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Learn through reading for (very) beginners of Japanese
Have you only recently learned hiragana but need practice? Or perhaps, your hiragana is no
problem, but you want to build your reading comprehension?
This new segment is here to the rescue!
Read real Japanese—beginner level but not boring Japanese! Enjoy reading flash fiction, su-
per short essays, and funny stories of common mistakes made by learners of Japanese.
Best of all, the only requirement is that you can read hiragana. Vocabulary and grammar
will be defined and explained.
The format is a little different from our other more advanced readers. The idea is for the
reader to read the entire story three times. Each page will have a sentence or two in hiragana
(with spaces between words for you to see “words” instead of syllables) at the top and that same
content in full Japanese (with furigana) at the bottom. The middle will have the glossary and
grammatical explanations. Lastly, the story will be presented in Japanese without furigana. See
if you can read it after going through the explanations.
If you have just learned hiragana, you may want to listen to the sound file while reading the
hiragana section to practice correct pronunciation. If you have studied Japanese a bit longer,
you may want to start with the bottom version and take note of the glossary for understanding.
The glossary will have the word as it appears in the story but will give the “dictionary” form
so you can look the word up further.
And now…
The following is a true story. Clay had just arrived in Japan (way back in
1998) and, while exploring the area, he got lost...
As a reminder, the top and bottom Japanese texts are identical in meaning. The top version is only in hiragana and includes
spaces between words. The bottom version has no spaces and uses kanji with furigana. Unless you are just practicing hiragana
recognition, try to work through both versions to improve reading speed, reading comprehension, listening comprehension,
vocabulary, kanji, and grammar. If you don’t feel confident in your understanding, review the English translation at the end.
あるひ、くれいさん は ほんや を さがす こと に しました。
GLOSSARY AND NOTES
ひ ひ
ある日 aru hi – one day [this is ある aru (some) and 日 hi (day). The ある aru is used to show un-
ひと
certainty: ある人 aru hito - some person; あるところ aru tokoro – some place]
くれい
クレイさん kurei san – Clay [Japanese adds honorific suffixes to names. This is similar to how Eng-
lish prefixes honorifics to names: Mr. Hickens; Dr. Smith; Mrs. Whatshername. However, this is
used much more often in Japanese. For more on this, please see Clay & Yumi Boutwell's book, Jap-
anese Honorifics & Pronouns: San, Chan, Sama, Say What?]
は wa – (topic marker) [written with the hiragana "ha" but pronounced "wa" when used as a particle.
Japanese uses a number of particles to tell us information about the preceding word. In this case,
the は wa tells us "Clay" is the overall topic of the sentence. A good way to show that “Clay” is the
topic in English would be to translate this as "As for Clay, he…"]
ほんや ほん や
本屋 honya – bookstore [this is made of 本 hon (book) and 屋 ya (store; shop)]
を o – (direct object marker) [marks bookstore as the object that Clay is searching for]
さが さが
探すこと sagasu koto – the act of searching [from 探す sagasu (to search) and こと koto (thing); こ
と koto is used to make a verb into a noun phrase: "the act of searching" or just "searching"]
にしました ni shimashita – decided; did [にする ni suru which means "to decide on." This is often
used at restaurants: すしにする sushi ni suru – to decide on sushi.]
ひ くれい ほんや さが
ある日、クレイさんは本屋を探すことにしました。
2
/
あぱーと から じてんしゃ で でかけました。いちじかんご、ほんや
を みつけました が、かえる とき に まいご に なりました。
あぱーと は、えき の そば です。
あぱ と GLOSSARY AND NOTES
アパート apa-to - apartment
から kara – (leaving) from (apartment) [から kara is a particle that shows action from a place or time:
はち じ
ここから koko kara - from here; 8 時から hachi ji kara – from 8 o'clock]
じてんしゃ じてんしゃ
自転車で jitensha de – by bicycle [自転車 jitensha is bicycle but バイク baiku is a motorcycle.]
で で
出かけました dekakemashita – left [past form of 出かける dekakeru – to leave; to go out]
いちじかんご かん いちじ
一時間後 ichi ji kan go – one hour later [間 kan shows a span of time: 一時 ichiji is 1 o'clock (one hour);
いちじかん ご
一時間 ichijikan is a span of one hour. The 後 go means "after." So, “after a span of one hour.”]
ほんや
本屋 honya - bookstore
み み
見つけました mitsukemashita – found [past of 見つける mitsukeru – to find; to discover]
が ga – but; however
かえ かえ
帰るときに kaeru toki ni – when going back [帰る kaeru (to return) + とき toki (time) + に ni (at)]
まいご
迷子になりました maigo ni narimashita – became lost [from になる ni naru which means "to become"]
えき えき
駅のそば eki no soba – next to the (train) station [The 駅 eki is the heart of most Japanese cities.
Around the train station, you can find department stores, restaurants, and other stores. そば soba
means "nearby"]
です desu – is; to be [です desu is the polite Japanese copula which connects a subject with the predi-
cate.]
あ ぱ と じてんしゃ で いちじかんご ほんや み
アパートから自転車で出かけました。一時間後、本屋を見つけましたが、
かえ まいご あ ぱ と えき
帰るときに迷子になりました。アパートは、駅のそばです。 3
/
「すみません、えき は、どこ です か？」くれいさん は、ある
おばあさん に ききました。
「ごめんなさい！えいご は わかりません。」
GLOSSARY AND NOTES
すみません sumimasen – excuse me [this can also mean "sorry" but in this case, it is used to get the
lady's attention.]
