Do you find it very difficult

[kmpisces]

I am wondering if Chinese is very difficult?  I have wanted to learn some of the language in the event I go to China.  I have found it a bit overwhelming so far, however.

[leahcim132]

I found it a bit difficult. Just do it little by little and I think you find it OK. However, if you are never going to use it in your life then I suggest not learning it since it will be a waste of time...

[polaroidsredwine]

Honestly, I'd find it a lot easier to learn if it wasn't for the characters;.  Some of the grammar can be a bit tricky and there are the ever-fun measure words to learn added on to that.  I agree with leahcim132 on the point of learning it for a purpose, though.  It's fairly easy to get discouraged when learning, even more when you know you'll never use it.

[Dieselfit]

I believe Chinese is one of the most difficult languages out there. Anyone learning any language especially at a older age, as compared to a child, would have some difficulty learning it. Now Chinese is a new language to most of us but it doesn't mean we can't learn it. I think our doubts and beliefs come into play too. If we believe we can speak fluent Chinese and read as well, then we can. That's probably why as adults we have more of a difficult time learning new thing as fast as children would. We have doubts and beliefs built into us. I haven't started learning Chinese as much as I should be, but it is difficult so far!

[drkn335]

I suppose it depends on the person - it is supposed to be the most difficult language to learn in the world, because it's tonal and there are thousands of characters. But I learn quickly and I actually find it easy to learn, but maybe that's because I have been surrounded by the language for years. It does take practice I suppose, but it will get easier, as will any language the more you learn it.

[karon33]

I am also very confused by the Chinese language as a whole. How do we comprehend the symbols as letters and then eventually turn them into words or sentences. To me the Chinese language comes with a lot of mystery and I have no idea where to start the learning process for that language. I am very interested in learning Chinese and Korean actually since that is what I see in my hometown a lot. I have often wanted to ask someone of Chinese descent what the best way a non-native can start learning the Chinese language. I hope I do not offend anyone in this forum with my lack of knowledge.

[phoenixinsky]

I am wondering if Chinese is very difficult?  I have wanted to learn some of the language in the event I go to China.  I have found it a bit overwhelming so far, however.

:tongue:there are some tips to study chinese. 1, some simple words can be looks as simple pic, actually they comes from the ancient painting, and are the "roots" of the other complicated chinese words.

2, many chinese words have the same components which have been recongnized easily, and help you how to read these words. If you learn these rules of chinese words, you can read or remember many words.

3, the tone of chinese words, are different from the other languages, but, if you just look these tones as the music tones, you can read these very clear.

[DonnieDarko]

I believe is easier to pick up than most languages. The grammar is pretty straight forward as most times the sentence will make sense when you think about it, but it is not the same as English if you try to directly translate from English to Mandarin you will most likely get it wrong. But after the initial phase of learning what stroke order and a general word base of about 200-300 characters it will become increasingly easier and easier.

[MegaZero]

As a Chinese native speaker, I STILL find it hard to learn new words, considering the fact that I only know how to speak/listen and not read/write.

What I recommend you to do is try to use the language AS MUCH as possible. Talk to yourself, friends, family, people online, ANYONE. As long as they speak chinese, it is great!

From then on, you'll adapt to the language and then learning it will be much more easier!

[melaniephenderson]

There are some aspects of it that are difficult and some that are easier to pick up just like any other language.

For me I found writing and memorising characters one of the most difficult things to learn in Chinese. However there are some things about the language that make it easier to learn such as similarities and patterns between many of the words.

Another thing that I found made Chinese a little easier to pick up was the lack of any real tense words.

In French for example verbs have multiple different endings depending on the tense, however in Chinese sentences are still essentially the same, so there is no real memorising to do.