Train yourself to recognise a word before choosing its reading.

The idea

Read the entire word and its surrounding sentence: 確認 is かくにん, while the familiar 出口 is でぐち. The okurigana in 重い points to the adjective おもい. 毎日 is まいにち. Learn readings together with words rather than assigning one sound to each character.

Examples

  • 会議かいぎの予定よていを確認かくにんします。I will check the meeting schedule.
  • 必要ひつような資料しりょうを集あつめました。I gathered the necessary materials.
  • 駅えきの出口でぐちで友達ともだちを待まちます。I will wait for my friend at the station exit.
  • 荷物にもつが重おもいので、手伝てつだってください。The luggage is heavy, so please help me.
  • 毎日まいにちの練習れんしゅうで少すこしずつ上手じょうずになりました。With daily practice, I gradually improved.
  • 電車でんしゃが遅おくれて、約束やくそくに間まに合あいませんでした。The train was delayed, and I was late for the appointment.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

A character can have several readings; a plausible sound for each kanji does not guarantee the reading of the compound. The JLPT does not publish an official kanji list, so N3 is an approximate practice level.

Try it yourself

  1. 会議の予定を確認します。（確認：かくにん／かくじん／かくねん）

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    かくにん

    確認 is かくにん: the compound means confirmation.

  2. 駅の出口で待ちます。（出口：でぐち／しゅっこう／でこう）

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    でぐち

    出口 is でぐち, the word for an exit; しゅっこう is not its reading.

  3. 荷物が重いです。（重い：おもい／じゅうい／おおい）

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    おもい

    重い is おもい: the adjective’s okurigana い belongs to this reading.

  4. 毎日練習します。（毎日：まいにち／まいじつ／まにち）

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    まいにち

    毎日 is まいにち, the usual word for every day.

Use it today

Choose the reading of the marked word in each sentence, then say why the other choices do not fit.