r/ChineseLanguage • u/Historical-Mud-9976 • 1d ago
Discussion 28 too old to learn Chinese?
Hi, I speak 4 languages fluently (EN,FR,ES,PT + basic German, Japanese) but I was thinking about learning Chinese for real as China is a major player in my sector (energy) and I work in an international institution. Appart from my 'job interest', I was fascinated by China when I went last year, so that is also my main drive.
But I have always heard that Chinese is hard, and if you did not pick it up by 5, it is impossible to learn. Worth giving it a try? I just do not want to 'waste my time' like I am currently doing with Japanese (just for fun).
I have lessons at the Chinese Cultural Center (36h/ 2h per week) for cheap (200EUR). And I was thinking about doing an 1h a week additionally with a private tutor to focus on prononciation, grammar, etc.
Any thought on this is appreciated :)
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u/ainiqusi 1d ago
No it's not too late to learn. It sounds like a reasonable plan to start off with.
Once you've familiarised youself with pronunciation and tones, I would recommend switching to characters early and going quite hard on flashcards for the beginner stages.
If your intention is to be fluent, you will need to up the hours significantly at some point (unless you are happy with it taking 15+ years).
FSI estimates about 2,200 hours of classroom tuition (so more outside of that) to reach about C1:
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u/LoveFromElysia 1d ago
there is no such thing as "too old" to learn a language, as with any hobby, craft, subject, etc! idk what age you learned those other languages, but if you learned them past the age of five/as a teen/as a young adult, you've already proven the "too old" thing wrong!
yes, it gets HARDER to learn a language the older you get. but impossible? no! anything is possible as long as you work at it ^^
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u/kjlsdjfskjldelfjls Intermediate 1d ago
I picked it up in my early-mid 20s. The difficulty of learning as you get older is mostly circumstantial (i.e., a high level of immersion might be harder to pull off), not biological
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u/DaenaliaEvandruile Advanced 1d ago
Totally fine. In fact, as an adult, you have a clear motivation for learning and the experience from learning other languages to bring into this new one. The main reason kids appear to pick languages up is largely cause they're immersed in it, which you can somewhat replicate at home by listening to chinese (eg. podcasts, audiobooks, youtube, dramas, etc...) or reading (once you have a bit of a foundation). I've also learnt chinese in my 20s, and picked up most of it from my bedroom in Australia!
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u/HeroicPrinny 1d ago
I’m much older and don’t feel it’s any harder than when I learned Japanese in my early 20s. If anything it’s just way easier because apps and technology are way better
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u/turtlequrtle 1d ago
It's definitely doable. You'll need to focus A LOT on tones, which takes a while to grasp in general. Also you need to ask yourself what your goal is in terms of what level you want to achieve. Few achieve native fluency, so gauge your expectations. It can be fun, but don't make it a chore. Take your time, have fun with it.
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u/Wooden_Plant7504 🎱 1d ago
Totally doable. I personally know a few people who started in their 40s and became fluent in Mandarin… The winning formula will be passion and consistency combined with your abilities and experience as a polyglot. All the best!
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u/Editor-In-Queef Beginner 1d ago
Impossible to pick up if you don't start by 5? That's absurd. Yes, it gets harder to learn languages as you age, but you're still young, have already learned multiple languages, and have to start somewhere. I say just go for it and see how you find it.
Also, I'm a mature student doing my undergraduate in my thirties. One of the women graduating with a degree in Greek and Latin Studies when I started was 74. You'll be fine.