Reading
What the Reading domain tests
You read short, real-life Japanese texts - emails, notices, menus, timetables, blog posts, brief articles, manga panels - and show you understand both the main idea and the details. Texts use hiragana, katakana and roughly 50–80 Level 1 kanji, so your script knowledge sets the ceiling on what you can access.
Core rules
- Read the question first, then scan for だれが、だれに、いつ、どこで、なにを、いくらで、なぜ.
- Skim for the purpose before detail: is this an invitation, a warning, a menu or a schedule?
- ただし、でも、しかし and 〜が mark exceptions and turns; the answer often sits right after them.
- 〜から and 〜ので introduce reasons, and exam questions frequently ask なぜ.
- Katakana words are usually loanwords: パーティー、サッカー、アルバイト、レストラン. Say them aloud to recognise them.
- Kanji carry meaning while okurigana carries the grammar: 食べます vs 食べました.
Worked example
Text: 「プールは 土よう日と 日よう日の ごご三時から 五時までです。ただし、六月二十日は そうじの 日です。」 Question: Can you swim on 20 June? Answer: No. Reasoning: the first sentence allows weekend swimming, but ただし signals an exception, and 20 June is a cleaning day. Candidates who stop reading at 「三時から五時まで」 answer yes and lose the mark.
Traps
- Translating every word instead of locating the single line that answers the question.
- Missing small ゃ/ゅ/ょ and long vowels in katakana: ぎゅうにゅう, コーヒー, パーティー.
- Confusing に (time, destination) with で (place where an action happens).
- Overlooking negatives: いきません、ありません、〜ないでください.
- Mixing up あに/あね and おにいさん/おねえさん when the text names a sibling.
- Writing the answer in Japanese when English would let you be more precise.