CHINESE AND JAPANESE

[AlphaGaijin]

I have a question and I have been wandering this a lot lately. Is it possible to learn chinese and japanese at the same time? Would I be confused with kanji-hanzi pronounciations. Japanese is pretty hard when you consider its grammar rules , how about chinese? I have been learning japanese for about 5 months , can you feed me with some much needed knowledge? Thank you again.

[宇崎ちゃん]

It's possible to learn both languages at the same time, since they're hardly related to each other.
However, I would still recommend you learn 1 language at a time, no matter the language.

Chinese has a more similar grammar system to the English system, while Japanese is totally different (though seeing your native language is Turkish, I don't think you'll have much trouble with Japanese's SOV word order).
Kanji and Hanzi pronunciations are different indeed, though the ON-yomi in Kanji is pretty much similar to Hanzi (since it's derived from Hanzi), but they're not entirely the same.

I would recommend you to read through this topic.

Additionally, I would recommend you to check out this video, which goes quite deep into this topic:

 

[Pinutile]

I'm a native Chinese and have been learning Japanese for 1.5 years. I don't think it is a good idea that you learn both at the same time, for each of them requires huge amount of time if you want to master it adequately. For example, many Japanese kanjis have more than one pronunciations, and the first year of Japanese learning is always devoted to its complex grammar. Although Chinese is simple in terms of inflections and tenses, but that does not mean it is easy to learn. (On the contrary, I think, the lack of clear rules of inflections or tenses makes it even harder to master)

Good luck!

[AlphaGaijin]

I will consider what you guys have wrote and act accordingly to it. Thank you again for answering , good luck in you language studies.

[KimmyMarkks]

I know Chinese (Mandarin) has become increasingly common in the business world.  That being said a lot of colleges and universities are begging to teach it.  I always thought it was one of the harder languages to learn especially since my primarily language is English.

[Milner77]

Yеp. 
Whеn I livеd in Bеijing, I wаs gоing tо Сhinеsе сlаss frоm 8аm tо 12pm еvеrydаy. I wоuld gо tо Jаpаnеsе сlаss 3x а wееk in thе еvеnings (I wаs prеpаring fоr thе JLPT). Bоth lаnguаgеs аrе distinсt еnоugh thаt thе оnly dаngеr оf соnfusing thеm is whеn writing сhinеsе сhаrасtеrs. Grаmmаr аnd prоnunсiаtiоn аrе vеry diffеrеnt. 
I dо nоt rесоmmеnd dоing it if yоu аrе а bеginnеr аt bоth lаnguаgеs thоugh. еvеryоnе strugglеs а littlе bit in thе bеginning whеn lеаrning lаnguаgеs, аnd bоth Jаpаnеsе аnd сhinеsе bесоmе mоrе plеаsаnt аs yоu lеаrn mоrе. 
Сhinеsе is spесiаlly bоring in thе bеginning I think, bесаusе yоu hаvе tо spеnd а fеw wееks lеаrning pin-yin. Yоu hаvе tо drill thе diffеrеnt sоunds sо mаny timеs sо whеn yоu mоvе оn yоu dоn't rеаlly hаvе tо think, yоu just knоw thеm by sесоnd nаturе.
Jаpаnеsе is а bit bеttеr in thе bеginning bесаusе yоu lеаrn Hirаgаnа аnd Kаtаkаnа аs yоu gо.
My еxpеriеnсе is а bit diffеrеnt, but if yоu аrе а Wеstеrnеr, оr аt lеаst fluеnt in еnglish, I rесоmmеnd yоu stаrt with сhinеsе. 
 

[Lingua Franca]

On 17/07/2016 at 8:53 AM, Pinutile said:

I'm a native Chinese and have been learning Japanese for 1.5 years. I don't think it is a good idea that you learn both at the same time, for each of them requires huge amount of time if you want to master it adequately. For example, many Japanese kanjis have more than one pronunciations, and the first year of Japanese learning is always devoted to its complex grammar. Although Chinese is simple in terms of inflections and tenses, but that does not mean it is easy to learn. (On the contrary, I think, the lack of clear rules of inflections or tenses makes it even harder to master)

Good luck!

I agree with you completely, even though it might seem that you can keep the two separate it's very easy to end up mixing them. Both are very complex languages and special care should be taken when learning them.