作品Free Graded Reading
三つのふうとうThree Envelopes
by Yomimaru
JLPT N5Short Story
The same road out of town every morning, the same seat at the small station, the same train. Then one morning an opened letter is waiting on the seat, addressed to somebody who lives in his own town.
What you'll learn
What you'll learnA young man's morning never varies: one road out of town, the same bench at the small station, the 7:10 train. Then opened envelopes begin appearing on the bench, all carrying the same name and the same address in his own town, and after work he decides to walk to the address instead of going home.
Language difficultyBeginner · 20/100
Key vocabulary
Key vocabulary| ふうとう | envelope |
|---|---|
| 手紙 (てがみ) | letter (the written kind) |
| じゅうしょ | address, where someone lives |
| みち | road, street |
| いす | chair; here, the bench on the platform |
| 同じ (おなじ) | the same |
| まいばん | every night |
| みじかかった | was short (past of みじかい) |
Grammar points you'll meet
Grammar points you'll meet- ～があります N5あります says a thing exists or is there, and the thing is marked with が. The past form ありました is how this story announces each new envelope on the bench.そのあさ、いすの上に手紙がありました。
- ～ている N5Te-form plus いる describes a state that is still going on. あく is 'to open', so あいていました means the envelope was already open, not that someone opened it just then.白いふうとうで、もうあいていました。
- も N5も replaces は or が and means 'too, as well'. Repeating it across two items — つぎのあさも、そのつぎのあさも — is how Japanese says 'and the next one, and the one after that'.つぎのあさも、そのつぎのあさも、いすの上にふうとうがありました。
- ～がいます N5います is the あります of living things: people and animals take います, objects take あります. Here it introduces someone the writer has never spoken to.まいあさ、駅のいすにすわっている人がいます。
- stem +たいです N5Drop ます from the verb and add たいです to say you want to do something. What you want is often marked with が rather than を, which is why it is お茶が here.その人とお茶がのみたいです。
- ～ませんか N5A negative question is the ordinary polite invitation: 'won't you…?' rather than 'do you want to?'. のみませんか is an offer, and refusing it politely is a different sentence entirely.お茶、のみませんか。
Cultural notes
Cultural notes- Names and addresses on a Japanese envelopeA Japanese name is written family name first, so 「山本よしこ」 is a Yamamoto whose given name is Yoshiko. An envelope carries that name together with the address, and in a small town an address is specific enough to walk to.
- The small station and its one trainAway from the big cities a Japanese station is often a single platform with a bench and a printed timetable. Trains come only a few times an hour, so commuters name them by the clock — 七時十分, the 7:10 — and the same people end up on the same bench every morning.
- Tea is the invitationOffering tea is how a host in Japan asks a visitor to stay. At the door it is less about the drink than about sitting down and talking for a while, and accepting means you are not leaving straight away.
Sensei's reading tip
Sensei's reading tipThe narrator calls himself ぼく, but the writing inside the envelopes uses わたし. Whenever you see 「 」, check the pronoun and you will always know whose voice you are in.
Read a sample in Japanese
Read a sample in Japaneseまいあさ、六時半に家を出ます。町を出るみちは一本だけです。そのみちをあるいて、小さい駅へ行きます。駅のいすにすわって、七時十分の電車をまちます。同じみち、同じいす、同じ電車です。そのあさ、いすの上に手紙がありました。白いふうとうで、もうあいていました。ふうとうに、名前とじゅうしょがありました。「山本よしこ」ぼくの町でした。だれもいませんでした。中の紙を読みました。「きのうのばん、うちの前に電車がとまりました。中から人が出て、わたしとお茶をのみました。」二回読んで、またいすの上におきました。つぎのあさも、そのつぎのあさも、いすの上にふうとうがありました。青いふうとうと、赤いふうとうです。どちらももうあいていて、同じ名前、同じじゅうしょでした。青いふうとうの手紙を読みました。「あの電車は、まいばん来ます。ゆうべは、うちの中まで来ました。みんな、わたしの名前をよびました。」
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