Although Satori Reader’s Japanese short stories are mainly written with intermediate learners in mind, there are also stories that are tailored for beginner Japanese learners. The stories listed in this article contain simpler vocabulary and grammar so that even beginners can experience the joy of reading stories in Japanese.
Four Seasons: Spring
“Spring” is a story about two bird parents raising their chicks. The bird family faces challenges as they navigate life in the wilderness, such as defending themselves against predators.
The Satori Reader writing team made a special effort to make this story easier for beginners. Because the sentences are on the shorter side and the grammar is basic, beginners should find the text easier to digest. Also, the writers use the same vocabulary repeatedly to cement the words in readers’ memories.
Personally, I love being able to hear the sounds of the birds while I read “Spring,” as it helps me feel situated in the birds’ world. The sound effects really make the story come to life.
At just 10 episodes in length, “Spring” is one of the shortest stories on Satori Reader.
Akiko’s American Foreign Exchange
“Akiko’s American Foreign Exchange” follows the life of a Japanese international student, Akiko, who flies from Tokyo to Seattle to study at the University of Washington.
Readers learn new vocabulary and grammar from Akiko’s experiences living in an American home with a host family, doing a part time job, joining a hiking club, and helping a few University of Washington students improve their Japanese. Readers also get to experience the culture shock that Akiko feels as she encounters surprising aspects of life in America.
“Akiko’s American Foreign Exchange” comes in two versions: Easier and Harder. Once you finish the easier version, you can read the harder version to challenge yourself. Exposing yourself to more complex vocabulary and grammar in a story you’re already familiar with will help you improve your Japanese, so definitely give the harder edition a shot.
This story contains 133 episodes, making it one of the longer stories on Satori Reader.
Hole In The Wall
“Hole In The Wall” is another great option for beginners. This story follows the life of Chuuya, a mouse that moves into a human’s home for food and shelter. Chuuya becomes friends with Kumiko, one of the humans in the house, and together, they form an unbreakable bond and embark on adventures together.
Since the main characters are on the younger side, the sentence structure is simple and straightforward. A lot of the dialogue takes place in an elementary school because Kumiko is an elementary school student, making this story approachable for beginners.
In addition, “Hole In The Wall” not only helps you learn Japanese but also gives you a deeper understanding of Japan since elements of the story shed light on aspects of Japanese culture and society.
This story is 58 episodes long.
Nutshell Grammar
Nutshell Grammar isn’t a story, but it helps beginners improve their grammar knowledge so that they can read the stories on Satori Reader.
Each episode in this series focuses on a single grammar point and presents example sentences that start short and simple but gradually get longer and more complex.
There’s also a button at the top of each episode that allows you to switch the example sentences to English. This way, you can predict how the sentences would be in Japanese and switch the sentences back to Japanese to check your understanding.
Human Japanese: Extra Credit
Like Nutshell Grammar, Human Japanese: Extra Credit is a series that focuses on grammar. However, it’s for absolute beginners.
Human Japanese: Extra Credit reviews the vocabulary and grammar introduced in each chapter of the Human Japanese app, but it’s designed to be useful to people coming from any background. It’s a great way to review what you know, or to get started reading in Japanese.
It starts with very basic sentences like “It is a cat” and gradually works up to more and more complex sentences. There are thousands of sentences, all with audio recordings, making it a great resource for listening practice as well.
Conclusion
These stories will help you ease into reading in Japanese and prepare you for the intermediate-level stories on Satori Reader. You can also see other stories that are more beginner-friendly by clicking on the “Group By Difficulty” button at the top of the Series page on the website.
No matter your current level, reading regularly is a habit that will improve your Japanese in many ways, so please check out the beginner-friendly stories on Satori Reader today.