Taking off your shoes at the genkan
Why Japanese homes have a step at the entrance, why shoes come off, and how to line them up neatly. JLPT N5 reading with translation.
Passage (Japanese)
日本では、家に入るとき、玄関で靴をぬぎます。これは、日本の昔からの習慣です。
日本の家は、外と中の間に、少し高くなっている所があります。靴は、その下でぬいで、家の中は靴をはかないで歩きます。
どうして靴をぬぐのでしょうか。外の汚れを、家の中に持ちこまないためだと言われています。日本では、ゆかにすわったり、ふとんをしいてねたりすることもあるので、ゆかをきれいにしておきたいのです。
靴をぬいだら、つま先を外のほうに向けて、きれいにそろえると、ていねいです。家だけでなく、学校やおてらなどでも、靴をぬぐことがあります。
Translation
In Japan, when you enter a home, you take off your shoes at the genkan (entryway). This is a long-standing Japanese custom.
Japanese homes have a slightly raised area between the outside and the inside. You take off your shoes below it, and inside the house you walk around without shoes.
Why do people take off their shoes? It is said to be so that dirt from outside is not brought into the house. In Japan, people sometimes sit on the floor or lay out futons to sleep, so they want to keep the floor clean.
After taking off your shoes, it is polite to line them up neatly with the toes pointing toward the outside. Shoes are taken off not only at homes, but sometimes also at places such as schools and temples.
Comprehension questions
Choose an answer for each question, then check.
Q1日本では、どこで靴をぬぎますか。
In Japan, where do people take off their shoes?
Q2靴をぬぐのは、どうしてだと言われていますか。
Why is it said that people take off their shoes?
Q3靴をていねいにそろえるとき、つま先をどちらに向けますか。
When lining up your shoes neatly, which way should the toes point?
