What JLPT level is 川の石?

川の石 is suitable for JLPT N5 level readers (estimated JLPT N5).

川の石 is an original short story written by Yomimaru for JLPT N5 learners.

How long does 川の石 take to read?

川の石 takes about 12 minutes (around 435 words) to read at a learner's pace.

作品さくひんFree Graded Reading

川の石Every Morning at the River

by Yomimaru

JLPT N5Original storyShort StoryQuiz ready

Her old dog carries a stone to the river every morning. The boy next door keeps watching.

About this story

Kaori leaves the house at half past six every weekday and her old dog stays behind. The boy next door keeps telling her what the dog does down at the river each morning. It carries a stone there, sets it down, and looks up as if somebody were standing over it.

An original story written by Yomimaru for JLPT N5 readers.

Read a sample in Japanese

雪の朝だった。六時半に、うちを出た。月曜から金曜まで、はたらきに行く。ドアのそばに、犬のひもがかかっていた。門のところに、犬がすわっていた。もう十四になる。「行くね」犬は、川のほうを見た。門の外に、ユウタがいた。となりの子だ。「おはようございます」ユウタは、犬を見て言った。「毎朝、川でその犬を見るよ」「川で？」「うん。上を見たり、川へ走ったり、石を持って来たりするんだ」「その石を持って、どこかへ行くんだ」「だれかとあそんでいるみたいだよ」バスの時間だった。わたしは、川のほうを見なかった。うちに帰ると、七時をすぎていた。すこしあとで、犬が帰って来た。犬の毛が、ぬれていた。足もぬれていた。わたしは、タオルで犬をふいた。まだつめたかった。ドアのそばに、わたしのくつと、大きなくつがならんでいた。門の外で、ユウタの声がした。「今日も、川にいたよ。石を持って、走って行ったよ」「そう」

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What you'll learn

On a snowy weekday morning a woman leaves for work, saying goodbye to the fourteen-year-old dog sitting by the gate. Yuuta, the boy next door, tells her the dog goes down to the river every morning and carries a stone away. That evening the dog comes home wet, and on Sunday she wakes to find it gone and follows its tracks out through the gate.

Language difficultyBeginner · 20/100

Key vocabulary

犬 (いぬ)	dog
門 (もん)	gate at the edge of a property
ひも	cord, string; here a dog's leash
川 (かわ)	river
石 (いし)	stone
ぬれていた	was wet, had got wet
タオル	towel
くつ	shoes

Grammar points you'll meet

～ている N5The te-form plus いる says an action is going on right now, or that someone is in the middle of doing it.
「だれかとあそんでいるみたいだよ」
～たり …～たりする N5Listing two or three actions with たり means the person does these things among others, in no fixed order. It is how you describe a habit.
「うん。上を見たり、川へ走ったり、石を持って来たりするんだ」
～んです N5んだ / んです at the end of a sentence explains something the listener did not know. The boy uses it to tell her what the dog does.
「その石を持って、どこかへ行くんだ」
で N5で after a noun marks the tool you use to do something: with a towel, by bus.
わたしは、タオルで犬をふいた。
Dictionary form+と N4Dictionary form plus と means that when the first thing happens, the second follows. Here she gets home and finds it is already past seven.
うちに帰ると、七時をすぎていた。
も N5も replaces は or が and means "too" or "also". It quietly adds the new item to something already said.
足もぬれていた。

Cultural notes

A gate, and then a doorMany Japanese houses have a 門 at the edge of the property as well as a door on the house itself. The strip between them is half public, and it is where neighbours stop to talk without going inside.
Shoes are left lined up inside the doorShoes come off in the entryway and are set down side by side, facing out. Because they stay there, a glance at the floor tells you who lives in the house and who is home.
Children speak politely to adult neighboursYuuta says おはようございます, not the plain おはよう he would use with a friend. Japanese children learn early that the neighbour next door gets the polite form.

Sensei's reading tip

Katakana in this story does two different jobs. ユウタ is a boy's name; タオル is a borrowed English word. When a katakana run stops you, ask which of the two it is before you reach for a dictionary.