Hey, same here! I’m three nights into reading one of those tadoku graded readers before bed every night. It feels a little silly reading stuff like this but I think for me it’s worth it. It helps getting used to reading Japanese in general and especially for developing the habit of reading something every day without getting overwhelmed and burned out. And I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t just looking up a whole bunch of cooking-related vocabulary to get through the one I just read! がんばりましょうね！
Book 1: チワワの花すけ
Despite my reading speed dropping to that of an amoeba, found this one to be surprisingly okay. I absolutely appreciate we’re talking about a Level 0 reader here, but I had no idea what to expect.
Had to look up a couple of kanji on Jisho, for example:
影 (かげ) = shadow
門 (もん) = gate
建物 (たてもの) = building
But could otherwise comprehend the general meaning of the action and dialogue.
Yes, I’d be more than happy to ramble anyone’s ears off about any grammar or vocab that confuses them! I’ll even jump down a Google rabbit hole and emerge 2 hours later with weird obscure facts about kanji and overly contrived interpretations of grammar points
For real though, absolutely, I’ll be watching this thread and answering any questions I can!
I might join this thread as well !
Just bought a manga from the absolute begginner Book Club (Happiness) to start my first reading! I just tried some lvl 0 and lvl 1 on Tadoku and it’s actually pretty fun and interesting ( シュモーハウス for instance! )
I have been writing some sort of Level 0 Graded readers for the past 3 years or so. I have shared my site on this forum and have received good feedback [1] but mostly from advanced learners. Since the first time I posted the quality of the Japanese has improved [2] a lot and I think a beginner can now safely read my stories.
I’d be really keen to know what beginners ( the site’s target audience ) think about it.
[2] I have hired a native speakers to proofread the first 3 parts (~60 pages) . The first part (~8 pages) have in addition been checked by a Japanese teacher (also a native speaker) who is going to use it for their student.
Book 2: どっち？
Have now tackled my second Level 0 reader And yes, I’m completely aware of how unimpressive that actually is, but we all gotta start somewhere.
New vocab learnt:
箱 (はこ) = box
骨 (ほね) = bone
I’m prioritising comprehension, so again, this was read at a glacial speed But “slow is smooth, smooth is fast”.
Good luck to @Rehanmalik@Noctis92! I’ll be cheering you on from this side of the world
Big ありがとうございます to @WeebPotato@yamitenshi This is why WaniKani kids are the coolest cats 'round.
Completely off topic, not at all about japanese, but it annoys me a bit.
If in your site for the start page you give your “Start” a element the “start_link” id, and add
display: block;
to your #start_link rule, you’ll make the entire white part clickable, which is tbh what I’d expect.
I like the whole look and feel of the site, it’s quite nice and the text is clearly readable like this. Haven’t yet had the time to look into actually reading it, but will do.
? Why shouldn’t that be impressive. You are reading in a totally new script in a language with a grammar that only in the most basic way resembles anything you new before. Hardly unimpressive I would say
Keep going, you are doing great.
Don’t think of all the people who know more Japanese than you do. That’s pointless. Natives aside, all of them were at your level at one point, they’re just further along the journey, but they’ve walked the same road.
You’re learning a new language and making noticeable progress. “Not as good as someone else” doesn’t factor into that.
I read up through 3-08 yesterday and I’ve found them quite entertaining. My only complaint is that when you have multiple characters with katakana names listed in a row to introduce them, their names blend together into one long Franken-name that’s difficult to read, and I end up just skipping over it. The typos also seem to increase in frequency as you go along (like いいます and います frequently getting switched around in the one that introduces how to introduce oneself, to name a big one). But other than that, I like them, and I also enjoy the chance to practice reading katakana which I definitely need
Still fighting with the フワ and ソン distinction (especially in not so nice fonts). Don’t even know why I have problems reading the first pair though -.-… Every time one of these characters plopps up my reading speed grinds to 10% before picking up again
Ooof yeah. ム and マ tend to trip me up as well, and シ and ツ. I feel like katakana has more characters that look similar than hiragana does. Doesn’t help either that they’re not as common so you don’t get as much practice reading them to drive 'em home as well or as quick. I’m sure we’ll both get them, though, eventually!
シ and ツ I’ve got a mnemonic for: ツ is two people looking at a TSUnami. シ is those same two people after the tsunami blew them over and they died (because of 死)
For ン and ソ or マ and ム however… I have no such help You’ll learn eventually with practice, though.
My only complaint is that when you have multiple characters with katakana names listed in a row to introduce them, their names blend together into one long Franken-name that’s difficult to read, and I end up just skipping over it.
This is indeed a good point. I need to think about it. As for the typo I think I’ll have to review part 3…
I read up through 3-08 yesterday and I’ve found them quite entertaining.
)
But “slow is smooth, smooth is fast”.
This is why WaniKani kids are the coolest cats 'round.
You’ll learn eventually with practice, though.