whichever language you pick it would make sense to live in that country for 1-2 years at least to attain fluency. So ask yourself where do you prefer to live?

21. The little bit you picked up from TV will basically be worthless in the grand scheme of things.

    Pick the one that you’re passionate about. Don’t do it just for money. I wouldn’t want to live in China no matter how much they paid me. My pay is very average in Japan but my quality of life here is good.

    Imo from talking to lots of people Japanese will be harder than Chinese. Chinese grammar is very simple and although there’s more kanji there’s only 1 reading per kanji vs 20 sometimes in Japanese. Chinese structurally is similar to English and you only need to master the tones, and there’s only 4 of those in Mandarin. Japanese grammar is basically unlimited and it’s a much harder to master than tones or extra kanji imo.

    But do whichever makes you happy.

22. Follow your interests man.

23. Why not do both? I understand you need to pick one for your degree, but there’s no reason why you couldn’t study the other as well either as a hobby for your personal interest or via an accredited course at a later date. You could study one during term time and switch to the other during the holidays. Of course, if your interest is very much in Japanese then Chinese probably wouldn’t be a fun language to learn on your own time.

24. You gave yourself the answer. If you’re not interested in chinese, don’t study it period.

    In my current job it’d be insanely useful if i learned french and/or german. But it turns out i’m not interested in those languages atm.

    I’m also learning japanese and after seeing first hand how long of a process it is to learn the 20-30k words i need to feel comfortable, i couldn’t be happier i chose japanese first.

    People severely underestimate how much time and effort you have to put in to learn a different language. Imagine aiming for those 20-30k words you need when you’re NOT enjoying the process. Literal torture honestly.

    Stick to japanese if that’s the one you like and forget about which would be “better”. Life is too short to be doing stuff you don’t enjoy, especially if it’s about to thrust you into like 10 years of language learning.

25. If you care about money, look at who is hiring, and what they pay, and what skills they need.

    For native English-speakers (particularly in the US), foreign languages are not the fastest way to get a job or make money. There are non-monetary rewards, but even those rewards come after significant work.

    Non-native Japanese is basically useless outside of Japan. Any opportunities are grabbed by local Japanese expats.

    Chinese people are everywhere in the world, and the influence of China is profound in nearby countries, but for job opportunities and making money, opportunities for non-native Chinese-speakers are also quite limited. If you were to work in China, for example, your primary selling point would be some other skill (like being an English teacher), and the Chinese ability would be viewed as “a nice bonus”.

26. You should study Japanese. It’s unlikely you’ll get a job based on college study alone anyway. Are you trying to select a language for general graduation requirements, or for a major? Maybe a major will matter in the job seach, gen eds will not.

27. You study to get a bachelor’s degree to work at a museum?

28. This is a difficult choice, and I understand your anxiety about picking.

    Chinese is definitely more widespread- you can meet native Chinese speakers all across the US, which if you’re brave enough, presents a perfect opportunity to get real-world practice and make connections. That said, if you don’t enjoy it, studying it will not be fun, and won’t guarantee any level of comfort/fluency that makes learning a foreign language rewarding and special. The only languages I’ve learned that I speak decently well are German and Turkish, and coming across someone that speaks either is an extremely rare event for me in the US; if you want to speak to real people, learning Chinese is definitely going to give you that- Japanese speakers are ridiculously rare in the US.

    At least with Japanese, you can play tons of video games, read manga, watch anime, and in general have tons of media to consume and stay current with. I think this is why most people end up choosing Japanese, and it’s not a bad reason. Honestly, that’s why I’ve stuck with it as long as I have; I love the language, and learning it is fun.

    As far as money goes, you’re better off not worrying about that. If you want to make money, study computer science, business, or some other super-marketable job skill. I’m sure your life will be great if you continue your east Asia studies program, but don’t pretend there’s some huge demand for people with that degree. Life is more than making money, and college is great for enriching your life in other ways; I wouldn’t trade my time studying music and theater for anything, even if it has meant almost nothing in my career as a software engineer.

    Life is hard to figure out, especially when you’re young and have a million choices. I would recommend you follow what you love- if that’s Japanese, great! If it’s neither Japanese nor Chinese, maybe think about what it is. You’ll get by, money-wise, but find something you love, even if it’s not languages. This is why we have the 40 hour work week- your life doesn’t have to be your job.

29. Japanese will still be a major business language for a long time.

    Follow your passion.

