What JLPT level is （洋）金の勘定を仕ずに来た?

（洋）金の勘定を仕ずに来た is suitable for JLPT N2 level readers (estimated JLPT N2).

How long does （洋）金の勘定を仕ずに来た take to read?

（洋）金の勘定を仕ずに来た takes about 2 minutes (around 158 words) to read at a learner's pace.

作品さくひんFree Graded Reading

（洋）金の勘定を仕ずに来たCame Without Counting the Money

Kin no Kanjo o Sezu ni Kita

by 三遊亭円朝 · San'yūtei Enchō

JLPT N2Short StoryClassical / archaicQuiz ready

A forgetful writer's hilarious money-counting mishap.

About this story

A forgetful German author devises a plan to catch a thief, but forgets to count his money.

Read a sample in Japanese

ドイツの名高い作者レッシングという人は、至って粗忽しい方で、その上法外に忘れっぽいから、無闇に金子や何かが失くなる、「これは何でも下婢か下男が盗み取るに相違ない、一番計略をもって試してやろう。というので、レッシング先生ある時、机の上へ金銀をバラバラ散らかしたまま、すうっと友達の家へやって参り、レ「この頃無闇に金子が失くなってしょうがないから、これこれこういうことにしてきた、これで誰が取るというのがちゃんと解るね。友「へえ、それは旨いことを考えたが、全体いくら置いて来たんだ。レ「あ、金の勘定をせずに来た……それでは何にもなりません。

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Source

This text comes from Aozora Bunko (青空文庫), the volunteer-run library of Japanese writing that is out of copyright. See this work on Aozora Bunko

Base edition (底本): 「明治の文学　第3巻　三遊亭円朝」筑摩書房
2001（平成13）年8月25日初版第1刷発行

Typed in by 門田裕志. Proofread by noriko saito.

Yomimaru changed the spelling to modern kana and modern kanji, and replaced classical grammar and some archaic words with modern ones.

The furigana are Yomimaru's.

What you'll learn

The narrator describes Lessing as careless and forgetful, leading him to suspect his servants of stealing his money. He devises a plan to catch the thief by leaving coins on his desk and then going to a friend's house. However, when the friend asks how much he left, Lessing realizes he forgot to count it.

Language difficultyIntermediate · 55/100

Key vocabulary

名高い (なだかい)	famous, renowned

Grammar points you'll meet

～から N5Indicates reason or cause; 'because'.
其上法外に忘れツぽいから、無闇に金子や何かゞ失くなる。
～に相違ない N2Expresses strong certainty; 'must be', 'no doubt'.
是は何でも下婢か下男が窃取るに相違ない。

Cultural notes

German Author LessingGotthold Ephraim Lessing was a German writer, philosopher, and dramatist of the Enlightenment. This anecdote humorously portrays his forgetfulness, a common cultural trope about absent-minded intellectuals.