Advantages of Learning Japanese for Chinese Speakers

Japanese uses many Chinese characters called Kanji and has also developed two other scripts, Hiragana and Katakana, based on them. These scripts look similar, so people who know Chinese can use Kanji to help remember Japanese words. In simple terms, Chinese speakers learning Japanese can more easily understand the meanings of words with Kanji, even though the pronunciations are different. Research shows that Japanese children need to learn 1,026 Kanji by the end of sixth grade, which means knowing just over 1,000 Kanji is enough for basic reading and daily conversations.

Tone of pronunciation

Both languages use numbers to represent tones, but they differ in application. In Chinese, each character has its own tone: first, second, third, fourth, and neutral. In Japanese, individual Kana do not have tones; only words formed by Kana have tones (indicated by a circle and a number following the word). While there are fundamental differences, those with a Chinese background will find it easier to grasp the rising and falling pitches of Japanese tones. (For easier memorization, one could roughly equate the high tone in Japanese with the first tone in Chinese and the low tone in Japanese with the third tone in Chinese.)

Teaching order

Both languages follow a teaching sequence that starts with basic phonetic elements, then builds syllables and tones. Chinese Pinyin instruction typically progresses gradually, starting with finals, then tones, initials, and finally combining them into syllables. Japanese instruction is similar, beginning with the fifty sounds chart (equivalent to Pinyin), then Hiragana, Katakana, Romaji, and finally tones.

Grammatical structure

The biggest grammatical difference between Chinese and Japanese lies in word order. The predicate in Japanese comes at the end of the sentence, requiring listeners to hear the entire sentence to understand the speaker’s intent, whether it’s affirmative or negative, present or past tense. Understanding this grammatical phenomenon requires understanding Japanese culture and ways of thinking. (Because even when disagreeing, Japanese speakers tend to minimize offense to others, favoring indirect and polite expressions.) Chinese, on the other hand, favors a more direct and straightforward style. For example, to decline something, a Japanese person might say they need to consider it further (考えさせて下さい), while a Chinese person might say, “I’m sorry, I can’t accept this.” (对不起，我不能接受。) However, even with these differences, the cultural gap between China and Japan, as neighboring countries, is much smaller than the gap with Western cultures. Coupled with nearly identical dietary habits, it’s easier for Chinese students to integrate into Japanese society compared to Western cultural systems.

It’s also worth pointing out that Japanese and Chinese grammar share some key parallels. Both languages generally follow a similar structure where modifying words come before the words they modify. Specifically, adjectives precede the nouns they describe, and adverbs precede the verbs they modify. Furthermore, in both languages, the form of the verb doesn’t change based on the grammatical person (first, second, or third) or number (singular or plural) of the subject.

The possibility of complementary learning

Because of these similarities, individuals proficient in one language may find it easier to learn the other. Thus, learners with a background in Chinese are encouraged to study Japanese alongside it for a complementary learning experience, and the same applies in reverse.