About JapaneseReading
A reading site for people learning Japanese, where the explanations live inside the article instead of somewhere else.
What this is
JapaneseReading publishes short Japanese articles, each graded to a JLPT level. Every article carries its own vocabulary, grammar, paragraph analysis, audio and comprehension questions. You read the Japanese first; the support is there when a sentence is beyond you.
Why reading
A grammar point studied on its own is a rule you have to remember. The same point met inside a sentence you wanted to understand is the answer to a question you actually had. That is the whole argument for this format, and it is why nothing here is presented as a table to memorise away from the text.
What is in every article
- The Japanese text, with furigana on every kanji.
- Every word annotated — particles and everyday words included, not only the rare ones.
- Grammar explained on the sentence where it occurs.
- A paragraph-by-paragraph breakdown with a translation.
- Audio for each paragraph, with the readings checked against the furigana.
- JLPT-format reading questions in Japanese.
How articles are checked
Two kinds of checks sit behind every article. Automated checks confirm the mechanics: every kanji has a reading, every word you can tap resolves to an explanation, and every paragraph has a guide. The rest — whether the Japanese reads naturally, whether a reading is right in context, whether an explanation is actually correct — is read by a person before the article is published.
Languages on this site
The Japanese, and every explanation attached to it, is written and checked by a person. The interface is written in English and Traditional Chinese; Simplified Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and Indonesian are translated from those automatically and are not reviewed by a native speaker.
What this is not
- Not an exam simulator, and no claim of a guaranteed JLPT result.
- Not past exam papers. The questions follow the JLPT reading format but are written for this site.
- Not a school, and not affiliated with the organisations that run the JLPT.
- Not a dictionary. The vocabulary shown is the meaning in that sentence, not every sense of the word.