Konnichiyall! How’s it going? Today I’ve got a fun study trick for you to get faster at reading in Japanese!
Do you find yourself going at a snail’s pace when you read Japanese, carefully sounding out every syllable along the way? You definitely aren’t alone!
It used to take me forever to read anything. I remember getting so jealous of my girlfriend (who also learned Japanese as a second language) when she’d rap off an entire product label before I could even get through the first word.
If you’re a bit of a perfectionist like me, you might have trouble forcing yourself to go quickly at the expense of accuracy. If so, I’ve got the method for you, and you don’t have to open a single book.
Karaoke!
Yep, that’s right. Grab your mic, because karaoke is awesome for learning to read Japanese! Or, at least grab your phone, open YouTube, and search for your favorite Japanese songs.
Studying Japanese Using Karaoke
The reason that karaoke works isn’t just because it’s fun, although that does help keep our brains interested, engaged, and learning quickly. The main benefit of karaoke is the speed. The song forces you to speed up your reading. Whether we’re ready or not, it’ll go on, and if you don’t keep up, it’ll leave you behind!
The first time you try to sing a song, it might feel overwhelming, but with practice, you’ll gain confidence in your association of the symbols with their sound, and before long you’ll be belting it out without thinking about it. If you live in Japan, you can blow away your friends and coworkers with your Japanese singing skills (the alcohol will help with the nerves, I promise), and if not, you can look forward to having the full karaoke experience when you come to visit!
Be sure to search in Japanese for Japanese results, or you might get a lot of English subtitled results. The Japanese word for lyrics is 歌詞 (かし; kashi) so if I’m searching for my favorite song in Japanese I’ll search like this: 米須健氏レモン歌詞カラオケ (Yonezu Kenshi Lemon lyrics karaoke) and if I want hiragana only I’ll just add the word ひらがな to the search. I’ll paste a good result below. If you can't find a video of the song you’re looking for with hiragana only, then just open one of the links with written lyrics under the regular search tab, and follow along with them while you play the song in the background.
Another awesome option, especially if it’s a song you don’t already know the tune of, is to use the regular version of the song instead of the karaoke version. This way, you’ll hear instantly if you make a mistake, and get listening practice from the singer as well while you read along! If you can read some kanji, Spotify has an awesome lyrics feature built in, but if not, you can search for the lyrics in hiragana on the internet. For this, an English search will usually suffice. See the links below for an example!
My Favorite Japanese Songs to Sing at Karaoke
A lot of the Japanese music that I love is just TOO fast for me to sing, so here's a list of some popular songs that are actually doable with a good amount of practice.
Yonezu Kenshi
- Lemon is indeed my favorite karaoke song, and the first I learned to sing
- Ainekuraine is another good and slowish one for beginners
- Papurika is not my favorite song by him but it's easy to learn to sing!
SPiCYSOL
- 10years vintage is very SLOW and GREAT for beginners!
YOASOBI
I love so many Yoasobi songs but a lot of the most popular ones are way too fast for me
- Tabun
- Gunjou
- Mou sukoshi dake
Radwimps
- Suzume
- Nandemonaiya
Ado
- Shinjidai, Watashi wa Saikyou, and Gyakkou are both a bit of a challenge but super fun to sing! And the repeating chorus makes it fun even if you miss the stuff in between.
- Kaze no yukue is very slow and easy and also so touching if you love One Piece
Do you want more Japanese reading practice? Check out my Japanese Reading Practice Series for Beginner and Intermediate level learners!
That’s all for today on Studying with Karaoke! Good luck, and happy singing!
As always, if you have any of your own stories, requests, comments, or concerns, please let me know below! I would love to know if you tried this method!
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読んでくれていつもありがとうございました！😊
（よんでくれていつもありがとうございました）
Thank you always for reading!
またね！