The Short Answer
Japanese is not based on Chinese, but the two languages have influenced each other significantly over history. Japanese belongs to a completely separate language family from Chinese. However, because of geographic proximity and cultural exchanges, a large portion of Japanese vocabulary today consists of words of Chinese origin, particularly words relating to abstract concepts, literature, science and technology. Additionally, Japanese adopted the Chinese writing system in ancient times. While the grammar structures of the two languages are completely different, the adoption of Chinese characters had a profound impact on the Japanese writing system. So in summary, while Japanese and Chinese are unrelated languages, Chinese has heavily influenced Japanese vocabulary and writing due to cultural exchange.
The Origins of Japanese
Linguistically, Japanese is classified as a language isolate. This means that Japanese does not belong to any larger language family – it evolved independently on the Japanese archipelago. The origins of the Japanese language are still subject to debate, but most scholars believe proto-Japanese speakers migrated to Japan from continental Asia or the Pacific islands sometime around the 1st century BC. Over the centuries, the settlers developed their own distinctive language and culture on the archipelago, giving rise to the emergence of Old Japanese by the 8th century AD. From its very beginnings then, Japanese evolved completely independently of Chinese.
The earliest form of Japanese, Old Japanese, would have been completely unintelligible to Chinese speakers. Old Japanese grammar and phonology bore no resemblance to any Chinese dialects. In fact, Japanese grammar is markedly different from Chinese. For example, Japanese is an agglutinative language, meaning it uses word endings or particles to modify verbs and show grammatical relationships. Chinese languages like Mandarin, on the other hand, use word order and do not rely on case markers.
Basic Japanese Grammar Structures
To illustrate how different Japanese is from Chinese structurally, let’s look at some very basic grammar patterns:
| Japanese | Chinese |
|---|---|
| Watashi wa ringo o tabemasu | Wǒ chī píngguǒ |
| I (topic marker) apple (object marker) eat | I eat apple |
In Japanese, the topic and object are marked with particles “wa” and “o”. In Chinese, word order alone conveys this information.
| Japanese | Chinese |
|---|---|
| Watashi wa eigo o benkyou shimasu | Wǒ xuéxí yīngyǔ |
| I (topic) English (object) study | I study English |
Again, Japanese uses “wa”, “o”, and “shimasu” as grammatical markers, while Chinese relies solely on word order.
Clearly, Japanese and Chinese grammar structures are completely different and do not stem from a common source.
Chinese Influence on Japanese Vocabulary
While Japanese is its own distinct language isolate structurally, a significant portion of modern Japanese vocabulary is of Chinese origin. This is due to cultural exchange and borrowing between China and Japan over the centuries.
The Japanese and Chinese cultures have interacted for well over 1500 years, so it’s only natural that Chinese would influence Japanese lexicon. Here are some key historical points where Chinese vocabulary entered the Japanese language:
Buddhism and Chinese Texts
Buddhism was introduced to Japan from China and the Korean peninsula around the 6th century AD. Along with the Buddhist religion came many Buddhist texts and scriptures written in Classical Chinese. As a result, Buddhist terminology and concepts in Japanese are derived from Chinese. Words like 禅 (zen, chan) and 仏 (butsu, fo) relating to Buddhism entered Japanese during this time period.
In addition to Buddhist works, many academic, literary, and philosophical Chinese texts were brought to Japan over the centuries. The imported Chinese literature introduced Chinese vocabulary relating to philosophy, governance, and the arts into the Japanese language.
Kanji Adoption
Perhaps the most profound Chinese influence was the adoption of the Chinese writing system. Chinese characters, known as kanji in Japanese, were first introduced to Japan by Buddhist monks in the 5th century AD. By the 8th century AD, the Japanese had imported the entire Chinese script and begun using a modified version for writing Japanese. The Japanese writing system evolved into a hybrid combining simplified kanji with additional phonetic scripts, now known as hiragana and katakana.
The importation of kanji had a major impact on Japanese vocabulary by introducing many Chinese morphemes into the language. Each kanji is associated with one or more potential Chinese readings, called on’yomi. These Chinese readings were incorporated into Japanese vocabulary alongside native Japanese readings called kun’yomi. For example, the kanji 学 can be read as gaku (on’yomi) or mana-bu (kun’yomi).
