![Learning Korean is not (that) hard. [ENG]](https://d2ieewwzq5w1x7.cloudfront.net/post-image/3d771074-6124-460e-ba99-a45b1495003f-large)
Learning Korean is not (that) hard.
I always have a thought that learning Thai is hard. There are 44 consonants (21 sounds), 21 vowels (32 sounds), 5 tones and lots of sounds that are hard to pronounce for foreigners. Thai has different levels of politeness that depend on situation and who you speak to. Furthermore, written and spoken language are quite different. It's like if I talk too formal I'll be seen as a walking book and if I talk too cascual it'll be considered rude. It's complicated like that. Not to mention that there are tons of words that have no literal translation but they are added to make sentences softer, friendlier, harsher or there is no change in meaning but without them, the sentences just don't sound natural. Thai is a beautiful language. It is so expressive with many word choices. The language also relies on context and, several times, I find it hard to explain Thai to foreigners word by word. This is why I think Thai is hard and I don't want to ever imagine myself learning it as a foreign language. That's why I respect everyone who learns Thai as a foreign language. You guys are truly amazing!
But everything is like a flashback when I started learning Korean. Yes, Korean is a beautiful language. It is so expressive with various politeness levels and word choices. Korean always relies on context. With its unique sentence structure, even if speakers do not finish their sentences, listeners can still get messages crossed by guessing their meanings. All of these seem to be so familiar to me and the language itself is very rational. That's why I did not have a really hard time understanding Korean grammar points, word choices and politeness levels.
However, the most obvious difference between Thai and Korean is sentence structure (SVO vs SOV). This might be the most challenging part to get used to but Korean compensates it with significantly lower numbers of vowels and consonants which can be learned within 2 hours. Despite the fact that there are many consonants, that sound so similar, and sound assimilations, with my combined knowledge of Thai and English pronunciation, I can get by with Korean pronunciation- of course with a lot of practices. When I started learning Korean, if I practiced pronunciation more than 1 and a half hour, I would get sore throat and it continued for almost 2 months straight. 😂
It's funny that I always think learning Thai is hard and do not want to learn it, but ended up learning Korean with so many similarities to Thai.
But I won't give up as my language learning goal has shifted from level of fluency to level of enjoyment during the process. And I enjoy learning Korean a lot.
:)
09/08/22
8.27 a.m.
I like what you said at the end and how you shifted from level of fluency to level of enjoyment! I'll have to keep that in mind for my language studies.
@Jusmine Thank you for your corrections. I learn Korean as a hobby. I'm not learning it for any serious purposes like education or business. I want to be easy on myself. I don't want to trade my joy (the initial reason for me to learn a language) with stress, that might make me lose interests in language learning. I may not study everyday but I keep the language active everyday in other ways. Finishing lessons after lessons, and I still want to know more. I think this is the confirmation that I'm on the right track. Let's have a happy study! :D
It's soo good to know you're learning Korean! I was also, but I decided to stop so I could focus on more important things that I love more. Though I'm struggling quite a lot to find a method that I like to study English.
@Nori Haha I feel you somehow. English is my 2nd language. I first studied it because it was compulsary at my school but I was never really interested and did not do good at all. I got interested in learning English when I was 17 simply because I fell in love with its pronunciation. I didn't even consider other pros of learning English like worldwide communication, work advantages or else. But I have to admit that English shapes me and makes me the person I am today. Without English, I wouldn't be able to travel countries after countries like I did. Struggles are real and I'm used to them. They are my friends. They are parts of the process. Keep exploring. Keep it up!