question re: chinese/japanese script.

[euphoric1dr]

i'm still unsure about how these two languages compare, in terms of learning the written part to accompany the spoken language. am i right in that, chinese does not have an actual alphabet, with smaller pieces that you then use to construct more complex words - instead, each character corresponds to each syllable that you actually say

Comments

[superslayer18]

Chinese is pretty straight forward in that each character is pronounced as 1 syllable (usually only with 1 possible pronunciation, though it's not uncommon for some characters to have 2 possible pronunciations, though they usually mean different things when this happens

[tgies]

Hiragana.

[superslayer18]

Eek thank you! It's been a while lol.

[akibare]

The multiple ways of pronouncing the characters is a big challenge in Japanese, particularly for people who don't already speak it going in. Actually some combinations of characters can be read multiple ways, and which is correct depends on context.

This is what happens when an existing language borrows writing from another and does it multiple times at that, I guess :)

Also (as you know, but for the OP) - Japanese borrowed writing (and with it, a LOT of words) from Chinese, but otherwise isn't related. The grammar is completely different.

The "half the character gives the pronunciation, for 75% of characters" thing is the same in Japanese as Chinese, as are all the radical parts. Certainly those things are taught standard in Japanese school, starting in 3rd grade.

[loudasthesun]

This is what happens when an existing language borrows writing from another and does it multiple times at that, I guess :)

This is comparable to all the loanwords English has gotten from other languages, which is why English spelling is so difficult. English speakers who make such a big deal about the complexities of Japanese writing often don't realize their own language isn't very simple when it comes to orthography either.

[franzeska]

I often think my Japanese students would have been less terrified of English spelling if they'd realized that it's more like learning kanji than learning kana.

[kaleido_skop]

This may sound like a very stupid question...I apologize in advanced, but

I have picked up some spoken Japanese on my own, through friends, trips, etc. I can read and know how to speak hiragana and katakana, but I have never formally studied kanji or the real written aspect of Japanese.

I know that every kanji has multiple pronounciations...but does every pronounciation have a different meaning?

Or is one character always the same meaning, but with two pronounciations?
I know that two or three characters together can be a different meaning, but that's not what I'm talking about. Thanks!

[akibare]

One character can have multiple meanings AND multiple pronunciations

[kaleido_skop]

Wow, such a great response and explaination! It makes sense to me now, thanks.

I'm not gonna lie: this makes me feel a lot better about learning Chinese.
For example, if every Chinese hanzi had multiple pronouncations/meanings (keep in mind how many words already share the exact same sound/tone as in Chinese)
I would just go insane O_o

(At least Japanese words have more variations of sounds...)