📖 Study Guide
Learn Japanese through stories.
These stories include Japanese culture,
daily life, travel experiences,
and conversations between people.
1. Read the English text.
2. Read the Japanese text.
3. Use Romaji if needed.
4. Review the vocabulary.
🌸 Story
Sumire is looking at the calendar, lost in thought.
すみれが、カレンダーを見ながら何か考えている。
Sumire ga, karendā o minagara nanika kangaete iru.
my birthday, right?
私の誕生日だよね？
watashi no tanjōbi da yo ne?
Happy birthday! ❣️
お誕生日おめでとー❣️
Otanjōbi omedetō! ❣️
…And
what about tomorrow?
……で、
明日は？
…De,
ashita wa?
And yet…
なのに……
Na no ni…
being combined again this year? 😤
誕生日まとめられちゃうの？😤
tanjōbi matomerarechau no? 😤
we’re twins. 😊
双子だもん😊
futago da mon. 😊
our birthdays are on different days.
誕生日は別の日だもん。
tanjōbi wa betsu no hi da mon.
eat cake
two days in a row! 🎂😤
二日連続で、
ケーキを食べられるのにー🎂😤
Futsuka renzoku de,
kēki o taberareru no nī! 🎂😤
has her own birthday,
so we should each
get our own cake day! 😤
一日ずつ誕生日なんだから、
ケーキだって、
一日ずつでしょー😤
ichinichi zutsu tanjōbi nan dakara,
kēki datte,
ichinichi zutsu deshō! 😤
smiling like that?
ニコニコしてるの？
nikoniko shiteru no?
From the back, she takes out
a pudding à la mode she had hidden there.
奥から、こっそり隠していた
プリンアラモードを取り出した。
Oku kara, kossori kakushite ita
purin aramōdo o toridashita.
Sumire’s birthday celebration! 🎉
前夜祭ー🎉
zen’yasai! 🎉
The eve?
前夜祭？
Zen’yasai?
whose birthday eve is it? 😐
誰の前夜祭？😐
Dare no zen’yasai? 😐
passes between them.
少しだけ沈黙が流れる。
sukoshi dake chinmoku ga nagareru.
Today,
we’re celebrating you, Sumire! ❣️
今日は、
すみれのお祝い❣️
Kyō wa,
Sumire no oiwai! ❣️
Thank you. 🌸
ありがとう🌸
Arigatō. 🌸
but it is a small celebration just for August 31.
Together, the two of them
begin eating the pudding à la mode.
8月31日だけの小さなお祝い。
ふたりは一緒に、
プリンアラモードを食べ始めた。
hachigatsu sanjūichinichi dake no chiisana oiwai.
Futari wa issho ni,
purin aramōdo o tabehajimeta.
💭 Story Note
In Japan, family members whose birthdays are close together may sometimes share one celebration or one birthday cake. It can be practical, but each birthday still feels like a personal and important day.
Sumire and Sakura are twins, yet their birthdays fall on different dates because they were born one hour apart—Sumire at 11:30 p.m. on August 31 and Sakura at 12:30 a.m. on September 1. This makes their two birthdays both shared and individual.
📚 Vocabulary
Here are five words and expressions from this story about birthdays, twins, and celebrating together.
| English | Japanese | Romaji |
|---|---|---|
| birthday | 誕生日 | tanjōbi |
| twins | 双子 | futago |
| tomorrow | 明日 | ashita |
| celebration | お祝い | oiwai |
| pudding à la mode | プリンアラモード | purin aramōdo |
The noun **お祝い (oiwai)** means “a celebration,” “a gift for a happy occasion,” or the act of celebrating something special.
You can use it for birthdays, weddings, graduations, and other happy events.
「今日は、すみれのお祝い。」
This means, “Today is Sumire’s celebration.”
The verb form is **お祝いする (oiwai suru)**, meaning “to celebrate.” In casual conversation, Japanese speakers also often use **祝う (iwau)**, another verb meaning “to celebrate.”
🔰 Mix Words and Feel Their Meaning｜ことばを混ぜて、感覚をつかもう
This time, try mixing **お祝い (oiwai)** into an English sentence.
“We’re having a small お祝い tonight.”
“This pudding is for Sumire’s お祝い.”
The sentence may sound unusual at first. That is fine. Try explaining in your own words what kind of happy feeling お祝い carries.
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