Advice, Blog

Japanese Reading Resources for Absolute Beginners

A question I encounter often is "How much Japanese should I study before I can begin reading in Japanese?" You can and should start way earlier than you probably think!

Advice, Blog

Short Story Collections for Learning Japanese

Because of their self-contained plot and, of course, their brevity, short stories are very popular with language learners โ€“ and rightly so. There are several approaches that aim at introducing intermediate and advanced learners to Japanese short stories of which I will highlight three and recommend matching short story collections for each.

Book Review, Fiction, graded reader, Manga, N5

[N5] ๅฝผๆฐ๏ผˆใ‹ใ‚Œใ—๏ผ‰ใŒใปใ—ใ„๏ผ

Mayu likes to read romance and to draw manga. Just like the protagonists in her favourite romance shลjล manga, she would like to have a boyfriend (ใ‹ใ‚Œใ—). So she just starts drawing him.

Book Review, graded reader, N4, Non-Fiction

[N4] ๆ—ฅๆœฌใฎใŠใ‚‚ใ—ใ‚ใ„ๅฆ–ๆ€ช๏ผˆใ‚ˆใ†ใ‹ใ„๏ผ‰

Yลkai are Japanese spirits and haunting creatures from Japanese folklore that can be harmless as well as malicious. This booklet introduces you to several of them.

Book Review, Fiction, graded reader, N5

[N5] 100ใˆใ‚“ใ‚ทใƒงใƒƒใƒ—

The star of the Genki textbooks, Mary, visits a 100 Yen shop together with Yui. The concept is fascinating to her and she spends time looking at the various items she finds.

Book Review, Fiction, graded reader, N3

[N3] Intermediate Short Stories in Japanese

In Olly Richard's Intermediate Short Stories in Japanese you will be introduced to 11 stories from different genres, all written to match an intermediate readers vocabulary and grammar knowledge. I addition to these stories, it also includes vocab lists and reading comprehension quizzes after each chapter.

Book Review, Fiction, graded reader, N4, novel

[N4] ๅฐ่ชฌ๏ผˆใ—ใ‚‡ใ†ใ›ใค๏ผ‰ใƒŸใƒฉใƒผใ•ใ‚“

Mike Miller moves from the US to Japan to work for his company's Japanese branch. Although he does have prior knowledge of Japanese, there are many situation that leave him puzzled.

Book Review, Fiction, graded reader, N5

[N5] ใ‚ธใƒงใƒณใ•ใ‚“ๆ—ฅๆœฌใธ

This is the first book about John-san in Japan by Kawamoto Kazuko. This part has two chapters - one about his arrival in Japan and one about a visit to the Kabuki theatre. I especially liked the characters John-san and Yuki in this book and how they were illustrated by Miyakawa Satoko. Their interactions remain… Continue reading [N5] ใ‚ธใƒงใƒณใ•ใ‚“ๆ—ฅๆœฌใธ

Book Review, fairy tale, Fiction, graded reader, N5

[N5] ใ†ใ‚‰ใ—ใพใ€€ใŸใ‚ใ†

Urashima Tarล is a Japanese folklore character. He rescues a turtle and rides on its back to the bottom of the sea, where the beautiful ocean princess Otohime is waiting for him. This retelling for N5 has rather short sentences, but includes some more unusual words. At about 5 sentences per page, it is also… Continue reading [N5] ใ†ใ‚‰ใ—ใพใ€€ใŸใ‚ใ†

Book Review, fairy tale, Fiction, N3

[N3] ใ‹ใใ‚„ๅงซ๏ผˆใฒใ‚๏ผ‰

This version of the fairy tale of Princess Kaguya for learners with N3 abilities was written by Takahashi Sลko for a graded reader series by ask and NPO Tagengo Tadoku. I've introduced it already during the #letsreadkaguyahime reading challenge. Kaguya is found inside fresh cut bamboo as a child and grows up to become a… Continue reading [N3] ใ‹ใใ‚„ๅงซ๏ผˆใฒใ‚๏ผ‰