What JLPT level is 虎の話?

虎の話 is suitable for JLPT N3 level readers (estimated JLPT N3).

How long does 虎の話 take to read?

虎の話 takes about 14 minutes (around 863 words) to read at a learner's pace.

作品さくひんFree Graded Reading

虎の話The Tiger Story

Tora no Hanashi

by 芥川竜之介 · Akutagawa Ryūnosuke

JLPT N3Short StoryClassical / archaicQuiz ready

A father tells his son funny and absurd tiger tales from Korean folklore, a charmingly witty dialogue.

About this story

A father tells his son a story about a drunk Korean soldier who encounters a tiger on a mountain path. The soldier cleverly uses his trumpet to scare the tiger away, leading to an unexpected ending.

Read a sample in Japanese

師走のある夜、父は五歳になる男の子を抱き、一緒にこたつへはいっている。子　お父さん何かお話をして！父　何の話？子　何でも。……うん、虎のお話が好いや。父　虎の話？　虎の話は困ったな。子　よう、虎の話をさあ。父　虎の話と。……じゃ虎の話をしてあげよう。昔、朝鮮のラッパ卒がね、すっかりお酒に酔っ払って、山路にぐうぐう寝ていたそうだ。すると顔が濡れるもんだから、何かと思って目を覚ますと、いつの間にか大きい虎が一匹、尻尾の先に水をつけてラッパ卒の顔を撫でていたそうだ。子　どうして？父　そりゃラッパ卒が酔っ払っていたから、お酒っ臭い臭いをなくした上、食べることにしようと思ったのさ。子　それから？父　それからラッパ卒は覚悟をきめて、力一杯持っていたラッパを虎のお尻へ突き立てたそうだ。虎は痛いのにびっくりして、どんどん町の方へ逃げ出したそうだ。子　死ななかったの？

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): 「芥川龍之介作品集第四巻」昭和出版社
1965（昭和40）年12月20日発行

Typed in by j.utiyama. Proofread by かとうかおり.

Yomimaru changed the spelling to modern kana and modern kanji, and replaced classical grammar with its modern form.

The furigana are Yomimaru's. In the app it is split into 3 parts.

What you'll learn

A father tells his son several tiger stories late at night, but the son falls asleep during the third story.

Language difficultyIntermediate · 45/100

Key vocabulary

虎 (とら)	tiger
らっぱ卒 (らっぱそつ)	trumpeter (military bugler)
炬燵 (こたつ)	heated kotatsu table
尻つ尾 (しっぽ)	tail

Grammar points you'll meet

～てあげる N4Express doing something for someone. Here 'してあげよう' meaning 'I'll tell (for you)'.
ぢゃ虎の話をして上げよう。
～とさ N3Sentence ending particle indicating hearsay or narrative style, similar to 'they say'.
昔、朝鮮のらっぱ卒がね、すっかりお酒に酔っ払らって、山路にぐうぐう寝ていたとさ。
～てしまう N4Expresses completion or regrettable action. Here '死んでしまった' means 'died (unfortunately)'.
けれどもお尻に立っていたらっぱは虎の死んでしまうまで、ぶうぶう鳴りつづけに鳴っていたとさ。

Cultural notes

KotatsuA traditional Japanese heated table with a blanket, commonly used in winter. The father and son are sitting in a kotatsu.
Traditional StorytellingThe father tells stories ending with 'とさ', a classical narrative ending. The setting of a parent telling stories to a child by the kotatsu is a nostalgic winter scene.