Top Tips + Resources for Beginner to Advanced Japanese Reading Practice

Reading is one of the most important—and most challenging—skills for a Japanese language learner to master, which is why you need good, regular Japanese reading practice. Although you can learn grammar and vocabulary without reading at all, you’ll need to be able to read the Japanese writing systems to understand the language in written form.

The good news is that reading practice improves your other Japanese skills, too! For instance, reading subtitles can help you with listening comprehension, you might be able to figure out the definition of an unknown word if you can read its kanji, and reading will accelerate your ability to write in Japanese. The world’s first novel (Genji Monogatari) and the modern masterpieces of Haruki Murakami are waiting patiently for you in their original Japanese versions.

Table of Contents

• Beginner (basic) Japanese reading practice
• Intermediate (independent) Japanese reading practice
• Advanced (proficient) Japanese reading practice

Beginner (basic) Japanese reading practice

Reading in Japanese starts with learning how to read hiragana and katakana, the two Japanese phonetic writing systems. You can get a head start on grammar and vocabulary by relying on romanization (Japanese text written using Roman letters) as you learn the writing systems. 

Your Japanese reading skills can be approximated based on the language fluency levels provided by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) and the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT). A beginner (CEFR A1-A2 or JLPT N5-N4) can demonstrate these reading skills in Japanese:

• You can read hiragana, katakana, and around 150 kanji.
  • ひらがな = hiragana
  • 返（へん/hen）＋事（じ/ji）= 返事 = reply
• You can read simple phrases and paragraphs.
  • Onna no ko wa yondeiru.（女の子は読んでいる。）= The girl is reading.
  • Karera wa kaigan no chikaku de sēringu o shite imasu.（彼らは海岸の近くでセーリングをしています。）= They are sailing near the beach.
• You can follow short instructions and signs.
  • Shashin o toranaide kudasai.（写真を取らないでください。）= Please don’t take pictures.
  • Tomare (止まれ）= Stop
• You can understand texts, emails, and other messages if the content is familiar.
  • Kaigi wa ichiji kara niji made.（会議は一時から二時まで。）= The meeting is from 1:00 to 2:00.
  • Ima wa hima desu ka.（今は暇ですか？）= Are you free now?
• You can find information you need in larger texts (like articles), even if you can’t read the whole thing.
  • Jūshichinichi gogo sanji nijūippun goro, О̄saka-fu de shindo 4-kyō no tsuyoi yure o kansoku suru jishin ga arimashita.（１7日午後3時21分ごろ、大阪府で震度4強の強い揺れを観測する地震がありました。）= At around 3:21 p.m. on the 17th, a magnitude 4 earthquake occurred in Osaka prefecture.
  • Kyō wa teikiatsu no eikyō de, nishi Nihon wa gogojū o chūshin ni ame ga furu deshō.（今日は低気圧の影響で、西日本は午後中を中心に雨が降るでしょう。）= Due to low atmospheric pressure, western Japan can expect rain in the afternoon.

Where to find easy things to read in Japanese

The most accessible things to read for beginners include a lot of hiragana with limited amounts of katakana and kanji mixed in. While language learning textbooks are excellent to have on hand, you don’t have to limit yourself to them. As you get more comfortable reading Japanese characters, your options will expand. Start with these resources for Japanese reading practice for beginners.

• Look for sources of Japanese culture in your area. Depending on where you live, you might have a thriving Japanese community (like Japantown in San Francisco) or an authentic sushi restaurant or two. Look for hiragana and katakana on menus, signage, and any other labeling you can find.
• The Japan Foundation’s Hiragana Memory Hint and Katakana Memory Hint apps (available for free on Android and iOS devices) are fun ways to learn the two Japanese phonetic writing systems. They include mnemonic devices, audio, and a variety of quizzes to help you learn. When you’re done with hiragana and katakana, you can try out their Kanji Memory Hint apps, too.
• For short stories, you check out the free digital books from Tadoku. Each story is written only in Japanese, and they start as simple as hiragana-only with just one or two words on a page to lengthier stories (20+ pages) with several lines of text using all three writing systems.
• Read Japanese books that have simple plots, clear layouts, and include readings for all kanji (called furigana, 振り仮名). Slice-of-life stories like Sue & Tai-chan (or Sū to Tai-chan in Japanese) are appealing for all ages. You can find Japanese books digitally online, or you can find them in print.
• Try out reading section practice tests from proficiency exams like the JLPT. Reading passages designed for JLPT N5 or N4 are appropriate for beginners.

Tips for beginners to practice reading in Japanese

Learning to read in Japanese is about more than having access to content to practice with. You’ll need to know how to read the Japanese writing systems and the formats they come in.

