What's new

Japanese books/texts for beginners

hideway

still hiding
8 Dec 2006
450
21
28
This section really have many helpful resources like dictionaries and internet lessons, but it lacks a place where to use the knowledge adquired within those very lessons.

I've a very very very very very very limited knowledge of japanese. In fact I know I know nothing at all. But as I'm willing to learn more than stating that my cat wants to eat fish or that I eat apples, I would love to have something that allowed me to actually see japanese being used. From the beginner lessons to web sites or online news there is a HUGE gap, one that I don't expect to overcome for a few years.

I learned english for years and years, from my 3nd grade if I'm not a miss, and it was only a few years ago, when I got my first internet connection, that my english really developed. It was because I used it elsewhere the classes and by using it everyday (although it still sucks :p) in forums and games. I think that the same would happen with japanese.

I was told that books made for children is a good place to start, but all my searches were fruitless. I even tried to look for manga but there doesn't seem to be any of them, online, for free. If someone has links to texts or books in relatively easy japanese please post it in here, I will be most grateful. :)
 
I was about to make the same question. I'm looking for children books too.
I found some mangas in japanese though, but they're really not something I can understand with my poor japanese.

Anyway if you want to find more mangas and stuff, try searching in japanese :D

If you find something let me know.
 
:p 😌

edit: realized I asked same thing as hideway. sorry
 
Last edited:
福娘童話集 (Fukumusume's collection of fairy tales) has a bunch of children's stories. Not necessarily easy, though. I don't think you realize how much complex grammar a child knows. For example, take a look at ネコがネズミをおいかけるわけ (Why Cats Chase Mice), and you'll see the first line says むかしむかし、人間も生まれていないおおむかしの、ある年のくれのことです. Only basic kanji, mostly hiragana, but the grammar is not what I would call beginner. You're best bet is to try to find readers that are geared towards students of the language.
 
thank you so much glenn! you were right about grammar, I was not aware it is not so easy. thanks for links, I hope it will be helpful! I'll give my best...

🙂
 
Thanks for the links Glenn. :)

I know it won't be easy, but it can serve as a pointer to find more about grammar and adquire more vocabulary.
 
Well, I wish you luck then. Oh, another thing about fairy tales that you may have already realized: there tend to be vocabulary items that are less than useful in everyday life, ogres and fairies and imps and whatnot, and perhaps even some made up words (like there seem to be in every anime), so beware of that.

Come to think of it, there may be more suitable children's stories than fairy tales, but I haven't really looked into the matter all that much.
 
Come to think of it, there may be more suitable children's stories than fairy tales, but I haven't really looked into the matter all that much.

Yeah I thought that when I read that those were fairy tales, but anyway I just learned one more expression :emoji_stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

Mukashi mukashi (The one you posted), it means a long time ago (or something like that) doesn't it?
 
Back
Top Bottom