Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Learning English was way more difficult than Japanese IMO. (WANTED learn Japanese and enjoying it, NEEDED learn English because living in the U.S.)
Even my name in city-data derived from the combination of Tenki(天気;てんき;Weather) and putting suffix -er.
I've been studied German for a few years and can't speak properly beside the basic greetings, I guess I'm not usual with Germanic languages.
Yes, Japanese is incredibly difficult to learn. I haven't ever struggled like this with English, Spanish, French, or Hindi. I even taught myself German (really easy language to pick up yourself within a few years).
For me, it was the opposite. I've studied Spanish, Japanese, and German. Of those, Spanish was the easiest, but I did not find Japanese very hard. The written language, which I think most people consider the hardest part, came very easily to me. While I don't consider myself conversationally fluent (owing to never having lived in Japan or using the spoken language on a regular basis), I can pick up a Japanese book and read or translate without too much trouble.
On the other hand, I found German frustratingly difficult to speak correctly. The arbitrary and semantically meaningless assignation of three genders to nouns, with their corresponding cases, is a heavy burden on the memory. Plurals must also be memorized one by one. I found the vocabulary very difficult to commit to memory. That German and English have a common ancestor did not help me much beyond the very basic vocabulary like "Hand, Butter, Bruder."
On the other hand, Japanese verbs are almost entirely regular. There are no noun/pronoun cases, genders, or plural forms. The syntax, though quite different from English, is not at all difficult.
The written language, which I think most people consider the hardest part, came very easily to me. While I don't consider myself conversationally fluent (owing to never having lived in Japan or using the spoken language on a regular basis), I can pick up a Japanese book and read or translate without too much trouble.
Understanding written Japanese is not that hard.
I remember there is a Taiwan guy who insists Japanese was made from Chinese and teaches Taiwanese how to read Japanese. He advertises his learning method as: 24 hours are enough for a Taiwanese to master how to understand written Japanese.
Both writing correctly and knowing Kanji's pronunciations are the hardest parts though.
For example, do you know how to read 神戸 in Japanese?
My friend's surname is 神戸, which is read as Kanbe.
And there is a place called 神戸, Kawaguchi, Saitama. It is read as Goudo.
Another example, Saito is one of the most popular surnames in Japan. But you can't tell how to write correctly his/her name until you have asked him/her. Even a Chinese will be confused by those Kanjis below
斉藤, 斎藤, 齊藤, 齋藤
Although I am a native Japanese, I don't dare to say I can pronounce 20% of Japanese surnames correctly. Let alone first names. Do you?
Just started to learn Mandarin. It's nice that the grammar seems to be fairly easy. But holy ****. Learning vocab and pronunciation is killing me right now.
Although I am a native Japanese, I don't dare to say I can pronounce 20% of Japanese surnames correctly. Let alone first names. Do you?
Well, of course not, and never said I did. Names are a special case in Japanese, just as they are in English. If a girl says her name is "Katherine," are you sure that's how she spells it? Maybe it's Kathryn or Catherine. Or Katharine. Or Cathryn...
If you see the name "Bryana" are you completely sure you are pronouncing it correctly?
Being 100% positive of how to pronounce and write Japanese and English names has almost nothing to do with being able to read a Japanese or English book.
Well, of course not, and never said I did. Names are a special case in Japanese, just as they are in English. If a girl says her name is "Katherine," are you sure that's how she spells it? Maybe it's Kathryn or Catherine. Or Katharine. Or Cathryn...
If you see the name "Bryana" are you completely sure you are pronouncing it correctly?
Being 100% positive of how to pronounce and write Japanese and English names has almost nothing to do with being able to read a Japanese or English book.
I get your point on proper names. How about this one?
欠: qian4 in Chinese
伸: shen1 in Chinese
欠: ka(keru), ketu in Japanese
伸: no(biru), sin in Japanese
while you must learn at least two totally different readings for one Kanji, you don't have to do so in Chinese with some exceptions, such as 行(xing2, hang2).
Besides, the combination of the two Kanji is read differently:
欠伸: akubi in Japanese
Many Chinese can't or don't want to handle with these too complicated readings, so you are the gifted one.
As for writing, I've met many foreigners who speak Japanese fluently, still can't write correct Japanese sentences. Some can't differentiate は from が, some can't use correct tense.
Manchu language for me. Even my teacher couldn't speak it well
How many people have you met that can speak Manchu well? Isn't it a nearly extinct language?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
