Wait so the Chinese reading in Japan is different from the Chinese reading in China and most parts of the Chinese speaking world (ignoring the influences of accents)?
方法 (method)
In Chinese: fāngfǎ "FONG-fah"
In Japanese: houhou "HOE-hoe"
日常 (everyday, ordinary)
In Chinese: rìcháng "ZI-tchong"
In Japanese: nichijou "NEE-chee-joe"
七月 (July)
In Chinese: qīyuè "CHEE-yue"
In Japanese: shichigatsu "SHEE-chee-gah-tsoo"
(Yes, 'shichigatsu' is seriously the Chinese reading of July; the Japanese reading would be 'nanatsuki'.)
And some that are similar:
開始 (start)
In Chinese: kāishǐ "KAI-tsi"
In Japanese: kaishi "kai-shee"
第三 (third)
In Chinese: dìsān "dee-SAN"
In Japanese: daisan "dai-san"
(Note that the pronunciation guide is somewhat approximate since certain sounds don't map well and English vowel pronunciation is a mess.)
I've heard that the Japanese on'yomi (Chinese) readings are generally closer to Old Chinese than modern Chinese is. Also, notice that Chinese is tonal and Japanese isn't.
And some that are similar:
(Note that the pronunciation guide is somewhat approximate since certain sounds don't map well and English vowel pronunciation is a mess.)I've heard that the Japanese on'yomi (Chinese) readings are generally closer to Old Chinese than modern Chinese is. Also, notice that Chinese is tonal and Japanese isn't.