Today, kanji are fully integrated into Japanese orthography. Virtually any word represented by kanji will have an on’yomi Chinese reading. Scholars estimate over 50% of modern Japanese vocabulary is derived from Chinese morphemes. The adoption of kanji indelibly linked the Japanese and Chinese lexicons.
Other Borrowing
In addition to the major waves of Chinese influence from Buddhism and kanji, Japan continued importing Chinese vocabulary in various forms up until modern times. Scientific, academic, and political terminology entered Japanese during the Edo Period when Chinese studies were in vogue among intellectuals. Japan also imported many Chinese loanwords relating to food, art, clothing and other cultural realms.
This ongoing borrowing means a large portion of advanced vocabulary relating to medicine, law, botany, zoology and other academic fields is Sino-Japanese in origin. Chinese has had a profound impact on higher lexicon related to science, academics and governance in Japanese.
Differences Between Japanese and Chinese Vocabulary
Despite heavy borrowing, there are still major differences between native Japanese vocabulary and Sino-Japanese vocabulary:
Pronunciation
Chinese loanwords have been integrated into the Japanese phonological system. While many on’yomi readings approximate Old Chinese pronunciation, they have been adapted to fit the consonant and vowel system of Japanese. Moreover, on’yomi are not exact replicas of modern Mandarin pronunciation.
Semantics
When Chinese vocabulary was absorbed into Japanese, the words underwent semantic shift. Words adapted new, often more narrow definitions in Japanese. For example, 文化 (bunka) means “culture” in Japanese but “civilization” in Chinese.
Parts of Speech
In Japanese, words can shift parts of speech by changing endings. Chinese words are fully integrated into this system. For example, 变 (hen) meaning “strange” can become the verb 变化 (henka) meaning “to change”.
Usage Frequency
Some Chinese derived words are more common than others. In many cases, Japanese has preferred native or alternate borrowed vocabulary over Chinese loans. For example, native Japanese shiro over Chinese haku for “white”. The frequency of Chinese loanword usage varies.
Native Vocabulary Still Dominant
Despite the significant Chinese influence, native Japanese vocabulary still dominates the most common functional domains like pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and grammatical words. Chinese loans are not as prevalent in everyday speech compared to academic writing.
So in summary, while Chinese loans have been fully incorporated into the Japanese language, they do not define it. Japanese has maintained its unique identity while adapting select Chinese vocabulary.
Chinese Influence on Japanese Writing
While Chinese did not structurally influence the Japanese language, it has had a major impact on the Japanese writing system. As described above, Japan imported kanji and modeled their writing system after Chinese orthography. However, Japanese also developed unique syllabaries known as hiragana and katakana to adapt kanji for writing Japanese.
Modern Japanese is written in a combination of kanji, hiragana, and katakana. Kanji are used for most content words. Hiragana is used for grammatical particles and endings. Katakana is used for foreign loanwords and onomatopoeia. Written Japanese relies on this unique blend of scripts, only one of which – the kanji – is derived from Chinese.
So from a grammatical standpoint, Japanese and Chinese use entirely different writing systems. Japanese cannot be written purely in kanji. It requires hiragana and katakana to convey particles, conjugations and other elements of Japanese grammar that do not exist in Chinese. At the same time, kanji are indispensable in written Japanese. Over 3000 kanji remain in common use, and they form the backbone of the writing system.
To summarize, the adoption of Chinese characters heavily influenced Japanese writing, but the two orthographies are fundamentally different. The Japanese writing system engineered innovative solutions like hiragana and katakana to adapt kanji for representing the Japanese language.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Japanese and Chinese are genetically unrelated languages that evolved independently of each other. However, extensive cultural exchange led to Chinese making a profound impact on Japanese vocabulary and writing:
– A large portion of advanced, academic vocabulary in Japanese can be traced back to Chinese loans. Kanji in particular introduced Sino-Japanese lexicon.
– Chinese characters, kanji, were imported for use in the Japanese writing system. Kanji are now an integral component of written Japanese.
– At the same time, Japanese maintains its own unique grammatical structures and native vocabulary. Chinese did not shape core elements of Japanese grammar.
So in summary, while Sino-Japanese vocabulary and Chinese-derived writing were imported into Japanese, the core structures of the language remain independently Japanese. Japanese adopted select lexicon and orthography from Chinese while maintaining its own distinctive identity as a language isolate. The two languages have drawn extensively from each other while retaining their status as separate, unrelated language systems.