    There is lot’s of respect for Chinese culture, but not a lot of “love”. People “love” Japan and Japanese.

    And as for job prospects, IMO, both Chinese and Japanese are on equal footing if you are from the West, but then so is French, Arabic, Spanish, Hindi/Urdu and many more, if you know what to do with it.

30. Chinese sounds like shit to me, so nope I believe your choice was good

31. Boy do I wish I followed my dreams when I was younger. That being said I won’t let that regret colour my response. A lot of people will tell you to follow your dreams because they didn’t and regret it, but if I couldn’t follow my dreams, my second choice would have been to be more realistic and practical.

    I did neither and ended up saddled with a mountain of debt for a useless piece of paper, don’t get to that point.

    That out of the way, if you are learning a language for the money, potentially mandarin is better? That also depends on your goals. If you plan to stay in the US, then jobs that require translation likely aren’t that numerous. If you are tempted to move to find work then I would look at the current political and economic climate. Both are pointing at Japan being safer, both for your own personal safety and security, as well for your financial well being. Japan is suffering from some pretty bad inflation right now, but China…. Hoooh boy, China looks to be in a real bad way.

    That being said, if you are considering moving then I’ve heard from TEFL professionals right now that the money is in the middle east currently, that has its own bag of considerations…

32. If you have no interest you are not going to get good at it.

    I studied Chinese and about 1/3 of the students were just there for the money. They never got good.

33. You’ll make more money being good at something niche than you will sucking at a skill everyone is studying. I make $70 USD an hour (10k yen an hour) being kinda ok at Japanese while I assure you that if you don’t want to learn it you won’t even get half as good in Mandarin. Mandarin doesn’t have the allure of anime, or of Nintendo/Sony games, and a lot of the good content that is there is locked behind the world’s largest firewall. Japanese is much more acceptable and it seems like something you have the potential to get further in.

34. Chinese could be big in the future , but if you like Japanese you should study Japanese? Maybe do a minor in the other

35. I can somehow relate to your situation. At first I was learning Korean for 1 year, wanted to continue but I changed university and Korean was only a third language, so I switched to chinese with minor in Korean. I don’t really remember having big interest in it at first, the only thing that made me quite curious was because I had taiwanese friends at some point, and there had nice personality.
    At that time it was around 2010 I think, and Xi Jing Ping wasn’t chairman’s of CCP, Communist China was still low profile ( nationalist fever started around 2013), and so when choosing this language, I had not any disgust to China yet.
    If I had to choose again now I would still be interested, but more because I’m interested in Chinese classics , and in modern taiwanese society. I feel like it’s a waste for common people to learn Chinese, a lot of people I know gave up, often after they experienced studying there for short period.

36. I see both languages have a big carrier advantages and Both are hard. So i would choose the one i already have some base for or iam interested into (not just language but the country it self)

37. Go with Japanese, just because China is doing well doesn’t mean Japan is doing badly, you’ll still find opportunities.

    If you are so conflicted like this, and if you’re anything like me, you’ll probably end up resenting/feeling really bad about your choice to choose the “economically better” option rather than your passion.

    And as a little joke… If you really want the economical choice… The language to learn is python or Java lol

    Lastly, and this is purely anecdotal, a lot of people who like Japanese/Korean stuff don’t like Chinese things… But you should give it a try. Chinese language and culture for East Asia is like equivalent to classical Rome/Latin for Europe in a way. A lot of the root of why some things are the way they are, pronounced, used, etc., comes from historical Chinese influence.

    And also! There are some very popular Chinese games that mesh pretty well with the weeb fan base! Games like Arknights or Genshin or Honkai are all Chinese based, and is rooted in their culture, but also has a lot of Japanese Anime/Manga influence.

    Good luck with your choice!

38. When i was a kid, my parents forced me to take Spanish, which i hated, instead of French, which i loved. The Spanish teachers in my school district were awfully boring (endless grammar worksheets,) whereas my French teacher (i rebelled and took both) took an immersive style to teaching which was very exciting to me.

    I grew up and went to college and tested out of 3 semesters of college credit of Spanish and ended up majoring in it. I dropped French and took Japanese.

    I grew to love Spanish. That is what constant exposure does. The more knowledge you gain in Chinese, the more comfortable you’ll likely feel with it, the more pride you will have from knowing it, and once you start actively using it in your career, well, sky’s the limit.

    You’ll grow into whatever you choose.