What JLPT level is おれの屋台?

おれの屋台 is suitable for JLPT N5 level readers (estimated JLPT N5).

Who wrote おれの屋台?

おれの屋台 is an original short story written by Yomimaru for JLPT N5 learners.

How long does おれの屋台 take to read?

おれの屋台 takes about 12 minutes (around 424 words) to read at a learner's pace.

作品さくひんFree Graded Reading

おれの屋台Never a Day Off

by Yomimaru

JLPT N5Original storyShort StoryQuiz ready

Fifty years and Take never closed the ramen stall once. This morning he cannot get up.

About this 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.

An original story written by Yomimaru for JLPT N5 readers.

Read a sample in Japanese

「いらっしゃい！そこ、どうぞ！」おれの屋台やたいは、この道みちで五ご十じゅう年ねんになる。今年ことしで八はち十じゅう五ご才さい。一いち日にちも休やすんでいない。夜よる、火ひを入いれる。においが出でると、人ひとが来くる。木きのいすは六むっつで、今日きょうもいっぱいだ。道みちのおとより、おれの声こえが大おおきい。山本やまもとさんが来きた。スーツの男おとこで、毎日まいにちおそくに来くる。「焼やきラーメンを一ひとつ、おねがいします」どんぶりを出だすと、山本やまもとさんのめがねが白しろくなった。「山本やまもとさん、五ご年ねん、それしか言いってないぞ」「タケさん、ほかのも作つくれるんですか」「作つくれるよ。作つくらないだけだ」みんなわらった。十じゅう二に時じ。人ひとがぜんぶ帰かえった。屋台やたいをたたんで、いすを一ひとつだけのこした。すわると、手てがふるえていた。だれも見みていない。朝あさが来きた。おきられなかった。手てをついて、おきようとした。だめだった。もう一いち回かい。三さん回かいとも、だめだった。ねつがあった。だれにも言いわなかった。たたんだ屋台やたいが、戸とのそばにあった。その夜よる、まどをあけた。車くるまと人ひとの声こえ、わらう声こえ。

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What you'll learn

An 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

屋台やたい	yatai, a small street food stall on wheels
焼やきラーメン	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

～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.
一いち日にちも休やすんでいない。
～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.
どんぶりを出だすと、山本やまもとさんのめがねが白しろくなった。
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.
屋台やたいがなかったので、焼やきラーメンを作つくりました。
も N5も replaces は or を and means "too, also". Here it adds the water to the food that came before it.
水みずも、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".
いままでで一番いちばん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、はやく帰かえってきてください。

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

One 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.