Hello,
I just started to learn japanese and would like to read “Yotsubato” and “Kikis Delivery Service”.
How long did you already learn japanese when you started reading one or both of these books and how much did you understand?
Thanks in advance
Grammar is the most important thing when it comes to reading. Using Yomichan or similar, looking up vocab or kanji is quick and easy. But looking up grammar points is difficult and time consuming. To be honest I needed to be about N3 level before I made any real progress with reading books.
I recommend starting with something like a graded reader series. If you begin at level zero, you can pace your reading to match your kanji and grammar.
To specifically answer your question, I held off reading ‘actual’ book for a bit too long. I finally started reading a variety of manga at WK 20+ and N4/N3 grammar. There’s nothing to stop you reading manga much earlier, but mostly you’ll be following the pictures.
It’s very much a personal preference, but I reccommend using the “Tandoku” approach where you don’t look up every word. It makes reading a pleasure rather than a stress. If you really want to get into something you can translate word for word, but I often find that doesn’t actually leave me much the wiser.
i haven’t read these two
~watched kiki oc xxx
i think because i was very decent at listening and already ‘burned’ hiragana and katakana years ago … i started reading at 2021 (of course still don’t get half of it. 
)
since i never read a text before and i immediately recognize the sound of some some.
it really motivated me to continue reading.
Thanks for your tips.
I already bought Yotsubato and will test in 6 month how much I understand.
No!!! Test now, then check in 6 months to see how much you have improved 
Maybe I will do this with the first volume.I found a vocabulary list for it. I could print it out, put a paper on the english translation (to not see it anymore) and try to translate the words.
I started reading level 0 Graded Readers at level 6 on WK, but I had been working on RocketLanguages.com, for a while. So I already had a bit of grammar learned, not a lot, but some. The level 0 Readers were a little bit of a challenge, but certainly not impossible.
I forgot to write in my first post, that i’m also doing a “Volkshochschulkurs” (learning in a classroom from a teacher). But it’s only 75 min per week. We are using the book “Japanisch im Sauseschritt 1” and I already learnt は、も and の .
Fun fact: both of these books were read by book clubs here in the WaniKani forums.
Yotsubato
Kiki’s Delivery Service (and was also re-read)
If you’ve got questions while reading, there’s a fair chance you’ll find answers in those threads. And if the answers aren’t there, feel free to post your own question, and someone will be around to answer them for you. Assuming the threads haven’t auto-locked…
Actually, I’ve never read Kiki’s Delivery Service. Maybe I should…
Yotsuba also has a book club going on right this moment on Natively.
Now it’s a multilingual book club, so most of the discussion is people who’ve already read the Japanese version discussing the Korean version, but I’m sure they’d be happy with questions on the Japanese version.
The following posts/resources may be helpful:
Edit: I added some pop-up dictionaries and other details.
I think you’ll be able to read yotsubato before kiki. If I recall, it has a lot of everyday scenarios in it, so it didn’t use a lot of specialty language, so I recommend starting with that!
I would also say, before you start you should think about how you want to read. If you go into it intending to look up every word and understand things like you’re on some sort of archaeological mission, please ask yourself whether you’ll enjoy that, or get frustrated by it. Many people say that that style of reading is boring and makes them stop reading, which is the worst possible outcome. If you like it, great. If you don’t like it, please keep in mind that with manga specifically, it can be easier to follow the story without knowing all of the words, and you can still get a lot of benefit from reading without knowing everything.
Good luck, and it’s never to early to try! If it’s too tough put it aside for a month and then try again.
I definitely don’t want to look up every single word. I’ll wait until my vocabulary is a bit bigger.
Thanks for the links. I already read a few stories of the tadoku. I didn’t understand every word, but I understood what was happening because of the pictures.