Depends on what you like more, Cantonese is harder to learn if you haven't been exposed to it at all, but there are better shows that can help you learn like TVB, where as Mandarin is spoken by more people so probably more relevant.
Define "better"? Anyway, it really depends. If you're not going to spend much time in China, then I'd suggest you learn Cantonese. Most overseas Chinese know nothing about Mandarin. However, if you plan to live/work in China, I'd recommend learning Putonghua (i.e. Mandarin) as it's the national language and is understood throughout the country. If you speak the language you will be understood in most parts of China (including Guangdong). And one advantage is that it's easier to learn because it only has four tones whereas Cantonese has nine. Overall, I think Mandarin is definitely more useful than Cantonese in terms of population advantages, but it really depends on where you are and what people you're dealing with. Hm... why don't you just try learning both? I know for most people, once they learn Mandarin, it's very easy for them to pick up on Cantonese.
i think mandarin would b easier to learn... it only has 4 intonations... where as cantonese has 10... so if u've said something in the wrong intonation it could mean something completely different... cantonese is my mother tongue... but i think i like mandarin better... it sounds more gentle... cantonese sounds more rough to me...
how is mandarain easier to learn? it seems hard. you know they shoulda invented mandarin and canto like if you know one, the other is easy to learn.
coz there're about 56 nations in china... each of them has their own dialet... n b coz ppl from different part speaks with a different accent... n over the years the accent might evolve into another dialet...
I've been taking up Mandarin classes for 2 months now and only managed to understand a few simple sentences lol. I'm Vietnamese and it's really quite hard, especially trying to memorize the characters.
Hehe I don't need to be fluent cuz I only want to watch the dramas. lol How am I going to spend 1/2 year of my life in China? -sweat
Well, if you're only learning for the dramas, I suggest you pick up phrases about love, death, dying together, sacrifice, heroism, more love, honour... etc. They'll definitely come in handy..
love = ai dying together = si zai yi qi sacrifice = xi sheng hero = ying xiong righteousness = zheng yi gan My chinese is kind of dodgy
