作品Free Graded Reading
おれの屋台Never a Day Off
by Yomimaru
JLPT N5Short Story
Take has opened his ramen stall on the same street every night for fifty years. Then one morning he cannot get out of bed, and things start appearing on his windowsill.
What you'll learn
What you'll learnAn eighty-five-year-old man lights his yatai for the evening on the street he has worked for fifty years, fills his six stools, jokes with a regular who orders the same dish every night, and folds the stall away at midnight.
Language difficultyBeginner · 20/100
Key vocabulary
Key vocabulary| 屋台 (やたい) | yatai, a small street food stall on wheels |
|---|---|
| 焼きラーメン (やきラーメン) | yaki-ramen, Fukuoka's grilled ramen — the stall's one dish |
| どんぶり | donburi, the deep bowl a ramen is served in |
| 道 (みち) | road, street |
| いす | chair, stool |
| におい | smell, scent |
| ねつ | a fever; heat |
| ふうとう | envelope |
Grammar points you'll meet
Grammar points you'll meet- ～ている N5The te-form plus いる describes a state that is still going on. The negative 休んでいない says the state of resting has not happened — not once in fifty years.一日も休んでいない。
- ～く/ ～になる N5An adjective plus なる is a change: 白い becomes 白くなった, "turned white". Adjectives ending in い swap the い for く first.どんぶりを出すと、山本さんのめがねが白くなった。
- ので N5ので gives the reason for what follows, and sounds softer and more matter-of-fact than から. Plain past なかった attaches to it directly.屋台がなかったので、焼きラーメンを作りました。
- も N5も replaces は or を and means "too, also". Here it adds the water to the food that came before it.水も、ぜんぶ、のんだ。
- ～のなかで～がいちばん～ N5一番 before an adjective makes a superlative, and the group you are comparing inside is marked with で: いままでで一番まずい, "the worst so far".いままでで一番まずいラーメンでした。
- ～てください N5The te-form plus ください is a polite request. 帰ってきて is itself two verbs, 帰る plus くる, "come back".おじいさん、はやく帰ってきてください。
Cultural notes
Cultural notes- The yataiA yatai is a small food stall on wheels, set up on the pavement at night and folded away before morning. Fukuoka is the city famous for them: a counter, a few stools, one cook, and whoever happens to sit down next to you.
- Yaki-ramenYaki-ramen is a Fukuoka yatai dish: the noodles are fried on the griddle with a little broth instead of being served swimming in soup. Most stalls that make it make almost nothing else.
- The donburi bowlA donburi is the deep, heavy bowl noodles and rice dishes arrive in. It holds the heat, which is why a customer's glasses fog over the moment it is set down in front of him.
Sensei's reading tip
Sensei's reading tipOne man is called three things here: he calls himself おれ, his customers call him タケさん, and a note calls him おじいさん. Nobody is introduced — work out who is speaking from how they talk.
Read a sample in Japanese
Read a sample in Japanese「いらっしゃい！そこ、どうぞ！」おれの屋台は、この道で五十年になる。今年で八十五才。一日も休んでいない。夜、火を入れる。においが出ると、人が来る。木のいすは六つで、今日もいっぱいだ。道のおとより、おれの声が大きい。山本さんが来た。スーツの男で、毎日おそくに来る。「焼きラーメンを一つ、おねがいします」どんぶりを出すと、山本さんのめがねが白くなった。「山本さん、五年、それしか言ってないぞ」「タケさん、ほかのも作れるんですか」「作れるよ。作らないだけだ」みんなわらった。十二時。人がぜんぶ帰った。屋台をたたんで、いすを一つだけのこした。すわると、手がふるえていた。だれも見ていない。朝が来た。おきられなかった。手をついて、おきようとした。だめだった。もう一回。三回とも、だめだった。ねつがあった。だれにも言わなかった。たたんだ屋台が、戸のそばにあった。その夜、まどをあけた。車と人の声、わらう声。
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Topics & grammar
Topics & grammarShort Storyfoodworkold agekindnessneighbourhood〜く/ 〜になるbecomeもalso / tooのでbecause (soft)〜ているongoing action / state〜てくださいplease doDictionary form+とwhenever / if
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