New Members boycott Posted February 3, 2013 at 08:04 AM New Members Report Share Posted February 3, 2013 at 08:04 AM I am a native English speaker but have recently learned Korean to a beginner/intermediate level. I had previously studied a little Chinese and Japanese as well, but I forgot most of what I had learned. Anyways, I know that Korean and Japanese are very grammatically similar and most of the Korean vocabulary is derived from the Hanja. Because I am highly interested in Chinese and Japanese, I've thought about re-learning one of them while also studying Korean concurrently (due to personal reasons I have to learn Korean as soon as possible) Has anyone done this? Is it as easy for Korean speakers to learn Chinese vocabulary as it is for Chinese speakers to learn Korean vocabulary? How easy it is for Korean speakers to learn Japanese vocabulary? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zhao Hanqing Posted February 3, 2013 at 01:54 PM Report Share Posted February 3, 2013 at 01:54 PM Chinese is more promising than japanese, most probably will become a franca lingua. I suggest Chinsese. 70 percent of Korean words come from Chinese, so it is easier for you to learn Chinese with your Korean already acquired. Of course it is almost equally easy for you to learn Japansese, for these three share an incredily large common vocabulary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xiaocai Posted February 4, 2013 at 02:00 PM Report Share Posted February 4, 2013 at 02:00 PM Maybe Japanese? Similar grammar, less characters, and maybe slightly easier to pick up pronunciation (no tones) for an English native. Well with no further information my suggestion was only based on the "technical" side. It will of course be a different story if your choice will be affected by other preferences. But if you learn Chinese, you may know more things you can boycott. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lechuan Posted February 4, 2013 at 02:56 PM Report Share Posted February 4, 2013 at 02:56 PM Or spend time learning the chinese characters as used in Korean? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneEye Posted February 5, 2013 at 08:05 AM Report Share Posted February 5, 2013 at 08:05 AM If you "have to learn Korean as soon as possible," wouldn't it make sense to focus all your energy on Korean? Then once you've achieved an acceptable level in Korean (say, basic fluency or higher, and the ability to read), then move on to another language. The great thing is that not only are you now fluent in Korean (which is a pressing need), but you suddenly have a lot more learning materials to choose from for whichever language(s) you choose next, because now you can use either English or Korean as a base language. Speaking from personal experience, I started and stopped studying Japanese many times because Chinese was a much higher priority (I live in Taiwan and will be starting grad school here this fall). It's only now that my Chinese is at an acceptable level that I feel comfortable devoting more time to Japanese. The bonus is that kanji are no problem, and I can choose from a huge selection of learning materials for both Chinese and English speakers. Just my two cents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zhao Hanqing Posted February 5, 2013 at 08:26 AM Report Share Posted February 5, 2013 at 08:26 AM Japan is going down, and Japanese is loosing prestige whilst China is going up and will probably overtake US in national strength and Chinese will be a common language most probably. Which to choose is still a problem for you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneEye Posted February 5, 2013 at 08:37 AM Report Share Posted February 5, 2013 at 08:37 AM I think we can do without the nationalism, don't you? I don't think repeatedly stating the same opinion is going to change anyone's mind. There are other (better) reasons to learn a language besides a country's GDP. Entertainment media is one example, and it's an area in which Japan runs circles around China, IMO. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
realmayo Posted February 5, 2013 at 09:36 AM Report Share Posted February 5, 2013 at 09:36 AM If you choose Japanese the grammar will seem quite easy. If you choose Chinese you'll get some help learning nouns. For the modern world my hunch is that Japanese is a better fit with Korean. But for understanding the earlier history of the region and other Asian languages, Chinese might be better. South Korean and Japan are key Western allies. China is allied with North Korea and hates Japan. If China goes crazy again, or needs to be put back in its place by the West, it might not be convenient to spend time there. But it might be more exciting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Members boycott Posted February 5, 2013 at 01:04 PM Author New Members Report Share Posted February 5, 2013 at 01:04 PM although I do need to learn Korean ASAP, I am tempted to learn Japanese or Chinese at the same time. That's because I am very interested in the Japanese and Chinese cultures and languages, but more interested in Chinese history. I also have a little bit of interest in anime. I figure learning Japanese would help me with my Korean grammar since they have similar grammatical structures. But I am focusing now on learning Hanja effectively as well since I have a limited vocabulary. Anyone know if Hanzi is more similar to Hanja than Kanji is? or vice-versa? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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