Interesting perspective! For me, it’s been a bit different:
- Korean actually feels the easiest. The alphabet is simple to learn, and once you get the basic pronunciation down, you can read almost anything. I find picking up grammar patterns pretty manageable too.
- Chinese is in the middle for me…characters take time, and tones are tricky, but once you get the hang of it, it starts to make sense.
- Japanese has been the HARDESTTTT. Between kanji, hiragana, katakana, and all the levels of politeness, it keeps you constantly challenged.
I think once you get past the first parts, Korean really starts to feel approachable, especially compared with Japanese.
Do you have any tips for making Japanese kanji a bit less intimidating?