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Why is 日本語 (JP) mistaken as 中文 (ZH) in written text? (nord.pub)
submitted 6 days ago* by to c/languagelearning@sopuli.xyz
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Is it because of the existence of 漢字 (known as Kanji in JP while it's Hanzi in ZH) in both despite being different languages even though they're unrelated? However, some words & nouns outright look the same in writing (警察、死亡、軍人、明治維新、仲見世商店街、歌舞伎町) thus making it somewhat mutually readable although they don't inherit the same pronunciation. Does the same form of confusion also happen with languages with the same alphabets (English > French & Russian & Ukrainian for instance...)?

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[–] 2 points 6 days ago (1 child)

If Japanese did not use kanji, there would be no confusion, I think.

I've met enough people who can't tell the difference between Korean and Chinese that I rather doubt lack of kanji would help people who can't distinguish Japanese...

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  • [–] 2 points 6 days ago

    Sure, but I did assume based on the OP that the people in question have enough knowledge to differentiate kanji/hanja/hanzi from "alien squiggles" (as I once heard someone call them). For someone who doesn't know anything other than "the alphabet" (ignoring the fact that there isn't just one), then I think it's hopeless from the start.

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