{"id":9196,"date":"2017-10-06T08:15:29","date_gmt":"2017-10-06T08:15:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/?p=9196"},"modified":"2017-10-05T08:29:35","modified_gmt":"2017-10-05T08:29:35","slug":"master-three-languages-chinese-japanese-korean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/master-three-languages-chinese-japanese-korean.html","title":{"rendered":"How to master all three languages: Chinese, Japanese and Korean?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"jkc_1\"<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re interested in learning the three languages of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, Chinese characters are the key.<\/strong><\/p>\n

You can opt not to learn Chinese characters, or even delay doing so, while learning Japanese, Korean, or even Chinese (yes, you can<\/em> learn conversational Chinese by using Pinyin\/Zhuyin), but if you want to be a truly fluent speaker of these three languages, Chinese characters are the key. Once you have acquired the knowledge of a certain number of characters, it becomes easier to build up your Japanese\/Korean vocabulary. With the Chinese characters you know, you can often guess the meaning of new combinations of characters that you encounter in your reading.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Heads up!<\/p>\n

Written Japanese, or Kanji, is partially expressed using Chinese characters, while Korean is generally written in Hangeul (the Korean alphabet). In both languages, the changes were needed because Chinese characters were not designed for the conjugations that exist in Japanese and Korean<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Even if they are written in Kanji or Hanja, many “native vocabulary” can only be explained in Japanese\/Korean context. Besides, many of the characters have, over time, taken on different meanings in Japanese and Korean.<\/p>\n

\"jkc_2\"<\/p>\n

What is CJK\u2019s writing system?<\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. Japanese has 3 writing systems: Hiragana (\u3072\u3089\u304c\u306a) , Katakana (\u30ab\u30bf\u30ab\u30ca) and Chinese characters known as kanji (\u6f22\u5b57).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Japanese syllables are written sequentially such as the letters of the Latin alphabet. For instance, \u201c\u306f\u3093\u201d (originated from \u6f22) is composed of two phonetic letters: \u306f (ha) and \u3093 (n); \u201c\u30ab\u30f3\u201d (originated from \u6f22) is composed of two phonetic letters: \u30ab (ha) and \u30f3 (n).<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Korean is written 100% in Hangeul (\ud55c\uae00), some of which \u201coriginated\u201d from Chinese characters (\u6f22\u5b57) known as hanja (\ud55c\uc790).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Korean syllables, Hangeul (\ud55c\uae00), are \u201cgrouped\u201d into blocks using consonant and vowel parts. For instance, \u201c\ud55c\u201d (originated from \u6f22) is composed of three phonetic letters: \u314e (h),\u314f (a) and \u3134 (n).<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Mandarin Chinese is written 100% in simplified Chinese characters (\u6c49\u5b57).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Chinese characters<\/a> are not \u201cbuilt\u201d by consonant and vowel parts. They are in fact compounds of a \u201cpictorial\u201d element. Hanyu Pinyin (developed in the 1950\u2019s) and Zhuyin (developed in the 1910\u2019s) are rather new inventions to \u201cspell\u201d the sound of the spoken language*1<\/sup>. It is not a system for spelling the shapes of characters. The simplified Chinese character \u201c\u6c49\u201d (originated from \u6f22) is pronounced as \u201ch\u00e0n\u201d or \u201c\u310f\u3122\u02cb\u201d.<\/p>\n

        Which language is the easiest from among Chinese, Japanese, and Korean?<\/h2>\n

        \"jkc_3\"<\/a><\/p>\n

        Well, there is no absolute answer that applies to everybody. If your native language is English you will probably find…<\/p>\n

        \u2026 Japanese the easiest to pronounce.<\/p>\n

        \u2026 Korean the easiest to read.<\/p>\n

        \u2026 Mandarin Chinese the easiest to speak\/converse.<\/p>\n

        But really, it all depends on the individual. Some would find one language easier to learn than the others. And that\u2019s fine! What\u2019s important is that once you set out to learn a language, you do your best, and eventually, you will get the hang of it.<\/p>\n

        In what sequence should we go about learning them? To what extent can learning one help us with the others<\/h2>\n

        There\u2019s no quick and fast rule but here is what I think.<\/p>\n

        1)<\/span><\/strong> You should let your passion be your guide. Whether you like K-pop, Japanese popular culture, or if you have a more practical reason, go with what interests you or what you feel you need to learn. Learning a new language is fun, even if it is time-consuming. Focus on one language at a time but don\u2019t expect you will \u201cautomatically\u201d understand or speak the other Asian languages right away.<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        2)<\/span><\/strong> If you want to learn at least two out of the three languages, and you\u2019re not particular which ones to learn, you should definitely start with Chinese. Here are some notes on these languages:<\/p>\n

        A.\u00a0Pronunciation<\/a>:<\/strong><\/p>\n