my parents keep telling me to learn chinese, becuase they said that Japan is...sinking? but China is getting better?\n-0-...i really want to take japanese though...??
204283
hahaha\njapanese is definitely NOT easier to learn than chinese.\nto a native english speaker, korean and japanese are the most difficult languages to learn in the world.\nwith a name like "yooni" i'm assuming that maybe you're korean?  if that's so, and you know some korean, then japanese grammar is almost identical to korean grammar, but the vocabulary is completely different.\non the other hand, again based off of korean, because korean has so much chinese-based vocabulary, learning hanja is actually pretty easy, because it's logical and makes sense for the most part.  plus, chinese has very little grammar at all.  while the characters will make it a little more difficult to learn how to read, you can be speaking chinese with a bit of fluency in no time.  \nbut remember, japanese has three ways of writing, and the main one is pure chinese characters (or variants thereof).  so, whether you learn japanese or chinese, you'll still have to memorize all that hanja.\n\nyour parents are right.  according to all major economists, japan is sinking in the international community, and china and korea are rising.  i strongly suggest learning either chinese or korean.\nhowever, if you *really* want to learn japanese, go ahead.  i don't see much benefit in japanese other than to read japanese literature.
337056
I'm in china too, and I've found that most Chinese textbooks for learning chinese are not very useful or applicable to real life.\n\nI started with the pronunciation of the pinyin with the free class my school gave.  Then I moved to writing/reading (which should be combined but they don't understand that) I used "Reading and Writing Chinese" by Tuttle Publishing, Hong Kong.  can buy in major cities' foreign language bookstore for around 120RMB.  It mostly teaches the old characters but is very useful because it has english explanations and step-by-step (or stroke-by-stroke) writing diagrams.  And if you know the old you can learn the new ones easily, but not the other way around.\n\nOnce you have basic numbers, travel words and everyday needs, you should sit down with a phrasebook or a restaurant menu and study the foods.  It is a must-do!  Eat something different every day and study the characters and pronunciation of the food words.\n\nBeyond that, I would recommend you take a chinese friend to the bookstore and look through a few books until you find one that best suits you.  DONT buy the one your friend recommends, keep looking... you will find one, but it has to be challenging and interesting, not the "Kunming is the spring city" type of book, thats BS that you will never need in your daily life as a foreigner.
644136
read more mandarin books, talk more, and listen more.... engage a tutor to coach u in mandarin..
300605
To be quite honest, it's not a matter of the market. It's more a matter of so-called 'native' speakers. In Vancouver, most of the ESL schools downtown (which there are quite a few around downtown) are owned by either Japanese, Hong Kongers or Koreans. And you know very well from experience in Asia that they are very discriminatory and only prefer to hire a 'white face', rather than an asian face. And they would tell you that it's the students' choice whom many of them are from Asia (Taiwan, Japan, Korea, etc.). So I hate to say that his chances of teaching ESL is very slim or zero. But one way to start off is to volunteer his service in a community centre where he can gain local canadian experience which can help him seek future employment in this field. So be prepared to face the discrimination or prejudice in the beginning and with self-preservance, he may come out alright with a school which is more open-minded and give him a chance. G'luck!
421902
Make sure when you learn you learn in Kana. I treid to learn by the romanizaed version i.e. where it is all written in English so you learn the words without the added pressure of the kana on top. When I went to Japan I realised this was a mistake, everything is written in kana, and quite a lot in Kanji. If you are learning Japanese it is more difficult to learn it in Kana but well worth it in the long run, otherwise you have to learn the same stuff all over again but in the alphabets too if you see what i mean. I wouldn't worry to much about Kanji unitl you've mastered the basics of Kana and the anguage, most people I know who went to Japan are still learning the kanji while they're over there. Here's a couple of books I really recommend to help with the learning of the kana and kanji, as I found it hard to start with but these really helped, but please consider that everyone's way of learning is different so what's good for me might not be for you. http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_ss_w_h_/203-8697761-6892718?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=michael+rowley&Go.x=0&Go.y=0&Go=Go this book gives the idea of pictures to help you associate the kanji more easily with memory, it also has loads of kana in the start so is well worth getting\nhttp://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_ss_w_h_/203-8697761-6892718?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=japanese+busy+people+kana&Go.x=0&Go.y=0&Go=Go This is the most recent version of this book, and although it does take a while to get into it's worth sticking at. Unfortunately the workbook for this edition isnt out until March, but there are still practices and exercises in this. Good luck and stick at it!
172469
I assume by Chinese you mean Mandarin.  If that is the case, then Mandarin should be your choice, although it is more fun to curse in Cantonese.
488787
I am learning Chinese (Mandarin). I have already studied for five years, with about half of that time spent in Taiwan or China. I enjoy it a lot!
317216
Have you tried a Japanese restaurant?  Seriously.  If you're that adamant about speaking to Japanese people, that would be a great place to start.
486416
Retaining a learned language is hard when your skills are not put to practice. But you have many solutions available. Go to Japanese chat rooms. Do NOT be embarrassed by grammar mistakes etc. they will be more than happy to correct you as well as help you. People generally enjoy telling people how to say things correctly! \nAlso, watch Japanese television programming on your basic cable. If that is not on your cable package, see if you can upgrade to get that channel. Put the enthusiasm back into the language by making the effort. Also, you can join a club in your area like a culture club as well as attend classes at community college.\nWhen you talk out loud to yourself, and we all do, say it in Japanese.\nI wish you luck on this. Please keep the language, you worked hard to attain it!!
178599
I depends on what your native language.   The structure of Chinese is very different compared to english.   There are even several Chinese dialects that are very different from each other.   I hear the hardest is supposed to be Mandarin Chinese.
298492
Good for you.\n\nCome to China and teach English.\n\nPeanutz it was a joke!
209663
There are keyboards with Japnese printed on keys. Also one can type if you change your font to some japnease or chinese. But I don't no either of the language so I can't type the words and tell you.
338407
China! Japan jointly dev missle defense w/ US, opened embassy in Taiwan, working on treaty to deploy combat forces alongside US in defense of Taiwan. Taiwan just dropped reunification cmte to huge PRC protest. Much more. Recall our lost navy spy plane/crew, Japan just chased a PRC sub out of their waters, PRC def buildup, ROC buyingg subs w/ US foreign aide. Cold war is started & the navy trains for a hot one.
634982
EVERYONE says french my answer don't.\nIn reality Spanish& japanese are really very important even german is good. Listen i'm not inventing stuff but i've attended so many seminars about this & that is what their answer was.Besides that these languages are important when you want to find a really good job
323290
Latin is great from an intellectual standpoint. But if you want to learn an alternative language for productivity and business purposes, Chinese, Japanese, and Spanish are probably the best languages right now to learn and each has its own reasons. Spanish obviously for businesses based in the southern part of the US, Japanese for big and well established businesses, and Chinese because the economy over there is exponentially expanding and upstart businesses there will probably become fortune 500 within 2 years. Its a matter of opinion really.
47221
Well dear, you need to understand some of these ppl are from all over the world.  It wouldn't be easy if you had to type in a question in French or Japanese.  As for questions that makes no sense, i'm sure they opened a few accounts so that they can give their accounts more points for whatever reason.  Maybe you can get some cash out of it?
25452
Chinese. China is the most populated country in the world and will continue to grow exponentially. If you have any interest in the business world, knowing Chinese will be an amazing asset.\n\nIt is THE one language to learn - don't bother with issues like ease or how cool Japanese aname is. They're not relevant to the question.