i don't know if this true or not ,maybe because it's our native language ,so we don't feel anything ,i think maybe it's so different from other languages ,do you think so ?
maybe this top difficult makes many foreigners learners afraid and finally give up.
I think Chinese is difficult for foreigners because in Chinese there is no absolute grammar~ Chinese is a very flexible language.
I think that will depends. Chinese is also my native language but in Malaysia, not all Chinese know how to speak this language due to different background and educational system. To those who do not understand the language, it is definitely a tough language. To speak may not be hard but to write it is. Chinese character is comprises of various strokes combine to form a character. So may only be one stroke (example 一) some may be more than 10 strokes (example 藏).
But now the technology makes it easier because what you need to do is to recognize and know the pinyin, then it will solve your problem. Like my Korean teacher say, there are two types of learner, one who learn fast because they are expose to the environment (watch drama, have friend who speak that language etc) and slower learner. And if you are interested with that language, no matter which type are you, you will learn the language in the end.
Just a piece of mind..
it's difficult due to its flexibility on expression which varies frm person to person...



