We’re going to take a broad view of learning Asian languages, regardless of what Asian language you’re interested in learning.
We’ll also talk about the specifics of some more common Asian languages, but if you’re interested in learning a less common one, we’ll give you some tips for finding your own resources and getting started.
When deciding what language to learn, there are numerous reasons to choose one spoken on the Asian continent and/or by the many people of Asian descent living all over the globe.
It gives you a competitive edge.
People who go into international relations and business can usually benefit from knowing an additional language, period, especially if it’s a language they can use to communicate with potential business partners. Some Asian countries in particular, like Japan and China, have a huge economic and media influence in the world today.
You have a personal connection to the language.
For many people, a fondness for or direct connection to a certain Asian culture sparks the desire to learn a language. Language can open the door to travel, communication with native speakers, the ability to enjoy books and film firsthand, and more.
Maybe you have friends who are Vietnamese and you would love to be able to speak with them in Vietnamese. Maybe you’re fascinated by Indian literature and would like to read it in the original. Maybe your parents, grandparents or other relatives are from China and you want to travel there with them someday (or eavesdrop on their conversations).
It enriches your travel experiences.
Learning a language spoken in any country you’re visiting, even a little bit, can enrich the overall experience. In addition, while traveling, you get to help others who don’t know the local language, so if you’re interested in traveling in Asia, it may be time to hit the books!
Suppose you’re in a grocery store in Tokyo, and you see a fellow English speaker struggling to communicate with the cashier in Japanese. If you speak Japanese, you have the ability to help out both parties. It’s a great advantage anywhere to know the commonly spoken language(s), and it’s a great feeling to be able to help someone else.
It enhances your appreciation of different Asian cultures.
Language sensitivity is another advantage, and also just something important for anyone to consider. To some English speakers who aren’t as familiar with Asian languages or cultures in general, Asian languages can seem similar to one another. If this is the case for you, once you’ve studied even a little of one Asian language, such as Korean (which is actually a language isolate), it becomes obvious how different it is from, say, Japanese or Lao.
Not only can this save you from embarrassing mistakes and save the Asian people around you from having to deal with those mistakes, but it can also enhance your appreciation for the differences between Asian cultures.
You enjoy the popular culture of that language.
Learning an Asian language can give you a chance to fully enjoy the popular culture of that language no matter where you are. For example, maybe you like to listen to K-pop or J-pop. More and more people globally are listening to and enjoying pop music from Asia.
Which Asian Language Should You Learn?
There is no obvious answer to this question. Your reasons for committing to a particular Asian language may be personal or purely practical, but if you’re unsure or stuck between two or more languages, here are a couple of factors to consider that may help you make up your mind.
How many people in the world speak the language?
Hindi has around 490 million total speakers while Korean only has 71 million, so if you’re looking to choose a language that will simply allow you to communicate with the greatest number of people, Hindi would win out over Korean.
However, the consideration of this factor also works in the other direction. If your objective isn’t simply to communicate with a lot of people but to specialize career-wise, you may be better off going with a lesser-known language.
For example, if you’re going to be a translator and want to lock down an in-demand language pair, you may want to look around job boards to see if any of the languages you’re interested in are in high demand to be translated into English (or another language you know to a native level).
What is the nature of the written language?
In Japan, for example, there are two phonetic alphabets, hiragana and katakana, along with kanji, a written form that uses Chinese characters. All these forms are used daily. So, because Japanese has a more involved writing system, it may not be the most appealing or practical language for you to learn—depending on your interests, desires, abilities and other factors, of course.
If the multiple Japanese writing systems seem intimidating, you may want to go with Vietnamese, Thai or Korean, as these all have one main writing system that’s relatively simple.
Tips and Tricks to Approach Your Asian Language Learning
Take advantage of online learning resources.
OpenCulture is a website that links you to free language classes online, and will also link you to movies, music and textbooks. For Asian language learners, OpenCulture has courses in Khmer (Cambodian), Mandarin Chinese, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Lao, Russian,Tagalog, Thai and Vietnamese.
FluentU is a language immersion app and website that offers authentic videos in the language you want to learn. For Asian languages, FluentU currently offers courses in Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Russian.
FluentU takes authentic videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.
You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app or Android app.
Duolingo is a fun app you’ve probably heard of already. It focuses on honing vocabulary and grammar with quiz-like games. It’s a fun, on-the-go way to practice language skills. The app is designed to introduce new words, phrases and grammar to you in short exercises and tests, and you can go back to brush up on what you may have forgotten. Duolingo is currently offering courses in Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Indonesian, Hindi and MandarinChinese.
Not finding the Asian language you want above? A simple search for “learn [language]” can yield a lot, and a video search can be especially useful. You also may want to check out the guide below:
There are so many free language learning websites out there, how do you know which are worth your time? Well—we’ll tell you! From all-in-one resources like Live Lingua…
Listen to music in the language you’re learning.
Hearing the language being used helps with new vocabulary and pronunciation. In addition to listening, repeating aloud what you’re hearing is going to be beneficial. Whether you do this in your own home without distractions or in traffic during your daily commute, this is a way to both listen to and use the language.
This is where your obsession with popular Asian music can really come in handy. YouTube has a variety of K-pop and J-pop music videos, and you can also stream K-pop, J-pop and other Asian music on the global charts on Spotify.
Here are some recommendations for a few major Asian languages:
Discover 19 famous Chinese songs that showcase the best of Chinese music, including viral modern hits and long-time classics. This list spans various genres like Mandopop,…
If you want to learn Japanese with songs, click here to find the 11 best songs to spice up your study sessions. These songs will help you learn Japanese vocabulary,…
Korean song lyrics are a great study resource. Read this guide to learn about 10 K-pop songs you can use to study, each paired with Hangul lyrics and English translations.…
Have you ever thought about learning Russian with music? Check out these 15 easy Russian songs to improve your language skills! The list includes songs ranging from folk…
Invest in good workbooks and textbooks.
