About This Lesson
Use Talking about reading in free time to practice Japanese conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.
Dialogue
A
何を読んでるの？
NAH-nee oh yohn-DEH-roo noh? What are you reading?
B
短い本を読んでるよ。
mee-jee-KAH-ee hohn oh yohn-DEH-roo yoh. I am reading a short book.
A
その話は好き？
SOH-noh hah-NAH-shee wah soo-KEE? Do you like the story?
B
話の内容が分かりやすいよ。
hah-NAH-shee noh nah-ee-YOH gah wah-kah-ree-yah-SOO-ee yoh. It is easy to follow.
A
いつもどこで読むの？
ee-TSOO-moh DOH-koh deh YOH-moo noh? Where do you usually read?
B
いつも家の静かな部屋で読むよ。
ee-TSOO-moh ee-EH noh shee-zoo-KAH-nah heh-YAH deh YOH-moo yoh. I usually read in a quiet room at home.
A
落ち着いていそうだね。
oh-chee-TSOO-ee-teh ee-SOH dah nay. That sounds calm.
B
それで自由な時間を楽しめるよ。
SOH-reh deh jee-YOO nah JEE-kahn oh tah-noh-shee-MEH-roo yoh. It helps me enjoy my free time.Word by Word
何
何 asks what is being read in 何を読んでるの？. It commonly appears before を when asking about the object of an action, as in 何を読む？ as a new example.
を
を marks 何 as the object of reading in 何を読んでるの？. It is placed after the thing acted on and before the action, as in 本を読んでる.
読んでる
読んでる means reading in progress in 何を読んでるの？. It is the conversational shortened form of 読んでいる and is related to the citation form 読む. A reusable pattern is 本を読んでる.
の
の makes 何を読んでるの？ a conversational question about what the other person is reading. It comes at the end of this casual question and gives it a softer, more conversational tone.
短い
短い means short and describes 本 in 短い本を読んでるよ。. It is placed directly before the noun it describes, as in 短い本. You can use this pattern when describing the length of an object.
本
本 means book in 短い本を読んでるよ。. Here it is the thing being read and is followed by を, giving the pattern 本を読んでる. This is useful when talking about reading a book.
よ
よ adds an assertive, informative tone to 短い本を読んでるよ。. It tells the listener the statement as information rather than leaving it neutral. It is commonly placed at the end of a casual statement.
その
その means that in その話は好き？ and points to the story being discussed. It comes before a noun, as in その話, to identify something in the conversation.
話
話 means story in その話は好き？. It names the story whose content or appeal is being discussed. A reusable pattern is その話について話す as a new example.
は
は marks その話 as the topic in その話は好き？. It places the topic before the comment or question about it, as in その話は好き？.
好き
好き expresses liking or fondness in その話は好き？. The whole question asks whether the listener likes that story; 好き supplies the preference being asked about. A reusable pattern is 本は好き？ as a new example.
内容
内容 means content in 話の内容が分かりやすいよ。. It refers to what the story contains, and 話の内容 means the content of the story. The pattern nounの内容 is useful when discussing what something contains.
が
が marks 話の内容 as the thing that is easy to understand in 話の内容が分かりやすいよ。. It comes after the subject of the description and before 分かりやすい. A reusable pattern is nounが分かりやすい.
分かりやすい
分かりやすい means easy to understand in 話の内容が分かりやすいよ。. It describes the story content as clear and easy to follow. It can be reused after the thing that is easy to understand, as in 話の内容が分かりやすい.
いつも
いつも means usually or always in いつもどこで読むの？ and いつも家の静かな部屋で読むよ。. It shows that the action is a regular habit and commonly comes before the action or place being discussed.
どこ
どこ asks where in いつもどこで読むの？. It asks for the place where the reading happens and is followed by で in どこで読む. This pattern is useful for asking where an action takes place.
で
で marks the place where an action happens in どこで読むの？ and 部屋で読むよ。. It follows a location and comes before the action, as in 部屋で読む. Use location＋で＋action when describing where something is done.
読む
読む means read in いつも家の静かな部屋で読むよ。. Here it describes the speaker's regular reading activity and is the citation form of the verb. It follows the place phrase 部屋で in this sentence.
家
家 means home in 家の静かな部屋で読むよ。. Here it identifies the home connected with the quiet room, as in 家の静かな部屋. The pattern 家の＋noun is useful for describing something located at or belonging to home.
静かな
静かな means quiet and describes 部屋 in 静かな部屋. This is the form used before a noun, so it directly modifies 部屋. It is useful when describing a quiet place for reading or another activity.
部屋
部屋 means room in 家の静かな部屋で読むよ。. It is the location of the reading and is followed by で in 部屋で読む. This is useful when saying that an activity happens in a room.
落ち着いて
落ち着いて contributes the calm or settled state in 落ち着いていそうだね。. The complete expression presents that state as an impression, while いそうだね adds the appearance and shared-comment meaning. It can be used when describing a calm-looking place or situation.
いそう
いそう shows that the speaker is inferring an appearance in 落ち着いていそうだね。. Here it follows 落ち着いて and makes the calm state something that seems to be true rather than a definite statement. Use it when commenting on an impression.
だね
だね gives 落ち着いていそうだね。. a conversational tone that invites agreement with the speaker's impression. It is used at the end when making a shared or tentative comment to another person.
それ
それ refers back to the quiet reading situation in それで自由な時間を楽しめるよ。. With で, it connects that situation to the result of being able to enjoy free time. It can point back to something just mentioned before explaining its result or effect.
自由な
自由な means free in 自由な時間を楽しめるよ。. Here it describes time available for the speaker's own activities. It is placed before the noun it modifies, as in 自由な時間.
時間
時間 means time in 自由な時間を楽しめるよ。. In this context, it means the period available for leisure activities. It combines with the preceding description in 自由な時間 and is followed by を as the object of enjoying.
楽しめる
楽しめる means can enjoy in それで自由な時間を楽しめるよ。. It expresses that the speaker is able to enjoy free time as a result of the situation. It is related to the citation form 楽しむ, and the reusable pattern here is 自由な時間を楽しめる.
Grammar Points
〜ている／〜てる
本を読んでる。
hohn oh yohn-DEH-roo.I’m reading a book.
The shortened form 〜てる is common in casual speech and shows an action in progress.
な-adjective + な + noun
静かな部屋。
shee-zoo-KAH-nah heh-YAH.A quiet room.
な-adjectives use な before a noun, unlike い-adjectives such as 短い.
Japanese Vocabulary
いつも
adv
ee-TSOO-moh
usually; always
その
det
SOH-noh
that
どこ
adv
DOH-koh
where
何
pron
NAH-nee
what
家
noun
ee-EH
home; house
好き
adj
soo-KEE
to like; fond of
短い
adj
mee-jee-KAH-ee
short
読む
verb
yoh-MOO
to read
読んでる
内容
noun
nah-ee-YOH
content
分かりやすい
adj
wah-kah-ree-yah-SOO-ee
easy to understand
本
noun
hohn
book
話
noun
hah-NAH-shee
story
Quiz
Spelling
Tap the letters to spell the word.
to read
Show Answer
読んでるeasy to understand
Show Answer
分かりやすいto like; fond of
Show Answer
好きwhere