• Start by figuring out how to learn Japanese writing systems. This will drastically increase the number of resources you can use for practice, since not all Japanese learning resources include romanization. Do hiragana first, then katakana, and then basic kanji.
• Make furigana—the small hiragana characters next to kanji that show you how to pronounce them—your best friend. Resources designed for beginners and young readers often add furigana to most (if not all) kanji, and uncommon kanji usually include furigana for more advanced content as well.
• Familiarize yourself with Japanese punctuation. While English punctuation has strict rules about usage, Japanese rules are much looser. The most essential punctuation marks you need to know are the period (。), the comma (、), and quotation marks (「」).
• Be aware of the different directions you read in Japanese. Whether you read right to left or vice versa depends on the layout of what you’re reading:
  • If the text is written vertically (common in books, signs, and newspapers), you read each line from top to bottom, and you start with the rightmost line and work your way left.
  • If the text is written horizontally (common online and for everyday use), you read each line from left to right, and you start with the top line and work your way down.
  • If you’re reading a book or a newspaper (or other bound volume), you start with what would be the back of a book written in English. The cover is usually the side where the spine of the book is on the right.
  • If you’re reading manga (漫画, Japanese comic books), learning how to read manga panels in order can take some practice. In general, they flow from top to bottom and right to left.

Free beginner Japanese reading practice paragraph

Use this paragraph as a test to practice Japanese reading skills. Use the romanization to help you read any kanji you don’t know, and you can check your comprehension by reading the English below.

今週末、私は家族と海に行きます。明日は晴れで風が強いですから、お父さんと妹とセーリングに行くつもりです。でも、お母さんは泳げません。だから、一人ですぐ近くの温泉に行きます。雨が降れば、一緒に温泉に行きます。

Konshūmatsu, watashi wa kazoku to umi ni ikimasu. Ashita wa hare de kaze ga tsuyoi desu kara, otōsan to imōto to sēringu ni iku tsumori desu. Demo, okāsan wa oyogemasen. Dakara, hitori de sugu chikaku no onsen ni ikimasu. Ame ga fureba, issho ni onsen ni ikimasu.

This weekend, I’m going to the beach with my family. It will be sunny and windy tomorrow, so I’m planning on going sailing with my father and younger sister. However, my mother can’t swim. Because of that, she’s going to a nearby hot spring by herself. If it rains, we’ll go to the onsen together.

Intermediate (independent) Japanese reading practice

Intermediate-level learners in Japanese are ready to read the news, entire books, and other content targeted to native Japanese speakers. You’ll most likely need some assistance from dictionaries, but exposure to natural Japanese (rather than the stiff dialogue that can be found in textbooks) is necessary for you to improve.

An intermediate or independent learner (CEFR B1-B2 or JLPT N3-N2) can do the following:

• You can read roughly half (about 1,000) of the common-use kanji.
  • 不（ふ/fu）＋ 思（し/shi）＋ 議（ぎ/gi）= 不思議 = mysterious
• You can read stories from a wide range of genres, and grasp the nuance of Japanese words that don’t translate from Japanese to English.
  • Areyo areyo to iu ma ni seitokai no ichiin ni natte shimatte（あれよあれよと言う間に生徒会の一員になってしまって） (from Fruits Basket Another by Natsuki Takaya) = Before I knew it, I became a member of the student council.
• You can understand Japanese news stories, with some help from a dictionary or other resource if necessary.
  • Hankagai de no poi sute ga mondai to natteiru Tōkyō Shibuya-ku de tsuitachi kara taisaku ga kyōka sare, 2,000 en no karyō ga kasareru koto ni narimashita.（繁華街でのポイ捨てが問題となっている東京 渋谷区で1日から対策が強化され、2000円の過料が科されることになりました。）(from NHK ONE) = Starting on the 1st, steps toward addressing the littering problem in Shibuya’s (Tokyo) shopping districts will be reinforced with an imposed 2,000 yen fine.

Japanese reading resources for intermediate learners

As an intermediate learner, most Japanese content is accessible to you. You can sink your teeth into more fun manga in Japanese, or you can stretch your skills with practical tools like these.

• Use 10ten Japanese Reader (formerly Rikaichamp) to help you read unfamiliar words on Japanese websites without having to look them up in a dictionary. With this add-on, all you have to do is hover over the text and you’ll get definitions, related vocabulary, kanji information, and more.
• The “Hiragana Times” is a bilingual magazine (available digitally) with monthly issues, and everything is written in English and Japanese. This is a perfect way to get exposure to Japanese culture while also developing your Japanese reading skills.
• Get used to reading your news in Japanese by using NHK’s News Web Easy. Each article is a simplified version of a full-length news article on the NHK (the Japanese equivalent to PBS or BBC) website and comes with audio, removable furigana, and a link to the full-length article.
• For all of your kanji and related vocabulary needs, WaniKani provides a flashcard-like system that burns items into your long-term memory. WaniKani teaches you radicals (kanji components), kanji, and vocabulary that are all related to each other around the same time so that you get constant reinforcement. The first three levels (including 84 kanji and nearly 200 vocabulary words) are free.
• The intermediate JLPT levels are N3 and N2, which are the levels where having JLPT certification can improve your chances at a job in Japan. Use practice tests for their reading sections to assess your current skills.

Tips for intermediate learners to practice reading in Japanese

To grow from an intermediate learner to an advanced learner, you’ll need to get comfortable with natural Japanese versus what you find in textbooks or what is “correct.” Grammar rules can be bent and context can change a word’s meaning, so seek out resources that include a wide variety of styles and genres.

