Books to progressively develop kanji reading skills

upper intermediate
intermediate
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Do you want to read a book that isn't full furigana, but doesn't expect adult-level kanji reading abilities? Some children's and young adult books show kanji up to a certain grade and put furigana just on the upper grades of kanji shown (meaning you have to practice reading the lower graded kanji without help).

This list is a collection of books and series where I have determined the cutoffs for the kana/kanji/furigana rendering strategy to make it easier for browsing from that perspective.

Common breakpoints in editing of furigana based on school level:

  • Elementary kanji: breakpoints at 小1-2, 小3-4, and 小5-6 are often clearly identifiable. That includes the first 1026 of the Joyo kanji. These levels are helpful for us learners for early reading!
  • Middle school kanji (additional ~925): the 中 1-3 group is often split, with some words getting kanji or kana, or, if they all appear in kanji, some getting furigana or not. It's not obvious how these are chosen but it seems to be based more on the difficulty of the word rather than the kanji.
  • The highest level 難 (hard, an additional 185) is normally another clear break point.

Here is an abbreviation this list uses so that you can browse quickly once you get the hang of it:

Read: 小2 (means you need to be able to read through that level as there is no furigana through the second elementary grade)
Kanji: 小4 (means kanji are shown with furigana through fourth elementary grade)

Then there are more specific notes about how furigana for repeated words is handled, etc.

I've put them in rough order of difficulty (first via kanji reading skills required, then breadth of vocab use).

Read 小2 (~240 kanji). No furigana.
Kanji 小4 (~640 kanji) and names. Furigana: first appearance per page.
Feels like: "not kana soup" (if you came from books for 2nd graders) OR "not enough kanji" (if you came from full kanji + full furigana books/manga).
~N4 level.

A series of 20 books plus spin-offs. The chapters are episodic stories (6 per book), although there is an overarching story and world building that develops from book to book.

Personal experience: this book has the lowest bar for kanji reading, but still has a wide ranging vocabulary due to the episodic nature and some adult characters.

Read 小2 (~240 kanji). No furigana.
Kanji 小4 (~640 kanji) and names. Furigana: first appearance per page.
Feels like: "not kana soup" (if you came from books for 2nd graders) OR "not enough kanji" (if you came from full kanji + full furigana books/manga).
~N4 level.

A series of 20 books plus spin-offs. The chapters are episodic stories (6 per book), although there is an overarching story and world building that develops from book to book.

Personal experience: this book has the lowest bar for kanji reading, but still has a wide ranging vocabulary due to the episodic nature and some adult characters.

This book has two levels of content
20 articles at what they call level 1-2
Read: N4 (~285 kanji). No furigana.
Kanji: N3-N1 with furigana.

15 articles at what they call level 3
Read: N3 (~600 kanji) No furigana.
Kanji: N2-N1 with furigana.

Personal experience: although I indicated that they show all kanji, they made an effort to constrain vocab and grammar as well to the respective levels I indicated for kanji use (and anything higher level is included in the gloss). Combined with having translations in the back, that makes this book easier than the native books before and after it on this list.

This book has two levels of content
20 articles at what they call level 1-2
Read: N4 (~285 kanji). No furigana.
Kanji: N3-N1 with furigana.

15 articles at what they call level 3
Read: N3 (~600 kanji) No furigana.
Kanji: N2-N1 with furigana.

Personal experience: although I indicated that they show all kanji, they made an effort to constrain vocab and grammar as well to the respective levels I indicated for kanji use (and anything higher level is included in the gloss). Combined with having translations in the back, that makes this book easier than the native books before and after it on this list.

Read: N5-N4. No furigana.
Kanji: N3. Furigana on first appearance per article (up to two pages)
Kanji: N2-N1. Furigana always shown.

30 biographical essays, with exercises.

This is generally a bit more challenging than the above Reading Road book but is classified as a textbook so the grading is fixed. FYI this book is part of a series: there are also N5 and N2 books.

Read: N5-N4. No furigana.
Kanji: N3. Furigana on first appearance per article (up to two pages)
Kanji: N2-N1. Furigana always shown.

30 biographical essays, with exercises.

This is generally a bit more challenging than the above Reading Road book but is classified as a textbook so the grading is fixed. FYI this book is part of a series: there are also N5 and N2 books.

ものだま探偵団
Book Series
Level 25

Read 小4 (~640 kanji). No furigana.
Kanji: 小6 (~1026 kanji). Furigana always shown
Feels like: "just enough kanji" for a smooth reading experience.
~N3 level.

A minority of middle school level kanji are also shown (above that generally kana).

A series of 5 books. A conventional narrative story per book.

Personal experience: Vocabulary is very simple/daily life - easier than the above 銭天堂 series, making this a gentle intro to more challenging kanji reading.

Read 小4 (~640 kanji). No furigana.
Kanji: 小6 (~1026 kanji). Furigana always shown
Feels like: "just enough kanji" for a smooth reading experience.
~N3 level.

A minority of middle school level kanji are also shown (above that generally kana).

A series of 5 books. A conventional narrative story per book.

Personal experience: Vocabulary is very simple/daily life - easier than the above 銭天堂 series, making this a gentle intro to more challenging kanji reading.

