Free Japanese Books
Mauricette Atencio
In order to understand the grammar and to remember vocabulary, you need to encounter them in a meaningful way. This is where reading books comes in. (As well as other activities, such as conversations with others.)
Balance is key, if you focus too much on kanji and vocab, your grammar will fall behind; if you focus too much on grammar, your kanji and vocab will fall behind. Reading exercises all of these things you have learnt, therefore, in order to read at a consistent level you need to keep them all going.
I think maybe the problem is less grammar, and more semiotics. Perhaps with a 90% understanding of grammar, that sentence would have been obvious, but maybe with a 50% understanding of the Japanese way of speaking it would also have been obvious.
Kobo is like Amazon in that if you want to buy Japanese books, you need to create a login for the Japanese site (which for Kobo includes putting in a Japanese-looking address[1]). And you can only use one login on a device at a time. Also, your debit or credit card needs to allow foreign transactions.
I often find that novels that I'm familiar with here in the US are split up in to 2 or 3 parts, leading to these 上 and 下 volumes. Patrick Rothfuss has a great blog entry as to why this happens. His example involves German to English translations, which he says are 30% - 40% longer, and I believe the same is true for Japanese translations. Once books get to a certain size, they get really hard to bind durably so that they don't physically fall apart.
Right to left books in Japanese2013/6/26 21:42 Hi, I wanted to ask, if there was no right to left writing in Japanese, would books/magazines still have been right to left?
I've noticed more and more Japanese people saying that books are right to left becuase it's more comfortable to shelve pages left-to-right for right-handed people. So I'm wondering, let's imagine that the top-to-bottom writing wouldn't have been existed. How they might act in this situation? It is not so comfortable to read only left to right and then turn to the left instead to the right...
But as I said, Japanese love comfort.by oren (guest)
Re: Right to left books in Japanese2013/6/27 11:44 I do not fully understand your question, but generally books with text printed vertically open from right, while those with text printed horizontally open from left (same as books in English).
Vertical writing start from top to bottom, and the line goes from right to left. Thus opening pages from the right is the most practical/comfortable.
Hope this replies to your question.by magonote (guest)rate this post as useful
Re: Right to left books in Japanese2013/6/27 12:54 Yes I know, but the question here is, if there WAS NO right to left writing, would they still use right-to-left books? Because it's more comfortable to shelve pages with these books. (for right-handed)by oren (guest)rate this post as useful
Re: Right to left books in Japanese2013/6/27 13:11 if there WAS NO right to left writing, would they still use right-to-left books
Probably not, considering Japanese magazines and books that are printed left to right also read left to right. The other way around would be incredibly awkward to read, and much more difficult than shelving left to right (which is already a dubious advantage in my opinion).by yllwsmrfrate this post as useful
Re: Right to left books in Japanese2013/6/27 14:03 Yes, but I've seen many right to left magazines, like Corocoro for example, and they don't use the right to left writing so much, there are many one or two sentences that are written right to left, but MOST of the pages' sentences are left to right.
So it's still difficult. That's why I'm not sure if they would abandon the right to left books, even if tategaki was never existed.by oren (guest)rate this post as useful
Re: Right to left books in Japanese2013/6/27 14:13 Yes, but I've seen many right to left magazines, like Corocoro for example, and they don't use the right to left writing so much, there are many one or two sentences that are written right to left, but MOST of the pages' sentences are left to right.
You should look at other type of magazines, not comics, you'll find almost all pages shows vertical writing (tategaki).
Manga is a bit special when it comes to writing system.
Almost all literature books are tategaki thus books open from right.
As I explained earlier, the lines of vertical writings go from right to left.by magonote (guest)rate this post as useful
Re: Right to left books in Japanese2013/6/27 14:22 Yes, but I've seen many right to left magazines, like Corocoro for example, and they don't use the right to left writing so much, there are many one or two sentences that are written right to left, but MOST of the pages' sentences are left to right.