Invest in recently produced textbooks, workbooks and dictionaries. Since all languages are constantly evolving to keep up with changing culture, you’ll get the best results from using a recently written source. However, this can get expensive, so try checking out bargain bookstores and websites, or look for college students selling their old books.
Alternatively, there are plenty of worksheets and textbooks available online. Amazon, where we all buy things nowadays, is a reliable place to find textbooks, such as the “Practical Chinese Reader.”
If you’re not sure what to buy, try checking out our recommendations below:
Chinese textbooks can help you progress quickly and effectively in your language learning. There is a ton of Chinese material out there, but in this blog post, we give you…
Let these 33 best Japanese learning books guide your studying and you won’t be led astray. This comprehensive list has textbooks for all aspects of learning Japanese, from…
Searching for Korean learning books? Here are 26 of the best Korean textbooks, for beginners to advanced learners. Whether you’re self-studying or taking a class, these…
Studying Russian on your own? You need the best Russian textbooks to guide your learning! While some might consider them a form of old-school learning, there’s no doubt…
Explore Asian culture and history through TV and movies.
Language is closely tied to culture and history, so you’ll want to get a good sense of both. It’s important to keep in mind that some pop culture (like pop music that’s made for international consumption) can be more representative of a particular constructed facet of a culture than the culture as a whole. It’s also important to understand that a culture isn’t necessarily equivalent to a country.
There may be multiple different regional cultures that speak the Asian language you’re learning, all of which are equally legitimate and most of which are probably the result of specific historical and political events.
However, just because culture and history are serious and complex subjects doesn’t mean that you can’t frequently learn about them through fun media. Historical dramas can be a fantastic way to get a feel for events that shaped culture, and these are popular in several Asian countries right now.
For example, the Netflix series “Kingdom,” set during Korea’s Joseon era, deals with the onset of a zombie apocalypse… okay, so maybe this isn’t all exactly historically accurate, but the point is, you could still learn a lot from watching some of these shows.
In addition to historical dramas, movies and series that cover modern-day subjects can be incredibly helpful for learners—and the best thing about enjoying them is that you can learn about a language and a corresponding culture at the same time.
Aside from some of your more obvious streaming options like Netflix and Amazon, AsianCrush is a great site for finding Asian movies and shows to watch. You can search by region, and possible regions to filter by include China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the U.S. and Vietnam.
Experiment with some recipes.
If you don’t have a restaurant in your area that serves food from the culture(s) whose language you’re learning, you can try your hand at making dishes yourself.
If you’re a beginner, you may not want to start out using recipes that are actually written in your target language, but you can gain a lot from recipe websites and blogs that are run by people who have a strong connection to a target language culture. Even if the sites themselves are in English, you’ll often see dishes and ingredients given in the original language and then explained, and you may get important cultural insights as well.
Here are some good examples:
CamboKitchen. This is a recipe blog specializing in Cambodian food. The writer/cook behind the site, Cat, lives in Australia and is of Cambodian heritage.
Maangchi. Maangchi is a New Yorker by way of Korea whose recipes you can find both on her website and on YouTube.
As you research and then cook a particular dish, take the opportunity to study key vocabulary along the way. Look up the names of the ingredients you’re using. Then, once you’ve made the dish yourself, try to write your own version of the recipe in the target language. Even if you only get as far as the list of ingredients, it’s something to build on!
Check out some blogs.
Look for blogs written specifically for the language you’re learning. In addition to FluentU’s Asian-language blogs, you can find many great blogs for learning Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Russian and other languages.
If you want to travel, you might also try to find travel blogs or blogs written by people studying abroad in a target language region. In addition to picking up tips and new learning strategies, you may find new spots, shops or restaurants to go to on a future trip. You can then eventually move up to reading blogs in your target language written by native speakers.
For less commonly learned Asian languages, you may be best off searching for a type of blog in your target language, for example, “lifestyle blogs” or “music blogs.”
Consider enrolling in a course.
Especially if you don’t have friends or family who speak the Asian language you’re learning, interaction with a professional/native speaker and fellow students can be really beneficial. Using the language, even outside of your comfort zone, is the best way to learn and improve.
Are you a beginner, intermediate or advanced student searching for the best online Chinese course? Do you prefer on-the-go teaching, videos, audio or tutoring as a…
For the best online Japanese courses, check out this guide, which includes Japanese from Zero, WaniKani and Pimsleur. Many of these come with helpful videos and exercises,…
The best online Korean courses allow you to learn at your own pace in a way that suits your learning style, skill level and personal interests. Click here to find out…
Something to consider when picking what resources and techniques to use is that a combination is almost always good.
Maximizing the different ways you’re learning and using the language is really beneficial, as it ensures you’ll have new experiences with the language all the time.
At the end of the day, your language-learning journey is your own.
Learning any Asian language comes with its challenges, but there are plenty of resources out there to help you navigate them!
If you dig the idea of learning on your own time from the comfort of your smart device with real-life authentic language content, you'll love using FluentU.
With FluentU, you'll learn real languages—as they're spoken by native speakers. FluentU has a wide variety of videos as you can see here:
FluentU has interactive captions that let you tap on any word to see an image, definition, audio and useful examples. Now native language content is within reach with interactive transcripts.
Didn't catch something? Go back and listen again. Missed a word? Hover your mouse over the subtitles to instantly view definitions.
And FluentU always keeps track of vocabulary that you’re learning. It gives you extra practice with difficult words—and reminds you when it’s time to review what you’ve learned. You get a truly personalized experience.
