Should I study Japanese or Chinese?

If you’re interested in learning Japanese with anime, J-pop, or because you love Japanese food and culture, then the choice is easy. On the other hand, for those interested in Chinese history and how it shaped many other Asian cultures, learning Chinese would be a great way to gain more insight.

Is Chinese worth studying?

Learning Chinese makes you smart Learning Chinese makes you smarter according to science. Researchers found that learning Chinese exercises your brain more than any other language. Mastering the tones and characters in Chinese requires many parts of the brain to function, thus eating up more brainpower.

Is it harder to learn Chinese or Japanese?

Chinese grammar is generally considered a lot easier to learn than Japanese. Chinese is an isolating language, even more so than English, with no verb conjugations, noun cases or grammatical gender. Chinese has a larger inventory of phonemes and each syllable has its own tone.

Is studying Japanese worth the effort?

It is absolutely worth learning some basic, everyday words and phrases, even if you have no intention whatsoever of ever attempting to become fluent in Japanese. The good news is, there are a few phrases are absolutely music to the ears of literally ALL Japanese people.

What does it mean to study Chinese?

The study of the Chinese language opens the way to different important fields such as Chinese politics, economy, history or archaeology. But to study Chinese finally means to study a culture, a people.

Does knowing Chinese really help in learning Japanese?

And to answer your question,as an American of Chinese descent who has been learning Japanese by myself online, I think that knowing Chinese really does help in learning Japanese to some extent. Even the grammar concepts are actually more similar than some native English speakers claim.

Do I need to know Chinese to study abroad in Shanghai?

No prior knowledge of Chinese language is required to study abroad in Shanghai, but students will be required to study Chinese while in the program. Students in the Language and Culture program study two semesters’ worth of Chinese in one term.

How easy is it to learn the Chinese language?

To be at ease and effective in a Chinese environment learning the language is half the battle, but knowing about the culture behind the language is the other. Chinese has a relatively uncomplicated grammar.