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Choose your fighter
Compare Asian languages: closeness matrix
Choose your fighter: two languages, one honest scorecard. Kungfucius compares vocabulary overlap, grammar, scripts, tones and study hours, so you know whether Japanese helps your Chinese or just confuses it.
The short answer
Kungfucius says: Every language is the easiest one, according to its fans.
In this section
Chinese vs JapaneseShould I learn Chinese or Japanese?Should you learn Chinese or Japanese? Compare difficulty, usefulness, scripts, sounds and culture, then get a clear verdict on which one to start with.Chinese vs KoreanShould I learn Chinese or Korean?Should you learn Chinese or Korean? Compare difficulty, usefulness, scripts, sounds and culture, then get a clear verdict on which language to start with.Choose your fighterAsian languages ranked by difficultyAsian languages ranked by difficulty for English speakers: FSI hours, scripts, tones and grammar for Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Malay.Japanese vs KoreanShould I learn Japanese or Korean?Should you learn Japanese or Korean? Compare difficulty, usefulness, scripts, sounds and culture, then get a clear verdict on which language to start with.Chinese vs CantoneseShould I learn Chinese or Cantonese?Should you learn Mandarin Chinese or Cantonese? Compare usefulness, difficulty, tones, scripts and culture, then get a clear verdict on where to start.Chinese vs CantoneseHow to tell Chinese from CantoneseHow to tell Chinese from Cantonese at a glance or by ear: script giveaways, telltale characters, sounds and rhythm, with side-by-side samples and a quiz.Chinese vs JapaneseHow to tell Chinese from JapaneseHow to tell Chinese from Japanese at a glance or by ear: script giveaways, telltale characters, sounds and rhythm, with side-by-side samples and a quiz.Chinese vs KoreanHow to tell Chinese from KoreanHow to tell Chinese from Korean at a glance or by ear: script giveaways, telltale characters, sounds and rhythm, with side-by-side samples and a quiz.Japanese vs KoreanHow to tell Japanese from KoreanHow to tell Japanese from Korean at a glance or by ear: script giveaways, telltale characters, sounds and rhythm, with side-by-side samples and a quiz.Malay vs IndonesianHow to tell Malay from IndonesianHow to tell Malay from Indonesian at a glance or by ear: script giveaways, telltale characters, sounds and rhythm, with side-by-side samples and a quiz.Thai vs ChineseHow to tell Thai from ChineseHow to tell Thai from Chinese at a glance or by ear: script giveaways, telltale characters, sounds and rhythm, with side-by-side samples and a quiz.Vietnamese vs ChineseHow to tell Vietnamese from ChineseHow to tell Vietnamese from Chinese at a glance or by ear: script giveaways, telltale characters, sounds and rhythm, with side-by-side samples and a quiz.Chinese vs CantoneseIs Chinese easier than Cantonese?Is Mandarin easier than Cantonese? Compare scripts, tones, grammar, vocabulary and FSI hours to see which is harder for English speakers, with a verdict.Chinese vs JapaneseIs Chinese easier than Japanese?Is Chinese easier than Japanese? Compare scripts, tones, grammar, vocabulary and FSI hours to see which is harder for English speakers, with a verdict.Chinese vs KoreanIs Chinese easier than Korean?Is Chinese easier than Korean? Compare scripts, tones, grammar, vocabulary and FSI hours to see which is harder for English speakers, with a verdict.Chinese vs CantoneseIs Chinese similar to Cantonese? How close are they?Is Mandarin similar to Cantonese? Family, script, grammar, vocabulary and sounds compared, with shared words, false friends and a closeness score.Chinese vs JapaneseIs Chinese similar to Japanese? How close are they?Is Chinese similar to Japanese? Family, script, grammar, vocabulary and sounds compared, with shared words, false friends and a closeness score.Chinese vs KoreanIs Chinese similar to Korean? How close are they?Is Chinese similar to Korean? Family, script, grammar, vocabulary and sounds compared, with shared words, false friends and a closeness score.Japanese vs KoreanIs Japanese easier than Korean?Is Japanese easier than Korean? Compare scripts, tones, grammar, vocabulary and FSI hours to see which is harder for English speakers, with a verdict.Japanese vs KoreanIs Japanese similar to Korean? How close are they?Is Japanese similar to Korean? Family, script, grammar, vocabulary and sounds compared, with shared words, false friends and a closeness score.Malay vs IndonesianIs Malay similar to Indonesian? How close are they?Is Malay similar to Indonesian? Family, script, grammar, vocabulary and sounds compared, with shared words, false friends and a closeness score.Thai vs ChineseIs Thai easier than Chinese?Is Thai easier than Chinese? Compare scripts, tones, grammar, vocabulary and FSI hours to see which is harder for English speakers, with a verdict.Thai vs ChineseIs Thai similar to Chinese? How close are they?Is Thai similar to Chinese? Family, script, grammar, vocabulary and sounds compared, with shared words, false friends and a closeness score.Vietnamese vs ChineseIs Vietnamese easier than Chinese?Is Vietnamese easier than Chinese? Compare scripts, tones, grammar, vocabulary and FSI hours to see which is harder for English speakers, with a verdict.Vietnamese vs ChineseIs Vietnamese similar to Chinese? How close are they?Is Vietnamese similar to Chinese? Family, script, grammar, vocabulary and sounds compared, with shared words, false friends and a closeness score.Chinese vs CantoneseLearn Chinese and Cantonese at the same timeLearn Chinese and Cantonese at the same time? When it works, which to start first, how to avoid mixing them, and a schedule that keeps both alive.Chinese vs JapaneseLearn Chinese and Japanese at the same timeLearn Chinese and Japanese at the same time? When it works, which to start first, how to avoid mixing them, and a schedule that keeps both alive.Chinese vs KoreanLearn Chinese and Korean at the same timeLearn Chinese and Korean at the same time? When it works, which to start first, how to avoid mixing them, and a schedule that keeps both alive.Japanese vs KoreanLearn Japanese and Korean at the same timeLearn Japanese and Korean at the same time? When it works, which to start first, how to avoid mixing them, and a schedule that keeps both alive.Thai vs ChineseLearn Thai and Chinese at the same timeLearn Thai and Chinese at the same time? When it works, which to start first, how to avoid mixing them, and a schedule that keeps both alive.Vietnamese vs ChineseLearn Vietnamese and Chinese at the same timeLearn Vietnamese and Chinese at the same time? When it works, which to start first, how to avoid mixing them, and a schedule that keeps both alive.Malay vs IndonesianShould I learn Malay or Indonesian?Should you learn Malay or Indonesian? Compare usefulness, differences, resources and where each is spoken, then get a clear verdict on which comes first.Thai vs ChineseShould I learn Thai or Chinese?Should you learn Thai or Chinese? Compare difficulty, usefulness, scripts, sounds and culture, then get a clear verdict on which language to start with.Vietnamese vs ChineseShould I learn Vietnamese or Chinese?Should you learn Vietnamese or Chinese? Compare difficulty, usefulness, scripts, tones and culture, then get a clear verdict on which one to start with.Japanese vs CantoneseShould I learn Japanese or Cantonese?Should you learn Japanese or Cantonese? Compare difficulty, usefulness, scripts, tones and culture, then get a clear verdict on which one to start with.
Kungfucius says
“Every language is the easiest one, according to its fans.”每種語言都是最簡單的，問它的粉絲就知道。