• Try changing the language settings on your electronic devices from your current language to Japanese. You’ll immediately get exposed to practical Japanese, right down to basics like “Power” and “Confirm.” If you don’t want to change settings on your phone or computer, try something like a video game platform or even just the settings within a single app or website.
• If you’re using a hardcopy book or worksheets, consider adding your own furigana to any kanji you don’t know how to read at a glance. Once you look it up, just write the reading in small hiragana characters above the kanji (if written horizontally) or to the right of the kanji (if written vertically).
• Start introducing yourself to common Japanese dialects, like Kansai-ben (primarily spoken in the areas around and including Kyoto and Osaka). Especially in fiction, you’ll find characters that use dialects to exemplify a trope (Kansai-ben usually equals comedy), so learning the basics will help you understand dialogue when it comes up in your reading.

Advanced (proficient) Japanese reading practice

At the advanced level, you should be reading any content written for native Japanese speakers that piques your interest. You have mastery of the fundamentals and a strong grasp of more complex topics like Japanese honorific language (or keigo), so now it’s time to improve on the skills you already have.

As an advanced (CEFR C1-C2 or JLPT N1) learner, you can demonstrate these skills:

• You can read all 2,136 common-use kanji (and perhaps more) and are able to understand them in context.
  • 蜃（しん/shin）＋気（き/ki）楼（ろう/rou）= 蜃気楼 = mirage
• You can read everything from Japanese slang to literature, including some familiarity with classical Japanese.
  • Suzaku-in no miyuki wa, kaminazuki no tōka amari nari.（朱雀院の行幸は、神無月の十日あまりなり。）(from The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu) = The imperial visit to the Red Sparrow Court was to take place on the tenth day of the Godless Month.
• You can comprehend formal legal documents and technical passages on topics that you’re not familiar with.
  • Kuni no zaisei o shori suru kengen wa, kokkai no giketsu ni motozuite, kore o koushi shinakereba naranai.（国の財政を処理する権限は、国会の議決に基いて、これを行使しなければならない。）(from the Constitution of Japan) = The power to administer national finances shall be exercised as the Diet shall determine.
• You can understand and use a variety of Japanese idioms.
  • Inu ga nishi mukya o wa higashi da yo.（犬が西向きゃ尾は東だよ。）= It goes without saying. (Literally: If the dog is facing West, their tail is facing East.)

Where to find advanced things to read in Japanese

At this stage, start using Japanese materials as much as you can. If you want to learn how to crochet, find a Japanese book on the topic. If you need to do research for work, look for Japanese sources to cite. Essentially, if you could read it in your native language, try reading it in Japanese instead.

• Broaden your selection of news outlets. Pick a few Japanese language newspapers that suit your interests (or cover the area where you live or want to live) and either read them in print or online.
• Check out what books are available to you as eBooks in Japanese. Go beyond manga and read novels or non-fiction to remove the visual aids and force yourself to use only the information provided by the text to understand what you’re reading.
• If you use social media, start following accounts that use Japanese exclusively. You can tailor the kind of content you get to your needs. For example, you can follow Japanese professionals in your career field to get their perspective, you can see what Japanese celebrities are saying, you can stay up to date on your favorite manga author’s latest releases, and more. Links to articles and videos they share are just bonuses for your Japanese language reading practice.
• If you enjoy video games, pick one up in Japanese. Do you have any favorites that you played in your native language? Replay those games in Japanese, and you may be surprised to see how the translations you remember differ in nuance from the original Japanese.
• Full, official JLPT N1 practice tests are few and far between, but you can use the Shinkanzen Masutā series of workbooks to get intensive practice in all sections. The Shinkanzen Masutā N1 reading practice workbook includes reading passages and associated practice questions to thoroughly prepare you for the test or for real-life equivalents.

Tips for advanced learners to practice reading in Japanese

No matter your reason for learning Japanese up to this level, check in with yourself on what your goals are. 

Did you learn Japanese to get a job in Japan, and now you’re working there? Have you been studying this long to read entire novels in Japanese, and now you have a whole shelf of books you’ve read in Japanese? Whether your goals have been achieved or not, here are some tips to keep in mind.

• Don’t beat yourself up if you have to look up kanji regularly for a reading or a definition. Although the common-use kanji are essential, that’s still over 2,000 characters to remember! Japanese schools expect students to have mastery over the common-use characters by the end of high school, which means they have 12 years to learn them, which may be longer than you’ve been studying Japanese.
• If at all possible, make friends who are native Japanese speakers. Text or email each other regularly so you’re constantly getting something new and genuine to read (and get some Japanese writing practice for yourself). Try reading the same books together and talk about them in your own mini book club.
• You may feel some sense of imposter syndrome at this level when it comes to your level of fluency or proficiency. However, even if you don’t feel “fluent,” remind yourself of what you can read in Japanese and look at your skills objectively. Be kind to yourself and give credit where it’s due (to you!) while also acknowledging that there’s always more to learn.

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