Relatively, Korean would be an easier language to learn. Thanks to its phonetic alphabet and more simplistic grammar rules, Korean is not the most challenging Asian language to learn. Chinese on the other hand is much more widely spoken. This means that finding study materials and practice partners would be easier.
Korean is thus the easiest language of these three to learn how to read and write, for which learners of the language will be grateful! What is not so easy is the grammar or pronunciation.
Korean and Japanese are at the top of the “most difficult” level – with Japanese having just a small edge on Korean for it's use of 2 alphabetic structures PLUS the use of Kanji – Chinese characters (in total 3 alphabets essentially) instead of just one alphabet like in Korean.
FAQs. Which language is easier to learn– Korean or Japanese? Korean is considered to be much easier than Japanese. There are more letters in the Japanese alphabet than in Korean. Japanese also contains more complicated Chinese characters and difficult grammar.
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.
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”.
Many people are curious about how difficult Japanese is compared to Chinese – a language that many learners have difficulty mastering. Compared to Chinese, Japanese does have its own set of complexities and challenges but overall, it's considered easier for beginners.
Overview of the Korean language
Linguistically, Korean isn't related to Chinese but is similar to, but still distinct from the Japanese language. One of the hardest aspects of Korean is that it is a hierarchical language which means different words are used depending on who you are communicating with.
Is Japanese or Korean More Used? Japan has a larger economy and a population of 127 million people speaking the Japanese language. The combined population of North and South Korea totals about 75 million people.
However, considering the larger number of sounds and the different particles in Korean, Japanese is definitely the easier language to start in. If you're not good at distinguishing new sounds and pronunciations, you're definitely going to have a hard time with Korean.
Relatively, Korean would be an easier language to learn. Thanks to its phonetic alphabet and more simplistic grammar rules, Korean is not the most challenging Asian language to learn. Chinese on the other hand is much more widely spoken. This means that finding study materials and practice partners would be easier.
Overall, the choice of whether to learn Mandarin or Japanese is up to you! Think about where you envision yourself spending time, who you might need to communicate with, and which culture excites you the most. Then, give it your all.
How Long Does it Take to Learn Japanese on Average? With consistent studying and speaking, for about 30 minutes to an hour a day, you could speak at a conversational level in Japanese in about 3 months.
As we've already mentioned, Japanese is considered the fastest language in the world. It is always mentioned as the first on the list. So, here are 6 of the fastest spoken languages in the world, based on the average number of syllables spoken per second (SPS): Japanese - 7.84 SPS.
It takes about 4-7 years (roughly 2200 to 4000 hours) to become fluent in every aspect of the language, if you spend at least an hour and a half to study every day. However, it's quite common for learners to become more fluent in some areas than others depending on how they allotted their study time.
Korean and Chinese can't understand each other. They have a distinctive language family, Chinese belongs to the Sino-Tibetan (also known as Trans-Himalayan family) while Korean is a Koreanic language (consisting of the modern Korean language collectively with extinct primeval relatives).
8. How long will it take to become fluent in Korean? In general, it will take about 1200 hours to reach a higher intermediate level of Korean skills. You will need additional practice, so you may want to double that number to 2400 hours to get towards fluency using this simple math.
Japanese people do not understand Korean even though Japan and Korea are next to each other geographically and may share a few similar words. These two languages originate from two separate countries and are unrelated. One must learn or study the language to communicate in Korean and vice versa.
The Chinese language (at the risk of stating the obvious) is a very complex language, but a simple way to identify Chinese characters is that they are square and not curvy. Japanese characters look rounder and more curvy. Visually, both Japanese and Korean are also more open and spacious than Chinese, which is denser.
No. Japanese is of the Japonic language family; Korean is of the Koreanic language family. Their grammar is similar; but their vocabularies, pronunciations, and writing systems are vastly different.
One of the biggest challenges of learning Chinese is mastering the pronunciation. Unlike English, Chinese is a tonal language, which means that the meaning of a word can change depending on the tone used to pronounce it. Chinese has four main tones: flat, rising, falling then rising, and falling.
Mandarin. English is taught in Chinese schools, so most Mandarin speakers are familiar with English and the Latin script that makes up the English alphabet. Languages that don't use a Latin script, though, tend to give Mandarin speakers the most trouble. Arabic is a language most Mandarin speakers will find challenging ...
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?