Japanese · Intermediate
Read in Japanese Intermediate
7 Short Stories for Language Learners, with Vocabulary and Questions
Most stories written for people learning a language are written for the grammar. These were written as stories first, in English, by somebody trying to write a good one. Here they are in natural Japanese, translated the way any book is translated, with the harder words glossed in English. A woman who will not sell her shop. A man told there is no apartment 307. Four people stripping a dead ship for parts, and something aboard it that starts talking back.
Expected November 18, 2026
- Level
- Intermediate, about B1 to B2
- Format
- Paperback (6 x 9 in) and Kindle ebook
- Language
- Japanese, glossed in English
- Publisher
- Lexxio
What's in the book
The whole story
Seven complete stories in natural Japanese: full-length sentences and the grammar each story needs.
Words at the foot of the page
The words worth learning in each chapter are set in bold, with their meaning in English and how they are said, at the foot of every page they appear on.
Exercises every chapter
A word-matching exercise and comprehension questions after every chapter, answered at the back, with a glossary of every bolded word.
Illustrated
A cover for every story and a drawn plate opening every chapter.
The seven stories
Every volume holds the same seven stories. Each has its own page.
- The Blue DoorSome doors wait a lifetime.
- When the Tide ReturnsDifferent lands. Shared waters. Some secrets won’t stay buried.
- Salvage RightsSome doors only open together.
- Apartment 307Nobody else counts the doors.
- Three OffersThree days, three offers, one shop on the coast road.
- Under a Broken SkyA storm that was not weather. A country with no coastline. A name nobody says the same way twice.
- The Wall of the WorldA title he never asked for. A knot that unties itself. A wall at the edge of the world.
The other level
Read in Japanese Beginner
The same seven stories retold in simple Japanese, with the English side by side.
Also at this level
Questions
What level of Japanese do I need?
About B1 to B2: you can follow most of a conversation and read an article with some help. The glosses at the foot of each page cover the harder words.
Are these children's stories?
No. They are written for adults. Nothing in them is explicit, but somebody dies in most of them.