作品さくひんFree Graded Reading

オヤカン ト オナベ ト フライパン ノ ケンクワThe Quarrel of the Pot, the Pan, and the Frying Pan

Oyakan to Onabe to Furaipan no Kenkuwa

by 村山 籌子 · Murayama Kazuko

JLPT N3Short Story

A silly quarrel among kitchen pots and pans.

About this story

A rhythmic tale of kitchen utensils squabbling and getting burnt over a stove.

Read a sample in Japanese

おやかんグツグツ、お鍋なべはグタグタ、フライパンはフライパンはピチ、チリ、ピチ、チリグツグツ、グタグタピチ、チリ、ピチ、チリおやかんピカピカお鍋なべもピカピカフライパンはフライパンは真まっ黒くろくろくろグツグツ、グタグタピチ、チリ、ピチ、チリおやかんクスクスお鍋なべもクスクスフライパンはフライパンは怒おこって怒おこってピチッ、チリッ、ピチッ、チリッピチッ、チリッ、ピチッ、チリッおやかんも負まけないでお鍋なべも負まけないでフライパンもフライパンも負まけ、負まけ、負まけないでグツッ、バクッ、グタッ、グタッピチッ、チリッ、ピチッ、チリッおやかんも真まっ黒くろお鍋なべも真まっ黒くろフライパンもフライパンも焦こげ、焦こげ、焦こげ付ついてパチ、チリ、シュッ、シュッパチ、チリ、シュッ、シュッ服部はっとり正ただし曲きょく
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 has edited this text for modern readers. Its Aozora Bunko card has the text as the volunteers entered it.

The furigana are Yomimaru's.

What you'll learn

The poem describes a frying pan, pot, and kettle cooking. Initially, they are boiling and shining. Then the frying pan becomes black and angry, and eventually everything gets burnt, ending with sizzling sounds.

Language difficultyBeginner · 10/100

Key vocabulary

フライパンfrying pan
オヤカンkettle or pot lid
オナベpot
グツグツboiling sound
ピカピカshiny; sparkling

Grammar points you'll meet

  • ~て (conjunctive) N5The て form of verbs is used to connect clauses, indicate sequence, or add explanation.
  • ~も N5Particle meaning 'also' or 'too'.
  • ~ている N5Indicates ongoing state or continuous action.

Cultural notes

  • Japanese Onomatopoeia in CookingJapanese uses many onomatopoeic words (giongo/gitaigo) to describe sounds and states. In cooking, sounds like グツグツ (gutsugutsu) for boiling, ピチチリ (pichichiri) for sizzling, and ピカピカ (pikapika) for shining are common. This poem uses them to personify kitchen utensils.

Try a comprehension question

The frying pan ends up shiny.

  1. True
  2. False
Check your answer & unlock the full quiz in the app

Sensei's reading tip

Focus on the onomatopoeic words as they carry the action and mood.

Topics & grammar

More N3 reads

雪子さんの泥棒よけ cover 79 Read 雪子さんの泥棒よけ Yukiko's Burglar Foil 夢野 久作 8 min read · Short Story 髪床やの大根さん cover Read 髪床やの大根さん Mr. Daikon's Barber Shop 村山 籌子 8 min read · Short Story 英米笑話秀逸 cover Read 英米笑話秀逸 Excellent English and American Jokes 佐々木 邦 18 min read · Short Story 片目のごあいさつ cover Read 片目のごあいさつ The One-Eyed Greeting 小川 未明 12 min read · Short Story ヒント cover Read ヒント Hint 織田 作之助 4 min read · Short Story 驢馬の びっこ cover Read 驢馬の びっこ The Lame Donkey 新美 南吉 9 min read · Short Story