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Research Guides

Japanese Extensive Reading - Tadoku (多読)

Overview of Tadoku (多読) - Japanese Extensive Reading

Tadoku, or extensive reading, is the method used to help you improve your Japanese language skills by reading lots of EASY-and-FUN-to-read books.  

 

 

These are the four golden rules of tadoku:

1. Start from scratch: choose easy books to start with, so that you are able to understand and move on to reading more books

2. Don't use your dictionary: try to avoid using the dictionary and focus on learning from the illustrations, passages and context

3. Skip over difficult words, phrases and passages: don't get bogged down by difficult terms; skip difficult passages and focus on enoying the book as a whole

4. When the going gets tough, quit the book and pick up another: if you are having too much difficulty reading, it may not be the appropriate level for you; simply pick another that you feel it's more appropriate.

Hopefully this method will help you acquire more vocabulary while enjoying reading as many books as possible!

Which Level Should You Choose?

The levels of tadoku are provided below to give you a sense of which level would be adequate for you.

Level Name Vocabulary Range # of Words Grammar Points
0 Starter 350

0-400

 Present tense, past tense, question words, polite ~ます form, ～たい-form, and so forth.
1 Beginner 350 400-1,500 present form, past form, interrogative, ～たい,etc. ※です and ます endings.
2 Upper-Beginner 500 1,500-3,000 dictionary form, て-form, ない-form, nominal modification, ～と(conditional), ～から(cause), ～なる, ～のだ, etc.
3 Lower Intermediate 800 2,500-6,000 potential form, imperative form, ～とき, ～たら・ば・なら, ～そう(appearance), ～よう(conjecture, metaphor), compound verb, etc.
4 Intermediate 1300 5,000-15,000 causative form, causative passive form, ～そう(information), ～らしい, ～はず, ～もの, ～ようにする/なる, ～ことにする/なる,　etc.
5 Upper Intermediate or Above 2000 8000-25000 Function words, compound words, idiomatic expressions, honorific expressions such as ～わけにはいかない/～につれて/切り開く/召し上がる/伺う。