How hard is it to learn the Chinese language?

14 Comments

1. Yuri B says:

   October 23, 2009 at 2:34 pm

   writing = hard
   speaking = medium (the tones always screw people up)
   reading = medium
   listening = medium (easy for me though.. )

   This is from the perspective of a native english speaker
2. Emma G says:

   October 23, 2009 at 2:34 pm

   Extremely hard
3. jpn540 says:

   October 23, 2009 at 2:34 pm

   I think it’s harder to speak English but harder to write Chinese.
4. akdfkalj says:

   October 23, 2009 at 2:34 pm

   Pretty hard. Depends on your age though if you are younger you will learn it faster and easier.
5. ana!luvs!blade says:

   October 23, 2009 at 2:34 pm

   there is NO such thing as a chinese language! its like saying, "hey do u speak mexican?" or "hey, how do u speak american?"
6. Laura Beth says:

   October 23, 2009 at 2:34 pm

   It’s pretty hard
7. Zach says:

   October 23, 2009 at 2:34 pm

   im learning it in high school… its hard
8. Eric Theodore Cartman says:

   October 23, 2009 at 2:34 pm

   First of all, it depend which Chinese dialect you are going to learn. Most people learn Mandarin since it is the most common. It is probably one of the hardest languages to learn. I have been learning it for about 7 years but I still suck. Each word has 4 different tones or ways to say it that is why, the Chinese /English writings have numbers after them. Also, you have to learn every single word unlike English where you can sound out the words. Also, when you are writing it you have to right each line in a particular order or else it will be pretty screwed up.
9. a1l2m3m4 says:

   October 23, 2009 at 2:34 pm

   As a Chinese speaker, I can tell you that it’s super hard for a foreigner to learn Chinese.

   Chinese grammar is easy and there’s no tense problems.
   But it’s really hard in speaking(reading) and writing.
   Coz there’s no alphabet in Chinese.
   Every character is unique.
   And some of them are pretty similar. (example one)
   And lots of them are pretty hard to write. (example two)
   And lots of them you dont even know how to read !!!

   well, as i mentioned above, im not an english speaker.
   sorry for my poor english =(

   EXAMPLE ONE :

   清　 倩　 情　 睛　 晴　 靖

   鑾 　孿 　變 　戀　 蠻

   搜 　叟 　傁　 瘦　 廋

   EXAMPLE TWO :

   龜　

   釁

   癟
10. Alex Y says:

    October 23, 2009 at 2:34 pm

    it is haaaard. go learn spanish instead, way more useful.
11. angela_li753 says:

    October 23, 2009 at 2:34 pm

    I am Chinese, but I’m learning how to read it and it;s extremely hard. But if you are learning how to speak it, it could be easier to watch subbed dramas and listen to music. When I was very young I learning only one type of chinese from my family and that is Taishanese(most ppl havent heard of that language but all well) When I was growing up I started to watch a lot of subbed dramas and listened to a lot of music. Thats when I am fluent in all mandrian cantonese and taishanese. Sometimes if i dont know a word i write it down and ask my parents. In your case one of your friends. from my experience thats the easiest way to enjoy your learning and its fast. My friend is Hmong and she learned that way too. (hope that helped srry for writing so much)
12. chengsta88 says:

    October 23, 2009 at 2:34 pm

    It takes a lot of time and practice but I don’t think it is hard.
    To make it easier, I watch subbed Chinese dramas and listen to music.
13. Joshua A says:

    October 23, 2009 at 2:34 pm

    yes it is the chinese have symbols instead letters like A B C D….. the reason they could put email in their phone earlyer thn us is becuase their wrighting is synbols
14. Peter Brack says:

    October 23, 2009 at 2:34 pm

    hi there,
    I recommend you this course to learn Chinese in 3 month.

    http://www.consumer-expert.com/learn_chinese.html

    regards,