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For an English speaker the two sit in the same difficulty group, so neither is officially easier: the Foreign Service Institute puts both at 2,200 class hours. Their everyday vocabulary is mostly different: roughly 1 in 10 everyday words sound alike, so knowing one gives you little to lean on in the other.
For an English speaker the two sit in the same difficulty group, so neither is officially easier: the Foreign Service Institute puts both at 2,200 class hours. These are the figures behind the how long does it take to learn a language calculator, from the US Foreign Service Institute's published language training times.
| Japanese | Korean | |
|---|---|---|
| FSI difficulty group | Category IV | Category IV |
| Class hours to working proficiency | 2,200 | 2,200 |
| Full-time weeks | 88 | 88 |
The hours are for a native English speaker in full-time classes aiming at professional working proficiency. Useful everyday conversation comes sooner, and the calculator breaks the time down by level.
Their everyday vocabulary is mostly different: roughly 1 in 10 everyday words sound alike, so knowing one gives you little to lean on in the other.
A few everyday words that sound alike in Japanese and Korean:
| English | Japanese | Korean |
|---|---|---|
| Spain | スペインsupein | 스페인seupein |
| chain | チェーンcheen | 체인chein |
| curry | カレーkaree | 카레kare |
| generation | 世代sedai | 세대sedae |
| lime | ライムraimu | 라임raim |
| pasta | パスタpasuta | 파스타paseuta |
| ring | リングringu | 링ring |
| tennis | テニスtenisu | 테니스teniseu |
And a few everyday words that sound completely different:
| English | Japanese | Korean |
|---|---|---|
| American | アメリカのamerika no | 미국의migugui |
| broom | ほうきhouki | 빗자루bitjaru |
| dessert | デザートdezaato | 디저트dijeoteu |
| fog | 霧kiri | 안개angae |
| joy | 喜びyorokobi | 기쁨gippeum |
| octopus | タコtako | 문어muneo |
| rope | ロープroopu | 밧줄batjul |
| storm | 嵐arashi | 폭풍pokpung |
| Japanese | Korean | |
|---|---|---|
| Writing system | Three scripts: hiragana, katakana and kanji | Hangul, an alphabet |
| Grammatical genders | None | None |
| Noun cases | Marked by small particles | Marked by small particles |
| Tones | No (it has pitch accent) | No |
Study time will not decide this one, because the two ask for about the same. If you want to reach a particular place, a person or a job, start with the one you will actually use: steady motivation counts for more than the difference in hours.
For an English speaker the two sit in the same difficulty group, so neither is officially easier: the Foreign Service Institute puts both at 2,200 class hours. Hours are for a native English speaker reaching professional working proficiency in full-time classes; casual learning gets you to useful conversation well before that.
Their everyday vocabulary is mostly different: roughly 1 in 10 everyday words sound alike, so knowing one gives you little to lean on in the other.
Study time will not decide this one, because the two ask for about the same. If you want to reach a particular place, a person or a job, start with the one you will actually use: steady motivation counts for more than the difference in hours.
No. Japanese is written with three scripts (hiragana, katakana and kanji) and Korean with Hangul.
Watch Your LanguageVocabulary widgets for iPhone & Apple Watch
Watch Your Language puts Japanese or Korean words in a widget on your iPhone Lock Screen and on your Apple Watch face, and brings back the ones you keep forgetting, so the practice carries on every time you check the time.
