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Written Chinese is dense, so though comprehension of characters is slower than letters, meaning is conveyed at the same rate as in English.
Chinese characters can also be frustratingly difficult and, compared with any other major language, extremely time-consuming to learn. This is particularly true for writing characters by hand, which takes many times longer than learning to read.
Differences between traditional vs simplified Chinese
One key difference is the number of strokes required to write each character. Simplified Chinese characters are often written with fewer strokes than their traditional Chinese counterparts, making them easier to write and identify.
Chinese is made up of tens of thousands of characters, each with its own meaning, and often multiple pronunciations. This makes the language extremely difficult to learn, especially for non-native speakers.
Is Japanese easier after Chinese? One major factor in determining which language is more difficult is the level of complexity each has. For example, Chinese characters are somewhat challenging, as they are more complex and require more memorization than Japanese hiragana and katakana symbols.
Japanese is slightly easier to learn. But, Chinese is much more widely spoken. Both languages have their pros and cons. Ultimately whichever language pulls on your heartstrings the most is the winner.
When you hear that Japanese uses three different writing systems, for instance, it may make you want to run for the hills. However, Japanese katakana and hiragana are basically alphabets, making them much easier to learn than the Chinese writing system.
From the ages of 4 to 5, children are ready to copy a basic square shape I "the Chinese character for one 口. They are ready to copy oblique lines — like the three water drops in the 氵radical for water 水, or the four little rain drops in 雨.
Biáng – a type of noodle (42 strokes)
Biáng has attained a certain fame as the most complex Chinese character of them all. However, again there are a few issues surrounding it. The character has a very, very specific meaning: it is used in the name of a traditional Shaanxi noodle dish.
With the right work and attitude, you can make massive progress in your Chinese learning in three months. And if having a conversation in Mandarin Chinese is your primary goal, it can be achievable with just three months of study, even if you're starting from zero.
It takes about 1-3 years to become fluent in daily conversations in Chinese. At this level, you'll be able to talk about what you've done and express your feelings, which are considered intermediate-level topics.
In summary, the time it takes to learn Mandarin fluently varies depending on the individual learner and their level of dedication. With the help of live lessons with native tutors, you can achieve basic fluency in as little as 6-12 months and full fluency in 2-3 years of consistent study and practice.
Results. The maximum reading speed for Chinese characters was 259.5 ± 38.2 characters/min, which was significantly faster than that for English letters (135.7 ± 18.5 words/min, p = 2.8 × 10‐18). The critical font size for Chinese characters was larger than that for English letters (24.2 ± 2.8 arcmin vs.
The Chinese writing system has certain drawbacks when compared with the simpler phonetic systems of the West. It obviously takes a great deal more time and effort to master. Many characters are extremely complex, some being made up of more than twenty-five strokes.
Chinese has a relatively uncomplicated grammar. Unlike French, German or English, Chinese has no verb conjugation (no need to memorize verb tenses!) and no noun declension (e.g., gender and number distinctions).
It takes a learner with average aptitude only 15 weeks to reach level 2 for Spanish or French, but about 50 weeks to reach a similar level of the Chinese language. If you want to be fully fluent in Mandarin, you'd better plan to spend about 230 weeks, which is about 4 years.
If you are thinking of learning Chinese, it can benefit you if you spend less time hesitating about it. Studies have shown that regardless of age, everyone has the ability to learn a new language. Learning Chinese is entirely possible, but becoming fluent in the language takes time to do so.
Most people who are interested in learning have two questions: "Is it hard to learn Chinese?" and "How long does it take to learn Chinese?" Based on government sources and anecdotes, Three to five years is a good estimate of how long it takes to learn Chinese fluently, but there are so many factors involved.
Generally speaking, we might assert that Korean is easier for an English speaker to learn than Mandarin Chinese. But this is very relative. In fact, the US Foreign Service Institute assigns Mandarin Chinese and Korean the same level of difficulty. Both languages are in “Category Four”.
Across multiple sources, Mandarin Chinese is the number one language listed as the most challenging to learn. The Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center puts Mandarin in Category IV, which is the list of the most difficult languages to learn for English speakers.
Cantonese is by far the more challenging of the two languages, particularly for a beginning Chinese language learner. This is because there are more tones used in Cantonese (Cantonese uses up to nine tones, whereas Mandarin only uses four).
Cantonese – Most Difficult Language Overall
Some people debate whether Cantonese deserves recognition as a language in its own right or a dialect of Chinese. Either way, Cantonese poses plenty of problems for students, even if they already speak Mandarin! But why is Cantonese harder than Mandarin for English speakers?
Meanwhile, Korean grammar is likely the hardest, while tones in Mandarin are notoriously difficult for native English speakers to hear, and Japanese is the fastest spoken language in the world at over 7 syllables per second.
Reading and writing Chinese characters is perhaps the most difficult aspect of learning Chinese. The Chinese written script, called 汉字 (hànzì) in Chinese, is based on the use of "logograms"—single characters that can represent an entire word.