Japanese reading texts by level
15 texts from N5 to N2, 356 words in all, with 45 comprehension questions. Each text shows how much of it is explained in this site’s vocabulary — calculated, not claimed.
Learning words one at a time and practising grammar one point at a time is work on separate parts. A text is the first thing that needs both at once — and the only exercise where nobody tells you which rule is being tested.
What makes a graded text is a number: how much of it you already know at your level. If it is too low, reading turns into looking things up. Here that number is calculated for every text against this site’s vocabulary and shown with the text — together with the level that follows from it, next to the level on the label.
Every text is written for this site. Click a word to look it up without leaving the page.
N5 (4)
N5 · 22 words · 1 min
Morning at the Station
A weekday morning, from the alarm clock to the train.
N5 · 21 words · 1 min
The New Room
Maria shows a friend round her new flat.
N5 · 17 words · 1 min
Sunday in the Park
A Sunday in the park with a dog, a ball and a sudden shower.
N5 · 25 words · 1 min
Shopping at the Supermarket
A shopping list, a price and a mistake at the till.
N4 (4)
N4 · 27 words · 1 min
The Umbrella on the Train
An umbrella left on a train, and the office that keeps such things.
N4 · 25 words · 1 min
The First Part-Time Job
A first day working in a café, and one cup of coffee too many.
N4 · 27 words · 1 min
A Friend’s Birthday
Planning a surprise birthday party in a small flat.
N4 · 27 words · 1 min
The Day I Caught a Cold
A cold, a day off work and a visit to the doctor.
N3 (4)
N3 · 25 words · 1 min
Moving Day
Moving out of a first flat: boxes, a neighbour and a last look round.
N3 · 20 words · 1 min
The Town Festival
A small town festival seen from the volunteers’ tent.
N3 · 25 words · 1 min
Dear Host Family
A thank-you letter to a host family, written a month after going home.
N3 · 26 words · 1 min
The Train That Stopped
A train stops between stations, and a carriage full of strangers waits.
N2 (3)
N2 · 24 words · 1 min
Rethinking How We Work
Working from home: what one office worker gained, and what she missed.
N2 · 20 words · 1 min
The Future of a Shopping Street
An old shopping street, its empty shops and an attempt to change that.
N2 · 25 words · 1 min
What a Library Is For
What a town library is for, now that most people carry a screen.
What is measured here — and what is not
Coverage tells you about this site’s vocabulary, not about the text. If a text stands at 96 %, four words in a hundred are not explained anywhere here; they are then in the glossary next to the text.
The measured level can be below the stated one, and that is intentional. A set of minutes made up of perfectly ordinary words can be a very hard text — what makes it hard is the sentences they sit in. That is why the average sentence length is shown alongside.
Whether a text is good is measured by nobody here. That is for the reader to decide.