Is Japanese more difficult to learn compared to Chinese?

It's really hard to generalize about this; it depends on who you are. For us Chinese people, Japanese actually has many aspects that are easier than a language like English.

Think about it: Japanese uses a large number of Chinese characters (Kanji). Words like '学生' (student), '学校' (school), and '电车' (train) are immediately understandable to us. While the pronunciation is different, we don't have to memorize their meanings from scratch. This is a significant advantage compared to learning entirely unfamiliar scripts like those in English or French.

However, there are also difficult aspects. Japanese grammar is completely opposite to Chinese. In Chinese, we say 'I eat rice' (我吃饭), but in Japanese, it's 'I rice eat' (私 ご飯 食べる), with the verb always placed at the end. Moreover, honorifics (keigo) are extremely complex. The vocabulary you use differs depending on whether you're speaking to your boss, friends, or elders. The single word 'eat' can have four or five variations, which can be truly bewildering for beginners.

Furthermore, its pronunciation is simpler than Chinese, as there are no tones. However, in terms of writing, you have to memorize three sets of characters: Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji, which can be quite a hassle. Katakana, in particular, is used exclusively for foreign loanwords. For instance, 'computer' is written as 'コンピュータ' (konpyuuta), which sounds like 'konpyuuta', but it feels like an unnecessary detour.

In summary, if you are Chinese, your initial progress in Japanese might be faster due to Kanji. However, you might get stuck midway with the brain-twisting honorifics and grammar. Compared to Chinese, it's less difficult in terms of tones, but its grammar and expression habits are more convoluted. Therefore, it's genuinely hard to say which is harder; it depends on whether you're averse to challenges and if you have the patience to master that intricate system of politeness.