Is it smart to study two unrelated languages at the same time?

Question

I've been studying Japanese for about a year now and am nowhere near fluent and will continue, but I've taken an interest in Mandarin and am wondering if it would be smart to start learning that now or wait until I'm finished learning Japanese (I'd say, at least another year and a half until then)?

I studied Spanish and Portuguese at the same time, learned them both, but always confused my pronounciation since many of the words are spelled similiarly but pronounced differently.

Answer 1

I would suggest that you focus on Japanese only, until you are at least intermediate level.

I do not think it is a good idea to take to languages at the beginner level at once, because spreading your studies in half, should reduce your learning effectiveness in more than half.

You'd better concentrate on one before starting the other, it's better to be fluent in a language than to dissipate my energies and speak parts of many languages without fully understanding any of them.

Answer 2

That depends on a few things- if you feel you have an "ear" for languages, then you probably won't confuse them. However, if you confused Spanish with Portuguese on occasion, then it may be more difficult for you. I am fluent in English, Portuguese, and Spanish. I studied French and German at the same time. They are from 2 different language families, and I did not confuse them at all. You may want to wait until you've better mastered Japanese before starting Chinese. Or, you can give it a little try and see how it goes. It is my opinion that its better to become really fluent in one language and then go on to another, but if you are just wanting to grasp basic vocabulary and phrases, then go for it!

Answer 3

i quess it would depend on you. if you'd be able to keep both seperate and focus on the two different ones at the same time. then i think you should go ahead. but spanish and portugesse are similar so maybe that's why you were able to learn those both at the same time. know i don't know if mandarin is l ike japanese. but good luck with what you choose.