Is Chinese difficult?
Zui nan de hanzi
Chinese spoken language is not difficult. It does not have conjugation of verbs and declinations of adjectives or inflections. Ideograms (called 汉字 hànzì) are the only hard stone in this language. To learn to recognize, or for the most audacious even to write, Chinese characters, you need time and dedication (this means hours spent trying simple and complex strokes sequences, again and again). That’s why the majiority of expatriates in Shanghai can speak Chinese but cannot write or recognise ideograms. Even language schools in Shanghai does not offer the teaching of the Hanzi in the normal curricula, only in separate courses.
If you eventually have learned to write characters, an additional problem is that you have to continuosly train the writing as you may risk to forget them after a while. Nevertheless a trial is worth especially for those who want to better understand the culture. Infact in the characters Chinese expresses its view of the world through the stylisation of pictures. Another reason why you may think to learn the Chinese characters is that they are used also in Japanese. Additionally Chinese is used also in various other countries, such as Malaysia or also in the Chinese Italian communities.
In the picture one of the most difficult Chinese character: „The appearance of a dragon flying“.
