# Are writing systems like Chinese and hieroglyphics resilient to dyslexia?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-writing-systems-like-chinese-and-hieroglyphics-resilient-to-dyslexia/807604>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 27, 2018, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-writing-systems-like-chinese-and-hieroglyphics-resilient-to-dyslexia/807604 "2018-01-27T20:39:49Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\
**Post date:** [January 27, 2018, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-writing-systems-like-chinese-and-hieroglyphics-resilient-to-dyslexia/807604/1 "2018-01-27T20:39:49Z")

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Or, is dyslexia relevant with those scripts? Does it depend upon how densely the characters are packed?

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**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\
**Post date:** [January 27, 2018, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-writing-systems-like-chinese-and-hieroglyphics-resilient-to-dyslexia/807604/2 "2018-01-27T22:36:24Z")

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Link to column: [Is it possible to be dyslexic in Chinese? - The Straight Dope](https://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2591/is-it-possible-to-be-dyslexic-in-chinese/)

The conclusion is that Chinese dyslexics have a different problem from English dyslexics, but the column was published in 2005.

ETA from the column: “…there are fewer Chinese dyslexics…” (about 7% versus 15% or 1.5% versus 5%), so Chinese is more resilient in that sense.

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**Author:** ![Ignotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecc23a/32.png) [@Ignotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignotus)\
**Post date:** [January 28, 2018, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-writing-systems-like-chinese-and-hieroglyphics-resilient-to-dyslexia/807604/3 "2018-01-28T05:17:55Z")

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Thinking about ancient languages and their scripts, Hittite must have been a bitch to master. Basically, you’d have to have a thorough knowledge of three distinct languages and their writing systems: the obsolete Sumerian, the Babylonian and the native Nesili (all written in cuneiform). Any single compound word might incorporate elements from each one of them.

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**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\
**Post date:** [January 28, 2018, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-writing-systems-like-chinese-and-hieroglyphics-resilient-to-dyslexia/807604/4 "2018-01-28T06:45:04Z")

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Thanks. As you may recall, my niece has dayslexia. It’s going to be interesting to see her parents’ reactions to the suggestion that she learns Chinese!