Understand Japanese Through Manga
Japanese with Manga is a learning aid for people studying Japanese, using real manga examples. Each example starts with context and a panel, and explains the grammar, vocabulary, kanji, or expression used in the scene.
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:

Nagi and Maria have dressed Hayate up as a cat-eared girl. Klaus, the head butler, has warned that a Sanzenin butler must always act like a man, and Hayate fears he’ll be fired if Klaus sees him like this. Klaus spots him in the garden, takes him for an intruder, and gives chase. The outfit slows Hayate down, so he ties a cloth over his face to fight back unrecognized, only to find he can’t see.
- ハヤテ:
- 「ええい!! 人間いざとなれば眠れる力が目覚めるはず!!」
- “Argh!! When push comes to shove, a person's hidden power is bound to awaken!!”
- 「自分の目ではなく…心の目を信じるんだぁ!!!」
- “Not my own eyes... I'll trust my mind's eye!!!”
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
140 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.
Recent Additions
The newest manga examples and explanations added to the site.