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There are some things easier in Mandarin, but I still think it's far more difficult than English. The number of homophones is much higher than English.
by pertymcpert 8y ago
There are some things easier in Mandarin, but I still think it's far more difficult than English.
The number of homophones is much higher than English.
- nneonneo 8y agoIMHO spoken Chinese is not so bad. The grammar is simpler than English (no verb conjugation is a big one), and with the exception of tones, the phonetic inventory is fairly straightforward to learn. Although individual characters are frequently homophonic, treating groups of them as words (as you do in English) reduces the number of homophones significantly. If you're only going to learn Mandarin without the written language, it's very much doable, and possibly even easy depending on how quickly you pick up on the tones. Written Chinese is, of course, a totally different matter.
- Baeocystin 8y agoOn the bright side (and I am saying this genuinely) if you enjoy wordplay, puns, and double-meanings, Mandarin is hilariously awesome at it, even compared to English, which is no slouch itself.