Reading can be one of the most difficult parts of learning Japanese. It requires you to combine your knowledge of kanji, vocabulary, and grammar, and be able to understand more than just a few sentences. And not understanding what’s being said can be intimidating or frustrating, which makes reading even less appealing.
But fear not! Reading comprehension is a skill you can hone. It takes practice, but here are some tips to to improve your reading skills, no matter your level.
Pick Something to Read
First, you need to pick something to read that you can use to practice these reading comprehension techniques.
Don’t pick something long, like a novel or a full essay. You want to start with something short because you’ll be doing intense, focused reading on the text, and a novel or essay will take too long.
An ideal piece is something from a textbook or reading comprehension practice paper. If you’re a beginner, then textbooks or graded readers are perfect for this. It doesn’t matter if it’s something you’ve read before, either.
You should pick a piece that’s at or slightly above your current level. If you understand all the vocabulary and grammar and what the passage is saying no problem, then you might want to find something a little more difficult.
Likewise, if you have to look up every single word, then it might be too difficult. If you only have to look up a word every other sentence or so, then that’s the right level.
You’re going to read this with the intent of improving your reading comprehension so it needs to be just right to push you without being too easy or too difficult.
Techniques for Improving Reading Comprehension
Once you’ve picked something, it’s time to read!
Picture What’s Happening
As you read, picture the events in your head. Try to focus on recreating the scene. This is a great technique because it allows your brain to start making stronger connections with words and meaning. It also allows you to pick up on words and grammar you don’t know from context.
If you’re having trouble imagining the scene because there’s something you don’t understand, then try using some of the other techniques listed below.
If you struggle to imagine scenes altogether (some people do), you can achieve the same thing by rewording the meanings of sentences in your head. Try not to translate word-for-word, but get a general idea of the meaning.
Break Down Sentences into Chunks
If you’re struggling to understand a sentence, especially a long one, break it down!
You can do this by breaking it down into clauses and chunks.
現在では考えれないことだが、５０年前は新聞会社の発行する年鑑に小説の住所が記載されていた。
(from 「ベスト・エッセイ 2020」『生島治郎さんの手紙』by 大沢在昌)
現在では考えれないことだが、/５０年前は / 新聞会社の発行する年鑑に / 小説の住所が記載されていた。
- 現在では考えれないことだが – “This would be unthinkable today but”
- ５０年前は – “50 years ago”
- 新聞会社の発行する年鑑に – “in yearbooks published by newspapers”
- 小説の住所が記載されていた。- “the addresses of the novels were written down.”
“This would be unthinkable today but, 50 years ago newspapers would publish the addresses of the novels in their yearly publications.”
If you’re working on paper or tablet, it helps to draw lines between each segment similar to how I broke the sentence above with forward slashes.
You can normally pick segments out using the following criteria:
- Clauses and subordinate clauses.
- The subject (marked by が) and/or topic (marked by は)
- Modified nouns.
- The main verb and the nouns connected to them.
This helps make long sentences easier to digest.
Pick Out the Bones
This is similar to breaking down the sentence, but instead you’re picking out only the core information. Namely the subject, object, and main verb of the sentence.
When you boil down the sentence to its basic construct, what is it saying?
私は夢中になり、中学３年生のときに手紙を書いた。
(from 「ベスト・エッセイ 2020」『生島治郎さんの手紙』by 大沢在昌)
If we highlight the “bones” (the subject, object, and main verb) we get,
私は夢中になり、中学３年生のときに手紙を書いた。
↓
私は手紙を書いた – “I wrote a letter.”
Also be aware of conjugations, words like だから and これで, which set up important points and further information. (You can find a list of Japanese conjunctions here.)
The other information is important for understanding additional information and context, but the crux of the sentence is the subject, object, and main verb.
Check the Dictionary
Some words have multiple meanings depending on the context. Don’t be afraid to double check the meaning of words you think you know in the dictionary, even if you think you already know them.
Some words even have different meanings when used in combination with specific other words.
One such example is 引きつける. You probably know 引く（ひく）”to pull” but when combined with つける “to attach” it becomes 引きつける “to attract, fascinate”.
If you come across a word you don’t know, try to guess the meaning based on the context, and then look it up. Add this new word to your studies to boost your vocabulary!
What Is It Trying to Say?
While you’re reading try to think about what the piece is saying. Work out each paragraph and then try to understand what the piece of writing is trying to say as a whole.
If you’re reading a piece of fiction, try to gauge the characters’ emotions based on how they act or what they say.
If you’re reading non-fiction, like a collection of essays, try to get an idea of the point each paragraph is trying to make and how it relates to the author’s overall point.
If you’re struggling, use some of the above techniques like breaking down sentences and picking out the bones.
昭和生まれのせいか、絵文字を使うときの小さな違和感はいつまでたっても消えない。それなのに、自身のスマホを開いてみると、驚くほど絵文字にあふれていてがくぜんとする。よく使う絵文字はハートと笑顔マークである。送信先は親しい相手ではなく、子供の友達の母親だったり、習い事の先生だったりする。
(from 「ベスト・エッセイ 2020」『ハートはピリオド』by 河合香織)
If we pick out the bones, and highlight conjunctions and emotions of the above paragraph we get,
絵文字を使う違和感は消えない。それなのに、スマホを開いてみると、絵文字にあふれていてがくぜん。送信先は親しい相手ではなく、友達の母親…先生だ。
“The uneasy feeling of emoji won’t go away. Despite that, when I look at my phone I’m shocked by the flood of emoji. The sender isn’t even a close friend, but a friend’s mother or my teacher.”
Then, when you’ve finished reading the piece or chapter, what point do you think the overall text was trying to make?
If you have a teacher, you can ask them to check if you understood the piece correctly. If you don’t have a teacher and aren’t sure if you understood it correctly, you can check with people online.
Read It Multiple Times
If you struggle to understand the piece it’s encouraged to read it multiple times. You’re doing this exercise as a way to improve your comprehension, not to pass an exam with a limited time period.
I suggest reading a piece as many times as you need until you feel you really understand it.
Take It Slow
It might be tempting to speed read to get as much done as possible, but this is actually counterproductive! Again, this exercise isn’t to practice for an exam, but to improve your reading abilities.
Take your time, try to understand what’s being said, and look up what you don’t know.
More often than not, it’s the grammar, not the kanji or vocabulary, which has a greater impact on the meaning of a sentence or paragraph. If you’re struggling to understand something, double check the grammar (which includes conjugations).
Study New/Rusty Information
If you come across new vocabulary or grammar or find something you’ve forgotten, then incorporate it into your studies. Add them to Anki or whatever flashcard system you use, to help you build your knowledge of the language as a whole.
When you’re trying to improve your reading comprehension it’s important to start slow and think about what you’re reading. The more you practice the faster you’ll get, and you won’t need to practice the above techniques as much.
I also suggest mixing casual reading in amongst your intensive reading to improve your comprehension even more. Reading a lot of easy and/or interesting things for fun is a great way to improve your comprehension skills! You can apply what you learn during intensive study and will find yourself improving even faster.
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