Furigana in Aozora Bunko: Why Some Books Have So Much More
How Aozora Bunko marks furigana with 《》 and ｜, why the readings follow the printed source edition, and why one story can have more furigana in one version.
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StudyX Devlog: Niho
StudyX Devlog articles tagged "Niho".
Noda, Wake da and Mono da: Reading Japanese Sentence Endings in Novels
What do のだ, わけだ and ものだ add at the end of a sentence? Lines from Botchan, Kokoro and Run, Melos, read with the senses JMdict gives each one.
Reading Dialogue in Japanese Novels: Old Phrases, Gendered Speech and Dialect
Novel dialogue rarely sounds like a textbook. How to read old phrases, men's and women's speech and dialect, with lines from Sōseki, Akutagawa and Kenji.
What Are JMdict and KANJIDIC2? Free Japanese Dictionary Data Explained
JMdict has 219,036 Japanese entries and KANJIDIC2 covers 13,108 kanji. Where they came from, what is inside, what is missing, and the licence terms.
Japanese Onomatopoeia in Novels: How to Look Up Sound and Mimetic Words
How much Japanese onomatopoeia can you find in JMdict? Counted in two Aozora Bunko novels, with katakana vs hiragana and what to try when a lookup fails.
Reading Edogawa Rampo as a Japanese Learner: Where to Start with Japanese Mystery
Edogawa Rampo on Aozora Bunko: length, kanji ratio and furigana counted for nine works, from his boys' serials to his adult stories, plus old spellings.
Set Phrases and Old Forms in Japanese Folktales: むかしむかし, じゃ, おった
Set phrases and old forms in Japanese folktales, with examples from Kusuyama Masao's retellings on Aozora Bunko, and which ones still work in conversation today.
From Conjugated Form to Dictionary Form: 食べました, 読んだ, 来られる
How to turn a conjugated Japanese verb back into its dictionary form, the forms that trip learners up, and exactly which forms Niho's lookup undoes.
Reading Keigo in Japanese Novels: How to Tell Honorific from Humble Language
Lost in the keigo of a Japanese novel? How to tell honorific from humble verbs, using the official five types and lines from Sōseki and Miyazawa Kenji.
Can You Learn Kanji by Reading? How to Pick Up Kanji from Books
Learning kanji from books: what reading does well, where it falls short, how to pair it with flashcards, and why reading kanji comes before writing them.
Reading Japanese Without Spaces: How to Find Where a Word Ends
Japanese has no spaces between words. Four clues for finding word boundaries, the places where they fail, and how to select a word for the dictionary.
Reading Akutagawa as a Japanese Learner: The Spider's Thread, Rashōmon and The Nose
For learners reading Akutagawa in Japanese: how long The Spider's Thread, The Nose and Rashomon are, which to read first, and what makes each one hard.
Reading Old Kana Spelling: いふ, ゐる and てふてふ
How Japanese learners can read historical kana spelling in old books: the four rules to learn first, old kanji like 國, and why modern editions help.
Reading Lafcadio Hearn's Kwaidan in Japanese: Hoichi the Earless and Yuki-Onna
Hearn wrote Kwaidan in English, so Aozora Bunko holds Japanese translations. Who translated them, how long each story is, and what trips learners up.
Japan's Book Week: A Two-Week Plan to Finish One Japanese Book
Japan's Book Week runs from October 27 to November 9. Its history, autumn as reading season, and a day-by-day plan to finish one book in Japanese.
When to Stop Using Furigana
For Japanese learners who worry they lean on furigana: how to test whether you are ready, how to drop it one book at a time, and how to check readings.
Reading Natsume Sōseki as a Japanese Learner: Botchan, Ten Nights of Dreams or Kokoro?
For learners reading Natsume Soseki in Japanese: how long Ten Nights of Dreams, Botchan and Kokoro are, which to read first, and his odd kanji spellings.
JLPT Reading Practice Before the December Test: How to Use Your Reading Time
Six weeks to the JLPT on December 6, 2026: the official reading question types and times, and how to split your time between books and practice.
Reading Miyazawa Kenji as a Japanese Learner: Start with The Restaurant of Many Orders
For Japanese learners reading Miyazawa Kenji in the original: why to start with The Restaurant of Many Orders, and how to read its keigo and sound words.
Which Japanese Classics Can You Read at Each JLPT Level?
There is no official link between JLPT levels and books. Counting the length and kanji share of 8 famous Aozora Bunko works suggests where to start.
What Is Aozora Bunko? Copyright Rules and How Japanese Learners Can Use It
Aozora Bunko is a free library of Japanese books typed in by volunteers. How Japanese copyright shapes it, and how learners can find and read a book there.
How to Start Extensive Reading in Japanese, Level by Level
A guide to extensive reading in Japanese: when to skip the dictionary, what to read at each level, how much to read, and how it differs from English.
30 Easy Japanese Classics on Aozora Bunko for Learners
Thirty short Japanese classics on Aozora Bunko, roughly ordered from easiest to hardest, with notes for learners on length, furigana and old kana spelling.
Niho vs Other Ways to Read Japanese Books
How Niho compares with Aozora Bunko plus a pop-up dictionary, free graded readers, learner reading services and paper books, and when to choose them.
Who Is Niho For?
Who gets the most out of Niho: learners who have finished the textbook, JLPT candidates, readers who want Sōseki in the original, heritage learners, commuters without a signal, and who it is not for yet.
Practical Tips for Reading Japanese with Niho
Habits that make Niho work day to day: short books first, Chat view for hard chapters, rough selections, turning off saving for words you know, the reading quiz, and a daily goal you can keep.
Getting Started with Niho: Your First Japanese Book
New to Niho? Pick a book from the Start here shelf, download it, choose a reading view, look up your first word, and meet it again in a quiz a day later. The first evening, step by step.