作品Free Graded Reading
本と本の間The Gap on the Shelf
by Yomimaru
JLPT N5Short Story
Shota's mother gives him a new book every week and he has never opened one. On a class visit to the library everybody has to borrow two, and the first book he ever reads turns out to be about tanuki.
What you'll learn
What you'll learnA boy whose mother sends him a new book every week never opens any of them. Books begin to go missing from his shelf and he keeps quiet about it, and then his class goes on a trip to the library.
Language difficultyBeginner · 20/100
Key vocabulary
Key vocabulary| 本 (ほん) | book |
|---|---|
| ほんだな | bookshelf |
| 間 (あいだ) | the space between two things; a gap |
| さつ | counter for books and bound volumes |
| 茶釜 (ちゃがま) | a heavy iron kettle for heating water for tea |
| 大切 (たいせつ) | important, precious |
| 図書館 (としょかん) | library |
| たぬき | tanuki, the raccoon dog of Japanese folktales |
Grammar points you'll meet
Grammar points you'll meet- ～があります N5あります says that a thing exists or is there. It is used for objects, not for people or animals.ぼくのへやには、本がたくさんあります。
- ～ている N5The て form plus います gives an action that is going on right now, or a state that is still true.だれかが、ぼくの本をぬすんでいます。
- ～てある N4The て form plus あります describes the result someone left behind: the writing is there because a person wrote it.本の中に「ショウタ」と名前が書いてあります。
- ～から N5から at the end of a sentence gives the reason for what was just said. The reason can come after the result, as it does here.毎週、新しい本が来ますから。
- ～ましょう N5ましょう suggests doing something together. A teacher uses it to tell a class what everyone will do.一人、二さつ借りましょう
- Dictionary form+と N4Plain form plus と means that whenever the first thing happens, the second one follows. It is used for habits and for rules that always hold.よるになると、人のうちに入ります。
Cultural notes
Cultural notes- The tanuki of the folktalesA tanuki is a real animal, a raccoon dog that lives in the hills of Japan. In old stories it is also a trickster with the power to change what it looks like, so a tanuki in a picture book is rarely just an animal. Pottery tanuki still stand outside restaurants today.
- The iron kettle over the fireA 茶釜 is a wide iron kettle used to heat water for tea. It sits over a fire or a hearth rather than on a stove, it is heavy, and a family keeps the same one for years, so it is not a thing that is easily replaced.
- Stamped, not signedIn Japan a small carved seal called a はんこ does the job a signature does elsewhere. It is pressed into red ink and onto the paper, and libraries, offices and banks all stamp their paperwork this way.
Sensei's reading tip
Sensei's reading tipBooks are counted with さつ: 三さつ, 二さつ, 一さつ. The counter is written in kana here, so it hides next to the number — keep a running count of how many books the boy has.
Read a sample in Japanese
Read a sample in Japaneseぼくのへやには、本がたくさんあります。毎週、新しい本が来ます。お母さんからです。本の中に「ショウタ」と名前が書いてあります。お母さんは、本は大切だと言います。でも、ぼくは本を開きません。学校のあとは、外であそびます。ほんだなの本はふえます。本と本の間も、毎週大きくなります。先週、そこに三さつありました。今日は、ありません。だれかが、ぼくの本をぬすんでいます。だいどころの火の上に、茶釜があります。お母さんは毎日、その茶釜でおちゃをいれます。本のことは、お母さんに言いませんでした。毎週、新しい本が来ますから。今日、クラスで図書館へ行きました。本が、まどまでならんでいます。先生が言いました。「一人、二さつ借りましょう」ぼくは本を読みません。だから、いちばんうすい本をさがしました。その本の絵を見て、とまりました。太ったたぬきが、茶釜をもっています。ぼくは、その本を開きました。はじめてです。
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Topics & grammar
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