Which language is similar to Spanish?

Answer 1

Spanish belongs to a group of languages known as the Romance Languages, so theoretically, it should be similar to the other languages in that group: Italian, French, Portuguese, Galician, Romanian, and Catalan.

Answer 2

Japanese is actually somewhat similar to Chinese since it originated from the Chinese language.

Japanese & Korean are strikingly similar:

Chinese is a tonal language which belongs to the Sino Tibetan language group according to academia in linguistic/language field. Japanese and Korean languages are NON-tonal which belong to the Altaic & Uralic language group that also includes Mongolian,Turkish, Finish, Hungarian etc.

Some western academic put Japanese & Korean languages into separate category of "Japanese & Korean" language group due to striking similarity of both languages. Not only the fundamental structure of grammar as in S.O.V. (Subject, Object, Verb) is exactly the same in both Japanese & Korean, but also much of the concepts in Japanese/Korean run strikingly parallel if anyone has keen sense of picking up languages. Yes, it is true that Chinese language has had immense influence on both Japanese & Korean, but that is largely on the specific words borrowed from Chinese (in ancient times, Chinese were the most advanced/civilized people), but fundamental basic origin of the Japanese & Korean languages are interestingly different from Chinese. For example, both Japanese & Korean language groups have totally separate phonetics for counting numbers in their respective indigenous sounds, 1,2,3,4.....beside having the Chinese influenced phonetic of counting - so the Japanese & Korean have dual ways of counting numbers both in indigenous & Chinese ways. In any case, many proud Korean & proud Japanese hate to admit or talk about any historically, linguistically, genetically shared root b/w each other's past, and which is why there are not many Japanese or Korean even among both groups' main stream academia who normally talk about the 2 countries related ancient past. It is rather the westerners who are familiar with Japanese and Korean languages that raise the academic issue of the 2 languages' intriguing similarities and past roots. Don't bother to ask a inferiority complexed Korean or snubbish Japanese because both peoples don't really care and both groups normally don't want anything to do with each other's past root even if they are told they are related in kinsmen blood. But I am very adament that it is mostly in terms of the linguistic roots that are staggering! Interestingly, Prime Minister Naoto Kan recently mentioned in his official address that Japanese and Korean languages & cultures have proximity to each other - he is a rare Japanese to say such thing! But don't expect the same to be heard from a Korean politician any time soon.....

It is very easy for Korean and Japanese to learn each other's grammar and concepts and even conversational language of each other since both languages are very similar, although, due to more expressive Korean alphabets, Korean phonetics have extra sounds that may be difficult to pronounce, but otherwise, both groups have easy time to learn each other's language. Unlike learning the English language, when a Japanese or Korean person is learning the each other's language, he/she just can think it in terms of one's own native language as though in mirror image since grammars are same and conceptual patterns also run very similarly.