What JLPT level is ミミヅクサン?

ミミヅクサン is suitable for JLPT N5 level readers (estimated JLPT N5).

How long does ミミヅクサン take to read?

ミミヅクサン takes about 2 minutes (around 82 words) to read at a learner's pace.

作品さくひんFree Graded Reading

ミミヅクサンMimizuku-san

Mimizukusan

by 村山籌子 · Murayama Kazuko

JLPT N5Short Story

A simple, playful story of an owl character losing his glasses.

About this story

A horned owl goes for a walk, drinks water, loses glasses, gets wet, sneezes, and returns home.

Read a sample in Japanese

一みみずくさんは散歩に出かけました。ノソリ、ノソリ、と。二みみずくさんはお池の水を飲みました。ゴクリ、ゴクリ、と。三みみずくさんはめがねを落としました。ドンブリコ、と。四みみずくさんはめがねを取りに水へ入りました。ジャブ、ジャブ、と。五みみずくさんは体中濡れました。ビショ、ビショ、に。六みみずくさんはくしゃみが出ました。ハックション、と。七みみずくさんは散歩をやめて家に帰りました。ノソリ、ノソリ、と。八みみずくさんは今でもめがねがありません。キョロ、キョロ、と。

Read the full text with furigana + instant lookups in Yomimaru →

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): 「日本児童文学大系　第二六巻」ほるぷ出版
1978（昭和53）年11月30日初刷発行

Typed in by 菅野朋子. Proofread by noriko saito.

Yomimaru rewrote this all-katakana text in the hiragana and kanji a modern edition would use.

The furigana are Yomimaru's.

What you'll learn

Mimizukusan goes for a walk, moving slowly.

Mimizukusan drinks water from a pond, gulping it down.

Mimizukusan drops his glasses with a splash.

Language difficultyBeginner · 5/100

Key vocabulary

ミミヅクサン	Mimizukusan (character name, likely a small owl or bird)
サンポ	walk, stroll
ノソリ	slowly, sluggishly (onomatopoeia)
オイケ	pond
メガネ	glasses, spectacles

Grammar points you'll meet

〜マシタ (past tense polite) N5Polite past tense form of verbs, used to describe completed actions.
ミミヅクサンハサンポニデカケマシタ。
〜ニ (particle indicating direction/goal) N5Particle used to mark the destination or purpose of movement.
サンポニデカケマシタ。
〜ヲ (particle marking direct object) N5Particle indicating the object of a transitive verb.
ミミヅクサンハメガネヲオトシマシタ。
〜ト (quoting/onomatopoeia marker) N5Particle used with onomatopoeic words or to quote sounds/actions.
ノソリ、ノソリ、ト。
〜ガ (subject marker) N5Particle indicating the subject of a sentence, especially for existence or actions.
クシヤミガデマシタ。

Cultural notes

Japanese OnomatopoeiaThis story uses many onomatopoeic words (擬声語・擬態語) that mimic sounds and states, e.g., ノソリノソリ (slow movement), ゴクリゴクリ (gulping), ドンブリコ (splash), ビショビショ (drenched), キヨロキヨロ (looking around). Onomatopoeia is very common in Japanese children's literature and everyday speech.
Polite Speech in StorytellingThe story uses the polite masu form (〜マシタ) throughout, which is typical for narrative aimed at young children or in formal written contexts. It gives a gentle, polite tone.