Should I study Japanese or Mandarin Chinese as a third language?

6 Comments

1. Mr. Hermit says:

   August 30, 2009 at 9:45 am

   This is an easy choice – pick Mandarin Chinese, it is spoken by over a billion people in China, Singapore, Taiwan and Malaysia. While Japanese is only spoken by around 150 million people (mainly in Japan & Brazil). In addition to that, Mandarin is the language of the future as China’s economic and political influence grows in the future. Don’t forget that the Japanese language borrows heavily from Mandarin Chinese itself. Therefore, if you have already learnt Chinese, you have build yourself a solid foundation to learn Japanese, if you wish to do so in the future.
2. Wen P says:

   August 30, 2009 at 9:45 am

   It depends on your long term goals. Chinese is better for biz relationships. Japanese is useful for social and religious study.
3. justina_mllr says:

   August 30, 2009 at 9:45 am

   I’m learning Mandarin chinese currently and i think that its a pretty good language to learn. But it all depends on you Japanese is fun too. But Chinese is the most widely spoken language of the world other than english.
4. freshface2991 says:

   August 30, 2009 at 9:45 am

   Whatever sounds nicer to you. If Mandarin sounds nicer, then pick it. If Japanese sounds nicer, then pick that.
5. 123 says:

   August 30, 2009 at 9:45 am

   i’m learning japanese right now and i really like it, even though it’s pretty tricky. my guess is it’s just as hard as mandarin. i’ve been told japanese is a major international business language, but now that you mention it, mandarin does seem to be growing.

   so, ultimately, i think you should choose whichever you think would be best for you (:
6. TR says:

   August 30, 2009 at 9:45 am

   I’ve been contemplating your same question for a long time. Every now and then my dad will find an opportunity to say, "in 25 years we’ll all be speaking Chinese". Soon, employers may start looking for fluent Chinese speakers but who knows. On the other hand Japanese, to me, sounds really cool; it’s also another major business capital of the world.

   If you’re just interested in business then go with Mandarin. But I’d also look over each country’s cultures online. Try looking at videos of the countries on youtube as well.