モモ
Novel
Level 24

Read 小4 (~640 kanji). No furigana.
Kanji 小6 (~1026 kanji). Furigana on first appearance per page.
~N3 level.

Kanji shown: grades 1-6, and a few from middle school levels (above that generally kana).

A translation of the German classic.
Vocabulary looks more challenging than the above ものだま series.
Based on preview!

Read 小4 (~640 kanji). No furigana.
Kanji 小6 (~1026 kanji). Furigana on first appearance per page.
~N3 level.

Kanji shown: grades 1-6, and a few from middle school levels (above that generally kana).

A translation of the German classic.
Vocabulary looks more challenging than the above ものだま series.
Based on preview!

Read 小4 (~640 kanji). No furigana.
中3 (~1500+ kanji). Furigana always shown

The vocabulary doesn't appear to extend beyond the middle school level.

A series of stories (with different themes per volume) that you can read in 3 minutes.


Assessment based on preview of Vol. 9

Read 小4 (~640 kanji). No furigana.
中3 (~1500+ kanji). Furigana always shown

The vocabulary doesn't appear to extend beyond the middle school level.

A series of stories (with different themes per volume) that you can read in 3 minutes.


Assessment based on preview of Vol. 9

Read 小6, some 中1-3 (~1200-1500+ kanji). No furigana.
No additional kanji as far as I can tell.

The vocabulary in the book goes up to about the 8th grade level (judged by reviews and autobiography nature), and kanji use appears accordingly. The sample reads quite easily and I didn't see many difficult words.

A stand-alone novel.

Based on previews and reviews.

Read 小6, some 中1-3 (~1200-1500+ kanji). No furigana.
No additional kanji as far as I can tell.

The vocabulary in the book goes up to about the 8th grade level (judged by reviews and autobiography nature), and kanji use appears accordingly. The sample reads quite easily and I didn't see many difficult words.

A stand-alone novel.

Based on previews and reviews.

かがみの孤城
Novel
Level 28

Read 小6, some 中1-3 (~1500+ kanji). No furigana.
Kanji: all Joyo kanji as far as I can tell, furigana on first appearance.
~N2 level.

Kanji shown: There are kanji from the whole Joyo range, and it seems kana is used not so much for difficult words but rather where optionally acceptable to create a visually-targeted mix of kana and kanji.

No furigana: grades 1-6, some middle school kanji don't have furigana and some do. The cutoff for words with middle school level kanji doesn't appear to be kanji based but rather based on the expected familiarity with that word.

Furigana is light: only on first appearance for the more difficult words that use middle school kanji , but furigana seems to always appear for words using the hard 難 level kanji.

The vocabulary is around middle school level but the kanji use is well beyond and wide ranging, so a useful step toward an adult level novel (adult vocabulary uses many more kanji compound words)


Based on previews and comments from people comparing paper and electronic versions (same kana/ kanji strategy)

Read 小6, some 中1-3 (~1500+ kanji). No furigana.
Kanji: all Joyo kanji as far as I can tell, furigana on first appearance.
~N2 level.

Kanji shown: There are kanji from the whole Joyo range, and it seems kana is used not so much for difficult words but rather where optionally acceptable to create a visually-targeted mix of kana and kanji.

No furigana: grades 1-6, some middle school kanji don't have furigana and some do. The cutoff for words with middle school level kanji doesn't appear to be kanji based but rather based on the expected familiarity with that word.

Furigana is light: only on first appearance for the more difficult words that use middle school kanji , but furigana seems to always appear for words using the hard 難 level kanji.

The vocabulary is around middle school level but the kanji use is well beyond and wide ranging, so a useful step toward an adult level novel (adult vocabulary uses many more kanji compound words)


Based on previews and comments from people comparing paper and electronic versions (same kana/ kanji strategy)

I've put this in as a resource commonly recommended to help people get into reading slightly older Japanese text. These are pre-war classics by native Japanese authors. The stories are a bit older (~1900-1920), so some words may be dated or less common today. However, the edition reflects modern kana usage and has replaced outdated kanji or clarified readings with furigana.

The furigana strategy is not entirely clear.
You should probably be comfortable reading kanji through about the 中1 (early middle school) level.

Furigana is shown on the first appearance from approximately the 中2 level onwards. There is a running dictionary at the bottom of each page, dual text (English translation on one side), and commentary to help understand the context and any unusual words.

Content warning: some stories are dark, bordering horror, and there is depiction of sexual assault.
Assessment based on comments from a reader.

I've put this in as a resource commonly recommended to help people get into reading slightly older Japanese text. These are pre-war classics by native Japanese authors. The stories are a bit older (~1900-1920), so some words may be dated or less common today. However, the edition reflects modern kana usage and has replaced outdated kanji or clarified readings with furigana.

The furigana strategy is not entirely clear.
You should probably be comfortable reading kanji through about the 中1 (early middle school) level.

Furigana is shown on the first appearance from approximately the 中2 level onwards. There is a running dictionary at the bottom of each page, dual text (English translation on one side), and commentary to help understand the context and any unusual words.

Content warning: some stories are dark, bordering horror, and there is depiction of sexual assault.
Assessment based on comments from a reader.