German versus Chinese

A polyglot student once said this:  German is an easy language but not simple, while Chinese is a simple language but not easy.

With all the conjugations and other grammatical complications, German is a complex language, hence not simple.  However, once one has mastered all the rules, it is an easy language because it is consistent and one knows exactly what to apply under what circumstances.


Chinese is a simple language but not easy.  Chinese is simple in the sense that it lacks conjugations, declensions and tenses, but very difficult precisely because of this free-flow, fluid form.  (Not to mention its characters and tones.)


(London, 1986)