えき
駅 eki – train station
どこですか doko desu ka – where is (it) [どこ doko (where) + です desu (is; be) +
か ka (question marker)]
ある aru – a certain; some(one) [as mentioned previously, ある aru is used to
show uncertainty:
ひと
ある人 aru hito - some person; あるところ aru tokoro – some place]
おばあさん obaasan – old lady; female senior citizen
に ni – to (the lady)
き き
聞きました kikimashita – asked [past of 聞く kiku – to ask; this is also used to
mean "to hear"]
「」 (quotation marks)
ごめんなさい gomen nasai – sorry [like すみません sumimasen, this can also be
used to get someone's attention; “excuse me!”]
えいご えい ご
英語 eigo – English language [英 ei stands for “Britain” and 語 go means "language"]
わ わ
分かりません wakarimasen – don't understand [negative of 分かる wakaru – to understand]
えき くれい き
「すみません、駅はどこですか？」クレイさんは、あるおばあさんに聞き
ました。
えいご わ
「ごめんなさい！英語は分かりません！」
4
/
おばあさん は、そういって さっさと いってしまいました。
「でも、ぼく、にほんご で ききました・・・。」
GLOSSARY AND NOTES
おばあさん obaasan – old lady; female senior citizen
い い
そう言って sou itte – saying that [そう sou means "like that" or "in that way" and 言って itte is the -te
い
form of 言う iu which means "to speak." The -te form here acts as a conjunction. "She said that and
then…"]
さっさと sassato – promptly; quickly; without delay [Japanese is full of these fun onomatopoeia; you
can just imagine the swift exit: sassato!]
い い
行ってしまいました itte shimaimashita – left [we could have just said 行きました ikimashita which
means "left" or "went away," but the -te form with しまいました shimaimashita does two things:
1) it shows completeness. The lady did not stop or turn back to help Clay; and 2) it usually implies
some form of regret. It is unfortunate, but she left completely.]
でも demo – but
ぼく boku – I; me [mostly used by males]
にほんご にほん ご
日本語で nihongo de – in Japanese [日本 nihon (Japan) + 語 go (language) + で de (with)]
き き
聞きました kikimashita – asked [past of 聞く kiku which means "to ask" or "to hear"; you can tell the
difference by context]
い い
おばあさんはそう言って、さっさと行ってしまいました。
にほんご き
「でも、ぼく、日本語で聞きました・・・。」
5
Now, review core vocabulary and important kanji before trying to read the story in natural Japanese (no
furigana or spaces) on the next page.
IMPORTANT VOCABULARY IMPORTANT KANJI
ある日 aru hi—one day On reading: pronunciation of the kanji taken or inspired
by the original Chinese pronunciation
本屋 hon ya—bookstore
Kun reading: pronunciation based on the native Japanese
探す sagasu—to search for sound of a word with the kanji’s core meaning
こと koto—thing [makes preceding verb into a ニチ・ジツ・ひ・~び・~か
noun phrase] 日 day; sun; Japan; counter for days
ホン・もと
にしました ni shimashita—decided upon [from
にする ni suru (to decide upon)]
本 book; origin
オク・や
アパート apa-to—apartment 屋 roof; house
自転車 jitensha—bicycle タン・さぐる・さがす
出かけました dekakemashita—left [from 出かけ
探 grope; search; look for
シャ・くるま
る dekakeru (to leave)]
車 car
一時間後 ichijikan go—one hour later
イチ・イツ・ひと~・ひとつ
帰るとき kaeru toki—time to return (home) 一 one
ジ・とき
迷子 maigo—lost
時 time; hour
駅のそば eki no soba—next to the station
カン・ケン・あいだ・ま・あい
聞きました kikimashita—asked 間 interval; space
ケン・みる・みえる・みせる
英語 eigo—English language
見 see; idea; opinion
そう言って sou itte—saying that…
キ・かえる・かえす・おくる・と
さっさと sassato—quickly 帰 つぐ
homecoming; arrive at
ぼく boku—I; me (male language)
エキ
日本語 nihongo—Japanese language 駅 station
エイ・はなぶさ
英 England; English; hero
ゴ・かたる・かたらう
語 word; speech; language
Review the vocabulary on the previous page and solve this puzzle.
Write the answers in hiragana or katakana.
ACROSS
4 next to the station
6 quickly
7 lost
11 bicycle
12 Japanese language
13 bookstore
14 asked
15 thing [makes preceding verb
into a noun phrase]
16 left
DOWN
1 one day
2 apartment
3 time to return (home)
5 saying that…
6 to search for
8 one hour later
9 English language
10 I; me (male language)
12 decided upon
Now, let’s read the story once more in natural Japanese.
Lastly, check the English translation to make sure you understand.
ある日、クレイさんは本屋を探すことにしました。
アパートから自転車で出かけました。一時間後、本屋を見つけましたが、
帰るときに迷子になりました。アパートは、駅のそばです。
「すみません、駅はどこですか？」クレイさんは、あるおばあさんに聞き
ました。
「ごめんなさい！英語は分かりません！」
おばあさんはそう言って、さっさと行ってし Crossword Answers:
まいました。
「でも、ぼく、日本語で聞きまし
た・・・。」
One day, Clay went off in search of a bookstore. He left his
apartment by bike. An hour later, he found a bookstore, but
returning, he got lost.
The apartment was next to the train station.
“Excuse me. Where is the train station?” Clay asked an older
lady.
“Sorry! I don’t understand English!”
Saying that, the older lady rushed off.
“But… I… I asked in Japanese…”
CULTURAL NOTE
Most people in Japan love to meet foreigners and practice English, but as you can tell from this
story, some people are more reticent. As you may also get from the story, non-English speaking
foreigners are often frustrated by the common Japanese belief that all foreigners speak English.
Should you ever find yourself in a similar predicament as Clay, try asking younger people. They
tend to speak more English and enjoy speaking to foreigners more.
8
