Understand Japanese Through Manga

See How Examples Work

Every example pairs a manga panel with its dialogue and an explanation of the Japanese used in the scene. Here is the newest one:

The culture festival is getting close, and the class is in the last stretch of its preparations. It’s almost six in the evening, and Asuka wants to get as much done as possible today. Mie can’t stay, though. Her curfew is six o’clock, and breaking it would mean a scolding and, worse, no cocoa the next morning. Komura figures her parents must be strict.

あすか:

「ねーちょっと終(お)わりそうにないからさ」

“Hey, it doesn't look like we're going to finish, so…”

「19時(じ)くらいまで残(のこ)れる人(ひと)手(て)あげて」

“Raise your hand if you can stay until around seven.”

View Full Example

Choose Your Next Step

• Get ready for native manga
  Check your kana, grammar, vocabulary, and kanji preparation.
• Choose a beginner-friendly series
  Compare furigana, word density, vocabulary counts, and story settings.
• Learn a practical reading process
  Start with the site’s guide to building Japanese reading ability.

Study Japanese in Context

• Japanese grammar through manga
  133 explanations of particles, conjugations, conditionals, sentence endings, and other patterns in context.
• Japanese vocabulary through manga
  30 explanations of word meanings, forms of address, casual usage, and common expressions.
• Kanji through manga vocabulary
  102 kanji with character meanings and words, grouped by school grade, estimated JLPT level, or WaniKani level.
• Japanese idioms and expressions
  26 phrases whose full meaning may not follow from their individual words.
• Examples by manga series
  Find material from a series you own or plan to read.