Chinese, Japanese, and Korean: How similar are they? Discover their differences

If you're planning a trip to East Asia or are simply curious about its culture, it's common to wonder how similar Chinese, Japanese, and Korean are. At first glance, they may seem alike, but they are actually very different languages. Understanding their basic differences will help you better appreciate each country's culture and even learn some useful phrases.

Writing systems:

The most obvious difference. The easiest way to tell them apart is to look at how they are spelled.

Chinese (Mandarin):

It uses Han characters (汉字/漢字), which are logograms. Each character represents a word or idea and has its own meaning. There is no alphabet. For example, 水 means "water." The system is complex: to read a newspaper, you need to be able to recognize more than 3,000 characters.

Japanese:

It has the most mixed writing system. It uses three writing systems simultaneously:

Hiragana (ひらがな): A syllabary for grammatical words and particles.

Katakana (カタカナ): Another syllabary used mainly for words of foreign origin.

Kanji (漢字): Borrowed from Chinese, these are the characters that represent concepts.

You'll see a mix of all three in any Japanese text. For example: "私は学生です" (Watashi wa gakusei desu - "I am a student") combines kanji (私, 学, 生), hiragana (は, です) and doesn't use katakana here, but it's common.

Korean:

It is the easiest to recognize visually. It uses Hangul (한글), a phonetic alphabet that is both scientific and simple. Characters are grouped into syllable blocks. For example, "안녕" (annyeong - "hello") is a two-syllable block. Although you will still see Chinese characters (Hanja) in formal or historical texts, Hangul is absolutely dominant today.

Grammar:

Structure is everything. This is where languages diverge completely.

Chinese:

It has a relatively simple grammar. There are no verb conjugations according to tense or person, nor a distinction between singular and plural. Tenses are indicated with particles. Word order is strict: Subject + Verb + Object (SVO), similar to Spanish. For example: "我喝水" (Wǒ hē shuǐ - "I drink water").

Japanese and Korean:

Their grammatical structure is very similar to each other and very different from Chinese and Spanish.

The basic word order is Subject + Object + Verb (SOV). The verb always comes at the end of the sentence.

They use particles that are added after a word to indicate its function in the sentence (such as subject, object, place).

They have very elaborate systems of honorifics, where the way of speaking changes radically depending on the level of respect or formality you must show.

Pronunciation and sounds

Chinese:

It is a tonal language. The meaning of a word changes depending on the tone with which it is pronounced. For example, "mā" (with a high, steady tone) means "mother," while "mà" (with a falling tone) means "to scold." It has consonant sounds that do not exist in Spanish, such as "zh," "ch," "q," and "x."

Japanese:

It is not tonal. Its sound system is very simple and limited, with only 5 vowels and about 100 possible syllables. This makes it easier for Spanish speakers to pronounce, although it has sounds like the soft "r" (between "r" and "l") that can be difficult at first.

Korean:

It is also not tonal, but it has a more complex sound system than Japanese. It has consonants that are distinguished by their aspiration (like a burst of air) or tension. For example, it has three different "k" sounds: ㄱ, ㅋ, ㄲ. This can be challenging to distinguish and pronounce correctly.

Do they have anything in common? Yes!

The main similarity lies in borrowed vocabulary. Throughout history, both Korea and Japan have imported a vast number of Chinese words and concepts. Therefore, many words related to culture, philosophy, administration, or academia sound similar because they share a Chinese root.

"Student": Chinese: 学生 (xuéshēng), Japanese: 学生 (gakusei), Korean: 학생 (haksaeng).

"Culture": Chinese: 文化 (wénhuà), Japanese: 文化 (bunka), Korean: 문화 (munhwa).

However, the native words for everyday concepts (such as "water", "eat" or "mother") are completely different.

Tips:

In China: Learn the tones. Saying a word with the wrong tone can lead to misunderstandings. Focus on basic phrases like "ní hǎo" (hello) and "xièxie" (thank you). Always carry a text translator with OCR functionality to read signs.

In Japan: Learn to recognize hiragana and katakana. It will be a great help in reading menus and signs, even if you don't understand kanji. "Arigatou gozaimasu" (thank you) is an essential phrase.

In Korea: Take advantage of Hangul's logical structure. You can learn to read it in just a few hours. This will give you great independence in reading maps, menus, and signs. "Gamsahamnida" (thank you) will be your most frequently used word.

Mastering these languages takes years, but understanding these basic differences enriches your travel experience. It allows you to appreciate the cultural depth of each country and connect more meaningfully with its people.