And I'd have to say that those always feel somewhat awkward/unnatural to browse through.
So it's still difficult. That's why I'm not sure if they would abandon the right to left books, even if tategaki was never existed.
Yes, this is all theoretical so there probably isn't any right answer. Also, I don't think you can talk of books "abandoning" right to left if we are discussing a world that develops independently of right to left writing. Whatever they ended up being would be the norm.by yllwsmrfrate this post as useful
Re: Right to left books in Japanese2013/6/27 15:18 I see.
But still, why did they let this issue to protrude so much? I mean, they still write and think from left to right almost all along. So I can't understand how for example, a little child that reads only from left to right, whether it is on the computer (where you can barely find tategaki) or left to right books, should get used to it?by oren (guest)rate this post as useful
Re: Right to left books in Japanese2013/6/27 15:45 @oren
I do not understand why you believe that tategaki is obsolite. All the text books used at school are printed in tategaki except certain subjects such as history, math and science where Arabic numbers are used , almost all the literature books and other books (again except certain field where Arabic numbers are much used or those on foreign languages) are printed in tategaki.
What you see seems to be just Japanese on internet where it is difficult to make tategaki layout and manga/comics - both are exceptional in the whole publication in Japanese language.
Have you ever been to a bookshop handling large number of books in a wide range? I'm sure just one visit and see all the books with your own eyes would give you more accurate idea. :)by magonote (guest)rate this post as useful
Re: Right to left books in Japanese2013/6/27 16:08 @magonote
I understand that most of the books are tategaki in Japan. But I can't understand how do Japanese people normally think about things.
magonote, look at this corocoro page for example-
let's imagine that we'll randomlly give this page to a Japanese teenager. Most of these pages are written left to right, with maybe 2-3 sentences in tategaki, but right page is 8, and the left is 9. Will the teenager understand, (without seeing the pages' number) that this is a right-to-left magazine? will he shelve the next page to the right (like english, with the left hand) or to the left?by oren (guest)rate this post as useful
Re: Right to left books in Japanese2013/6/27 17:48 He read from right to left.
If he feels like something is wrong, he notices that's written in reverse direction.
I have never heard young Japanese is confused to read Japanese books...
BTW, that page is clearly designed from right to left. If it's in English, that degign will vary.by ajapaneseboyrate this post as useful
Re: Right to left books in Japanese2013/6/27 18:49 let's imagine that we'll randomlly give this page to a Japanese teenager. Most of these pages are written left to right, with maybe 2-3 sentences in tategaki, but right page is 8, and the left is 9. Will the teenager understand, (without seeing the pages' number) that this is a right-to-left magazine?
Given a completely random page of text, a native Japanese reader should have no trouble recognizing which way the page is supposed to be read. In most cases the context clues will be immediately obvious. This is something that gets hardcored into your brain by virtue of it being a common occurrence in everyday Japanese life.
will he shelve the next page to the right (like english, with the left hand) or to the left?
Neither, as a teenager he'll surely just toss it on the floor when done ;)
On a related note, the manga (which are titled vertically) at the last bookstore I visited were shelved from left to right.by yllwsmrfrate this post as useful
Re: Right to left books in Japanese2013/6/27 20:44 @ajapaneseboy
Well I read right to left (my native language) and I don't think this Corocoro page is designed right to left other than being 8 as the right page and 9 as the left page.
Besides, isn't it a bit confusing to read left to right starting on the right page, and not from the left page? (and I'm not talking about tategaki)by oren (guest)rate this post as useful
Re: Right to left books in Japanese2013/6/27 21:16
For example, a part that I can explain even in my poor English...
If that page is translated word for word,
you can see a girl named PANJII at the left and she is introduced as "BIORA's sister".
Who is BIORA? She is at the right of PANJII.
The editor expects the readers read from right to left.
BTW, I have heard even on a vending machine in Japan, the seller place the drink that they want to sell at right.by ajapaneseboyrate this post as useful