Is it impossible to learn Chinese and Japanese at the same time?
Hello. I am currently studying Chinese but always have had a fascination with Japanese, and still want to learn it. I know the basics and the two alphabets in it already but kanji to me is difficult. Mostly when I look to Japanese kanji I get confused and mix them up with chinese..Is it possible to learn to speak both of those languages? How? Any tips (other than saying just wait to learn japanese).
Chosen Answer:
I take Japanese and Chinese at the same time and I find it pretty easy. I started with Japanese though and I had trouble with the kanji so I decided to take Chinese and the Chinese really helped me with my Japanese because a lot of the characters mean the same thing although they are pronounced differently.
It’s pretty fun, you should go for it.
by: Kaylee
on: 11th January 09
With Christ ALL things are possible.
It may be easier to master one first, & then learn the other.
i studied both at the same time as well
just… learn to differentiate between both o.O
idk lol i never had that problem
Chinese is hard as it is! Good luck trying to learn japanese at the same time.
Of course you could, it would be much easier to learn one first then the other.
claro ke no siempre y cuando tengas buenos maestros…
It’s not impossible, but if I were you, I would quit one. If I was going to quit one, I would quit Chinese. Just study really hard. I like Japanese more and it’s a very pretty language, but Chinese is very useful anywhere. Your choice…
Nope, just very difficult.
i guess anything is possible, bu that would be very hard. it depends on the person probably but since you say you already get stuff mixed up, i would try to become more fluent in chinese and learn any differences in symbols you can before learning japanese.
The only similarity between Chinese & Japanese is the Kanji – the “Chinese characters”. The spoken language, especially the grammar, is totally different. So if the Kanji is confusing you, I would focus on only learning the Chinese Kanji for now. This will help you with the Japanese variations later, along with Japanese Hiragana & Katakana. I think you could learn spoken Chinese & Japanese at the same time because they are so different. Good luck!
nothing is impossible. Your degree of success is directly related to your desire to succeed. Japanese has many more dialects than Chinese. Both are the most difficult languages to learn with English as your first language. It can be done, it will be very hard, but it will benefit you in the future to study them together. Succeed and you will learn any other language easily. It’s like a muscle, the more you use it the stronger it gets. Learn those two languages, and all the different dialects, and even Swahili will be easy for you. German, French, Greek and Italian will be child’s play. You have set your sights pretty high. If you have a job, or a social life, you will get behind. Don’t give up, but try to avoid overwhelming your brain. A linguist with many languages is highly sought, and highly paid. It can be a very rewarding career. Good luck.
It’s not impossible. How much you can take is an individual thing. Just look at all those countless people who are multilingual, not to mention that bilinguals are quite the norm.
You need to develop the skills to help you learn several things at a time such as patience, organization, time management, a little endurance, attitude and determination. Above all you *must* enjoy learning those languages!
FYI: The majority of Japanese kanjis are actually traditional Chinese characters (used in Hong Kong, Taiwan and by overseas Chinese communities) so you are not wrong. Even a lot of the simplified kanjis look the same as the Chinese counterparts. In fact, Japanese kanji can be used universally throughout the Chinese world without, if at all, much error. Of course, your examiner would prefer you to know your traditional characters from the simplified ones.
I don’t know either language, but maybe you could finish studying Chinese, wait until you become fluent in it, or know a lot of it at least, and then start studying Japanese
your brain will confuse the words…
if you say kanji symbols are difficult for you it means you haven’t started Chinese yet because they are taken from China…
moreover, you haven’t tried Japanese grammar, because if you did, you woudn’t consider kanji difficult…
the best tip is like this “a man who was chasing two deer, torn himself apart”… learn them one by one… thus you’ll have a chance to learn at least one…
Yes,but It may be easier to master one first.You can choose Chinese first.
I take Japanese and Chinese at the same time and I find it pretty easy. I started with Japanese though and I had trouble with the kanji so I decided to take Chinese and the Chinese really helped me with my Japanese because a lot of the characters mean the same thing although they are pronounced differently.
It’s pretty fun, you should go for it.