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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?"

From my experience as a learner and reader myself and from managing a Japanese book club for other learners I can honestly say that you can start way earlier than you probably think!

There are many resources that only require knowing hiragana. Those texts usually teach vocabulary through pictures and only use basic grammar.

Some are even simpler than that: The Japan Foundation's Hiragana Books are great for those, who are still remembering hiragana characters. Every short book introduces only 1-2 new characters, so it's a great reading exercise for those who've just started.

The free graded reader 「どうぞ、どうも」 by the NPO Tagengo Tadoku only uses the words 「どうぞ」 and 「どうも」 to write an entire story. Again, this makes for a great exercise in reading hiragana and understanding context. Another "level 0" recommendation by the same NPO would definitely be 「しろい？くろい？」. This book uses the full range of hiragana characters but the grammar is simple and all used vocabulary is illustrated.

Another site with great resources for absolute beginners is Nihongo Tadoku Dōjō. If you have memorized both hiragana and katakana and know how the particles を and で work you will be able to read this text about stationary (ぶんぼうぐ) and understand everything by looking at the pictures!

The resources linked so far can all be accessed completely free on the linked websites. If you have the money to spare, please also have a look at the box 「スタート」 from the series reberubetsu nihongo tadoku raiburarī published by the NPO Tagengo Tadoku and ASK (affiliate link). This box includes 8 little books in very simple Japanese.

All these texts for absolute beginners will get you started reading in Japanese with very little knowledge of characters and vocabulary.

Reading in Japanese is a skill that requires practice. But once you get used to it, it can be such a valuable tool to reinforce new vocabulary and grammar. So please don't wait until you're "ready" before you start reading - start early at your own level!

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dick: why are you late?

damian: there was a biological malfunction that resulted in a surplus of unconsciousness

tim: WTF?

jason: he overslept.

damian: I overslept.

tim: bitch just say that?

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im quitting tumblr

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My cat to me when I neutured him (stop being mad at me Yoru ily)

HAHAHA

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Roses are red

Storm clouds are grey

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You know I just started reading this book, just to try try to grab my old habit of reading. When I wss younger i used to read a lot, but like a lot, like 20 book a month and know i barely can read one. But i'm slowly trying to catch up on my old habit, sooooowly but surely.

03.31.2020

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tumblrs cardinal sin is being tumblr

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Dudes rock

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Why You Should Absolutely Be Watching Our Flag Means Death

Look, I thought this was just going to be a silly little pirate sitcom that I could sit down and binge and move on with my life. But seriously, it’s SO good! 

Now, if you haven’t heard of the show, let me start with the basics. 

This is Stede. 

He used to be a fancy foppish aristocrat. 

Then he left his wife and children to become a pirate. 

Well, a Gentleman Pirate. 

But he’s not really cut out for it and things go south. 

Fast. 

Enter Blackbeard!

(pause to admire the wigmaker who crafted his glorious beard…. and we’re back)

Blackbeard has heard all about Stede and, quite frankly, he’s fascinated. What the hell is a guy like this doing on a pirate ship? 

But the thing is, Blackbeard has been in a bit of a rut himself, and he’s ready to try something new, so they work out a bit of a deal. 

Ed will teach Stede how to be a better pirate

And Stede will teach Blackbeard how to be a gentleman.

Now, I know what you’re probably thinking. 

Gee, this sounds like a silly little pirate show. Maybe I’ll get around to it eventually. 

Or maybe you’ve watched the first couple episodes and thought, “Eh, it’s alright. Kind of funny, but I’ve got limited time here and I’ve got a lot of other stuff to watch.”

But the thing is, this is SO much more than just a silly pirate show. It has hands down the best acting I have ever seen from Taika Watiti. He and Rhys play off each other with the silliness very well, but they also dive into some deep emotional stuff that is just phenomenal. 

Oh, and did I mention that this wasn’t a comedy? It’s actually a Rom-Com between Stede and Blackbeard. 

And no, it’s not subtext. It’s very much text. 

Like… Literally. The show’s creator (David Jenkins) has spent the last 3 weeks in every interview ever being like, “Hey, did you know that gay pirate marriage is a thing that existed? In actual history? Like they had a word for it and everything. Have you heard about this? If not, you should definitely hear about this, because this is a thing that 100% exists and is absolutely historical and you should all definitely know about for no particular reason.”

Anyway, I won’t spoil anything specific from the episodes because it’s all so wonderfully done, but… yeah. The creator ships it hard and he is fucking delivering with every new episode. 

And that’s not even getting into any of the wonderful side stories with the crew! 

There are multiple queer couples/romances there. Two of the characters create the first ever pyramid scheme. There’s a non-binary character with a amazing backstory and side quest. There’s roommate shenanigans, and… well, just all types of shenanigans really…  

The point is, this is seriously an amazing show and I highly highly encourage anyone who is not already on board to join in with the fun. 

EDIT: For those wondering where to watch the show, click here to see my second post about that. 

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I'm literally begging you to watch "Our Flag Means Death" on hbo max. the only reason the main characters haven't had gay sex yet is because they're stupid as stupid comes and pining for eachother so hard they don't realize it yet. everyone else on the pirate ship gets to have gay sex like it's nothing and disney is shitting itself.

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Nothing but respect for MY Batman

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The Batman + Letterboxd.

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the only thing you need to know about the batman movie is that this bruce is dumb enough, emo enough, and guilty enough to adopt an acrobatic orphan and think it’s absolutely the right decision