A few years ago I recommended a list of light novels for JLPT N3 level learners. Each book on that list ramps up in difficulty, from an easy book about wildlife, up to a more challenging book about fantasy characters working in a fast-food chain.

This list of recommended novels is also for intermediate level Japanese learners. Whether you’re a first time Japanese novel reader or an established reader, there should hopefully be something for everyone.

 

What Do You Mean by JLPT N3 Level Learners?

You don’t have to have passed the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) to read novels in Japanese! But if you’re studying Japanese, N3 is a good level to start thinking about reading novels. Why? Because at N3 level Japanese you should know about 3750 vocabulary, and 650 kanji, as well as a strong understanding of formal and informal Japanese.

The majority of media written for native speakers (of all ages) is in informal Japanese. But the majority of non-natives begin to learn Japanese through formal language. About JLPT N4 is when you start to learn a little informal grammar, but the bulk of everyday grammar is taught at the N3 level.

As I mentioned, you don’t need to take the JLPT exam, but studying intermediate level Japanese (N3) is key to being about understand the majority of Japanese media. And reading novels is key to getting from intermediate level to advance.

Enough rambling, on with the book recommendations!

5分後に意外な結末
(5 Fun-go ni Igaina Ketsumatsu)

This is a series of short stories for children with “surprising” conclusions. (5分後に意外な結末 means “Unexpected Conclusions in 5 Minutes).

There are 30 short stories in this first book, each taking about 7-8 pages. The font is large, the sentences are short, and there’s furigana (reading for the kanji) next a lot (although not all) of the difficult words.

This book is great for people who aren’t used to reading novels in Japanese because each story is short! You don’t have to sit down and read 200-300 pages to get the full story, you can be done in less than 10. This is particularly great because if you’re not enjoying a story, you know it’ll be over fairly quickly.

Each of these short stories is written by a different author, so it exposes you to different styles of writing too.

Although great for first time readers because of their length, these stories do have a lot of advanced vocabulary. Which means some of them might be challenging for some. Or it can be a good opportunity to get exposure to lots of advanced vocabulary!

There’s another series of short story collections which I also recommend for N3 level readers, similarly called 5分後のOOOO. You can read about them here: 5分シリーズ (5 Minute Series)

If you’re interested in giving this a try you can read the first 20 pages on Bookwalker Japan.

 

ずっと前から好きでした
(Zutto Mae kara Suki deshita)

This novel follows Natsuki as she tries to confess her love to her childhood friend Yu before they graduate.

This 190 page novel for young adult readers is your traditional Japanese high-school romance. As such, the language used is probably going to be very familiar to most Japanese learners. There’s no weird fantasy or sci-fi language, just your everyday school vocabulary.

This novel is published by Kadokawa Tsubasa Bunko, the young adult print of Kadokawa, which means every kanji comes with furigana.

The simple wording, short sentences, and use of daily Japanese makes this an excellent choice for low N3 level/first time readers. However, because the story is about school children, the language used is very casual. This can be challenging if you don’t watch a lot of high school anime and aren’t used to the way young people speech is depicted.

Speaking of anime, there is an anime of this novel! I suggesting reading the novel first, but the anime can be good additional listening practice.

You can read the first few pages here on Bookwalker!

 

三毛猫ホームズの探偵日記
(Mike neko Holmes no Tantei Nikki)

This novel is about a detective Katayama Yoshitaro who teams up with his sister, Harumi, and calico cat (三毛猫 mikeneko), Holmes to solve mysteries.

Similar to ずっと前から好きでした, this novel is published by Kadokawa Tsubasa Bunko, which means all the kanji has furigana. But as this novel is a mystery and not a romance, there’s a lot more descriptive text and some advanced/irregular vocabulary.

If you like mystery novels and want to be able to read them in Japanese, then this is a good place to start as it contains a lot of the standard vocabulary you’ll find in mystery vocabulary novels.

Try out the first few pages here on Bookwalker!

 

幼なじみが絶対に負けないラブコメ
(Osananajimi ga Zettaini Makenai Rabukome)

This light novel is a love triangle between three high-school kids told from the perspective of the male lead. He’s aware his childhood friend has a crush on him but is in love with another girl!

This is another romance novel, but a little more challenging than ずっと前から好きでした as this book is a little longer, text a little smaller, and there’s no furigana.

This is a great book for higher N3 learners and people who want to read kanji without furigana. It also has an anime, which makes for great additional listening practice, and can help you understand the story if you’re struggling with the novel.

Try the first few pages here on Bookwalker!

 

スーパーカブ
(Super Cub)

Super Cub follows high-school girl Kokuma who doesn’t have any friend, family, or interests, until she discovered the moped brand Super Cub. Through learning how to drive and maintain her moped she makes friends with her classmates and fellow bike fans. This is a heavier story about dealing with depression and loneliness.

This novel is 285 pages with smaller, denser font, and no furigana. There is a fair amount of more advanced vocabulary too and is a great bridge for moving from N3 to N2 level Japanese.

There’s also an anime for スーパーカブ which makes for good listening practice and can help you understand the story.

You can test read Super Cub on Bookwalker.

 

More Books for Intermediate Level Readers

5 Japanese Light Novels for JLPT N3 Level Learners

5 Japanese Light Novels (in Japanese) for Beginners

Japanese Short Stories「5分シリーズ」(5 Minute Series)

N3 Level Sci-fi – 時をかける少女 (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time)