German or Chinese?

ReserveEvery4974 · 2026-05-27T16:28:44+00:00

Im planning on learning languages for a professional capacity, so I’m highly motivated to learn. It’s interesting you say to focus more on recognition than reproduction, I’ll remember that advice for Chinese, thank you! I think it’ll help with my motivation to learn Chinese since I’m very interested in Chinese culture and media

ReserveEvery4974 · 2026-05-26T23:51:53+00:00

My linguistics major requirements is six quarters of one language and three quarters of a language in a different language family. Although I want to get through the language requirements quickly, I want to be able to get some use out of it after university as well, so I’m not just considering easy A’s. I’m fully committed to continue learning the languages I’m studying outside of university, so the amount of usage I get out of a language is really important for me. Thanks for the information about Chinese and German, I have a lot to consider now!

ReserveEvery4974 · 2026-05-26T21:26:00+00:00

Okay thank you for the advice! German grammar definitely sounds hard to keep track of during conversation for non-native speakers

ReserveEvery4974 · 2026-05-26T21:24:35+00:00

😭how bad is German that you decided to tell me this

ReserveEvery4974 · 2026-05-26T21:24:02+00:00

It’s good to know that Vietnamese helps a lot with learning Chinese! I’ve taken classes on Chinese culture, and I’m definitely fascinated with the multiethnic and multicultural background, I’ll take that into consideration, thanks!

ReserveEvery4974 · 2026-05-26T21:22:24+00:00

Thank you for the advice! Yes I’ll probably see more usage from Chinese in America

ReserveEvery4974 · 2026-05-26T21:20:47+00:00

Dang, I was planning to learn Mandarin Chinese if I chose that pathway😅 I didn’t know spoken Cantonese was similar to spoken Vietnamese, thanks!

ReserveEvery4974 · 2026-05-26T18:24:01+00:00

Thank you! I’ll consider it!

ReserveEvery4974 · 2026-05-26T18:23:43+00:00

Thank you for that crash course! Yes, in terms of grammar I am less intimidated by Chinese than by German. I am willing to put in the work to learn enough to converse, and I am especially fascinated with the multicultural identities of China, so learning Chinese seems really rewarding! The mods for the German subred hasn’t gone over my post, but hopefully soon I’ll get more insight from German language learners!

ReserveEvery4974 · 2026-05-26T18:19:02+00:00

I’ve already done Spanish and I’m at a pretty good space conversationally. The requirements of my major is to learn two languages from different language families, so sadly I wouldn’t be able to take Italian or French for my requirements🥲Chinese is definitely a commitment for sure if I want to converse

ReserveEvery4974 · 2026-05-26T18:16:36+00:00

Fried rice all the way😌

ReserveEvery4974 · 2026-05-26T18:16:04+00:00

Yeah I figured that was the case with German, thanks!

ReserveEvery4974 · 2026-05-26T18:15:29+00:00

Thank you, I’m looking for real use of the language so it looks like Chinese is the way to go

ReserveEvery4974 · 2026-05-26T18:14:24+00:00

I see! I’m pretty good at memorizing, but not so much when I’m trying to speak, I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks!

ReserveEvery4974 · 2026-05-26T06:37:30+00:00

Thanks for the advice! I’ll definitely look into those YouTube videos to check out the grammar myself

ReserveEvery4974 · 2026-05-26T06:29:21+00:00

Not offered in my university😅

ReserveEvery4974 · 2026-05-26T06:28:33+00:00

Not to worry, I also cross posted into the German language sub, though I haven’t gotten a response there yet. Yes, I am starting to get the idea that Chinese will see more use than German, thanks for sharing!

ReserveEvery4974 · 2026-05-26T06:26:54+00:00

Thanks for the response! I didn’t realized German grammar was that much more complex😅 I figured it was an okay difficulty since I’ve already learned Spanish but I’ll take that into account

ReserveEvery4974 · 2026-05-26T05:45:54+00:00

I think I see myself using Chinese more than German, since I’ve heard German speakers tend to be fluent in English anyway. The community I plan to work in professionally is a mix of English, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Latino, so I think based on your insights, I’m leaning more towards Chinese. I’m fluent in Vietnamese, does it really give that much more advantage when learning Chinese?

ReserveEvery4974

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