📖 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
A dragonfly is flying a little way ahead of them.
少し先を、トンボが飛んでいる。
Sukoshi saki o, tonbo ga tonde iru.
Are red dragonflies
really red?
赤とんぼって、
やっぱり赤いの？
Akatonbo tte,
yappari akai no?
so I guess they’re red, right?
赤いんじゃない？
akai n janai?
Some of them are bright red,
and others don’t seem that red…
真っ赤なのもいれば、
そうでもないのもいるような……
Makka na no mo ireba,
sō demo nai no mo iru yō na…
That’s true.
確かに。
Tashika ni.
doesn’t refer to just one species of dragonfly, nya.
Dragonflies such as members of the Sympetrum group,
which can turn reddish,
are often collectively called red dragonflies, nya.
Depending on the species, sex,
and stage of growth,
the amount of red can look different, nya.
一種類だけのトンボを指す言葉ではないにゃ。
赤く色づくアカネ属の仲間などを、
まとめて赤とんぼと呼ぶことがあるにゃ。
種類や性別、
成長の具合によっても、
赤みは違って見えるにゃ。
isshūri dake no tonbo o sasu kotoba de wa nai nya.
Akaku irozuku Akane-zoku no nakama nado o,
matomete akatonbo to yobu koto ga aru nya.
Shurui ya seibetsu,
seichō no guai ni yotte mo,
akami wa chigatte mieru nya.
just because they’re called red dragonflies,
they aren’t all the same red.
赤とんぼだからって、
みんな同じ赤じゃないんだ。
akatonbo dakara tte,
minna onaji aka janai n da.
you picture a bright red dragonfly.
真っ赤なトンボを思い浮かべちゃうね。
makka na tonbo o omoiukabechau ne.
Before a dragonfly becomes a dragonfly,
it’s a yago, right?
トンボって、
トンボになる前はヤゴだよね？
Tonbo tte,
tonbo ni naru mae wa yago da yo ne?
The one that lives in the water.
水の中にいるやつ。
Mizu no naka ni iru yatsu.
When dragonflies are young,
they live underwater as nymphs called yago, nya.
As they grow,
they come out of the water, emerge,
and become dragonflies that fly through the sky, nya.
トンボは幼虫のころ、
ヤゴとして水の中で暮らしているにゃ。
そして成長すると、
水から出て羽化して、
空を飛ぶトンボになるにゃ。
Tonbo wa yōchū no koro,
yago to shite mizu no naka de kurashite iru nya.
Soshite seichō suru to,
mizu kara dete uka shite,
sora o tobu tonbo ni naru nya.
to the sky…
When you think about it,
that’s an amazing change.
空へ……
考えてみると、
すごい変化だね。
sora e…
Kangaete miru to,
sugoi henka da ne.
they’re the same creature.
思えないくらいだよね。
omoenai kurai da yo ne.
I think I’ll look at it a little differently. 😊
ちょっと見方が変わりそう😊
chotto mikata ga kawarisō. 😊
That dragonfly too
used to live underwater.
あのトンボも、
昔は水の中にいたんだね。
Ano tonbo mo,
mukashi wa mizu no naka ni ita n da ne.
Now it flies through the air,
but its beginning was underwater.
Learning just one small thing
made the familiar autumn scenery
look a little different.
今は空を飛んでいるけれど、
その始まりは水の中。
ひとつ知るだけで、
いつもの秋の風景が
少し違って見えた。
Ima wa sora o tonde iru keredo,
sono hajimari wa mizu no naka.
Hitotsu shiru dake de,
itsumo no aki no fūkei ga
sukoshi chigatte mieta.
💭 Story Note
In Japan, 赤とんぼ（あかとんぼ / akatonbo） is strongly connected
with the scenery of autumn.
The word literally means “red dragonfly,”
but it does not always refer to one single species.
Several kinds of reddish dragonflies,
especially those in the Sympetrum group,
may be called 赤とんぼ in everyday Japanese.
Their color can also look different
depending on the species, sex, and stage of growth.
Dragonflies also have a very different appearance
before they can fly.
Their young form is called ヤゴ（yago） in Japanese.
Yago live underwater.
As they grow,
they leave the water, emerge,
and become the flying dragonflies we see in the sky.
So when people in Japan see a dragonfly in autumn,
they may simply think of a familiar seasonal scene.
But behind that familiar sight
is a life that began underwater.
📚 Vocabulary
Here are five words and expressions from today’s story.
They are useful for talking about dragonflies, growth, and nature in Japanese.
| English | Japanese | Romaji |
|---|---|---|
| red dragonfly | 赤とんぼ | akatonbo |
| dragonfly nymph | ヤゴ | yago |
| larva / young insect | 幼虫 | yōchū |
| to emerge / undergo emergence | 羽化する | uka suru |
| to become colored / turn a color | 色づく | irozuku |
**赤とんぼ（あかとんぼ / akatonbo）** literally means
“red dragonfly.”
赤（あか / aka） means “red,”
and とんぼ（tonbo） means “dragonfly.”
However, 赤とんぼ does not always refer
to one single species of dragonfly.
In everyday Japanese,
the word can be used for several kinds of reddish dragonflies
that are commonly seen in autumn.
So the word often carries
not only an image of a dragonfly,
but also the feeling of an autumn landscape.
In Japanese, you might say:
赤とんぼが飛んでいる。
Akatonbo ga tonde iru.
A red dragonfly is flying.
赤とんぼを見ると、秋を感じる。
Akatonbo o miru to, aki o kanjiru.
Seeing red dragonflies makes me feel that autumn has arrived.
Because of this seasonal connection,
赤とんぼ can feel like more than just the name of an insect.
It can also bring to mind a familiar scene of autumn in Japan.
🔰 Mix Words and Feel Their Meaning｜ことばを混ぜて、感覚をつかもう
Today’s word is **赤とんぼ（あかとんぼ / akatonbo）**.
Try mixing **赤とんぼ**
into English sentences you already understand.
I saw a 赤とんぼ flying outside.
We often see 赤とんぼ in autumn.
Seeing 赤とんぼ makes me think of autumn.
At first,
just treat **赤とんぼ** as one complete word.
It means “red dragonfly.”
But instead of remembering only the translation,
try connecting the word
with the image of an autumn sky.
When you hear **赤とんぼ**,
what kind of autumn scene
do you imagine?
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