The vocabulary used is meant for those at N3 to N5 level. They provide furigana above the kanji used in the articles. They take articles from the NHK website and convert them to easy Japanese. It provides daily news to the foreign population of Japan. The NHK is one of the major news broadcasters in Japan. Just click or tap the word on your computer or phone! Some of the articles are even narrated, so you can hear what natural pronunciation sounds like. If you do come across a vocab you don’t understand, they will usually have the meaning and pronunciation of it. Because they use yasashii nihongo, you shouldn’t have too much trouble trying to read the articles. They mark each article based on the level of vocabulary used: N4 or N5. Their articles are all based around living in Japan, written by locals and foreign students. It is meant to represent the evolution of the Japanese language.

The name also reflects Japanese history, as the letters used are in order of kanji to katakana, hiragana, then the alphabet. Together, the name means “Japanese is fun”. タのＣ (Ta No C) is a made-up word meant to sound like 楽しい (Tanoshii), meaning “fun”. In ancient China it was used to mean Japan. The 和 (Wa) is the character for “Japan”, and comes from the Chinese character 倭, which is also pronounced as “wa”. Wa Tanoshii is a web magazine with a bunch of articles for Japanese beginners. Finding them can be difficult though, so we’ve compiled some for you! It is also used on some websites to have easy-to-read Japanese content like news articles or blogs for Japanese learners. You shouldn’t settle on easy Japanese, either. Now, keep in mind that yasashii nihongo is not meant to replace the Japanese language.

If we need to profile the readers, it would be upper-beginner foreigners in Japan who haven’t fully reached the advanced (and intermediate) level yet. NHK, on the other hand, has its yasashii nihongo program that upper-beginner Japanese students can follow. For example, if a disaster is about to strike, English media may not have enough time to cover them. The point is that yasashii nihongo is helpful for foreigners living in Japan to stay in the know. Who Are These Easy Japanese Websites For? In other words, this type of writing is more direct in its translation. Most of all, yasashii nihongo drops a lot of formality in Japanese keigo, which, admittedly, is too complicated. It avoids complicated kanji and describes everything in an easy-to-understand phrasing. Yasashii nihongo takes into account the vocabulary choices and grammar structure. The kanji characters are so complicated that even some Japanese people have a hard time reading them. How does yasashii nihongo works? Try taking a peek at a typical Japanese newspaper. This is a style of Japanese that was introduced for foreigners to understand in events of emergencies. Together, they literally mean ‘gentle Japanese’. Yasashii (優しい)in Japanese translates to gentle, or kind. Whether it’s for news, lifestyle or blogging, we’ve compiled 5 easy Japanese websites for beginners to read. Thankfully, there exists a form of Japanese suited for people around this level. It’s hard for foreigners in Japan to stay up to date with the latest - or urgent - information. While English-based news media like Japan Times exist, they’re still not as available to foreigners as you’d expect (you’ll need an active subscription to get unlimited access to their news). The latest news in Japan are also broadcasted by outlets like Mainichi Shinbun, Asahi and NHK. The use of more advanced kanji and lack of furigana can prove difficult for anyone N4 level or below. Unfortunately, these texts can be hard for beginners. You can do this by watching Japanese shows, speaking Japanese at home and reading Japanese text. When learning Japanese, one of the best ways to improve is to immerse yourself in the language.

Nihongo training reading