Japanese Vocabulary & Reading Practice: Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Many Japanese learners eventually discover that textbooks and classrooms only cover a limited range of topics and vocabulary. But if you want to watch Japanese news, discuss history, or better understand Japanese media and conversations, it’s important to gradually expand your vocabulary beyond everyday classroom topics.
In this article, we’ll explore Japanese vocabulary and reading practice related to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We’ll look at useful vocabulary, analyze several Japanese article headlines, and read part of a Japanese article together.
This article is designed to help intermediate and advanced Japanese learners build confidence discussing more serious real-world topics using authentic Japanese materials.
Welcome to the first instalment of "Let's talk about it in Japanese".
Before we get into it, I would like to clarify that this is a very serious topic and should be handled with care. That being said, in order to stay focused on learning, and the fact that I believe that learning should be seen as a positive thing, you will see me smile throughout the video.
If you want to practise reading out loud, if you need repetition or you want to shadow, please feel free to pause and go back to rewatch or relisten to any section you’d like. And, at the end, please share your feedback in the comments. I’d love to know if you found this video to be a helpful step toward expanding your ability to communicate in Japanese on topics that your textbooks may not include.
Important Japanese Vocabulary About Hiroshima & Nagasaki
Let's begin by going over key important vocabulary. Some of the words we're about to look at you may already know, some you may not know.
The only two cities in the world that have had an atomic bomb dropped on them are Hiroshima (広島) and Nagasaki (長崎). If you'd like your pronunciation of these two places to sound natural and native-like, use the pitch accent guides to help you. Hiroshima is a heiban word, and Nagasaki is a nakadaka word.
Atomic bomb is 原子爆弾 （げんしばくだん/genshi bakudan) but because it's a longer word, it's often shortened to 原爆 （げんばく/genbaku)
記念日（きねんび/kinenbi) - anniversary or memorial day
被爆者（ひばくしゃ/hibakusha) - bomb victim(s)
後遺症（こういしょう/kōishō) - after effect(s)
核兵器（かくへいき/kakuheiki) - nuclear weapon(s) or nuclear arms
第二次世界大戦（だいにじせかいたいせん/daijini sekai taisen) - WW2
命を失う（いのちをうしなう/inochi o ushinau) - to lose a life/lives
亡くなる（なくなる/nakunaru) - to pass away
原爆投下（げんばくとうか/genbaku tōka), 原爆を落とす（ばくだんをおとす /genbaku o otosu) - dropping of bomb(s), to drop bomb(s)
爆心地（ばくしんち/bakushinchi) - hypocenter
This is not a complete list, but these are some of the most commonly used words when talking or reading about this topic.
Reading Japanese News Headlines
One useful way to improve your Japanese reading skills is to analyze real Japanese news headlines. Headlines often contain compressed grammar, formal vocabulary, and culturally important terminology. Let’s now look at three news article titles.
Example 1: Asahi News
The first one is from Asahi:
原爆のこと知っていますか 深く学ぶためのQ&A（げんばくのことをしっていますか ふかくまなぶためのQ&A/Genbaku no koto o shitte imasu ka Fukaku manabu tame no Q&A)
If 原爆 (げんばく/genbaku) is the only new word for you here, you may already know that this title means “Do you know about the atomic bomb? Q&A for deeper learning”
If you decide to check out this article to read more, you’ll see that this is part of the Q&A series by Asahi Newspaper, written for elementary school students to learn about different topics.
Example 2: Yomiuri Newspaper
Let’s try another article, this time from Yomiuri:
Written for adults, this title is much longer and more complex.
長崎「原爆の日」77年被爆者らが平和への祈り…市長「核兵器使用は杞憂でなく今ある危機」（ながさき「げんばくのひ」77ねんひばくしゃらがへいわへのいのり…しちょう「かくへいきしようはきゆうでなはくいまあるきき」/Nagasaki “Genbaku no hi” Nanajū nana nen Hibakusha ra ga heiwa e no inori… Shichō “Kakuheiki shiyō wa kiyū de wa naku ima aru kiki”)
Given the words we just learned - and perhaps a couple of extra checks with a dictionary - your understanding of this title should be:
Nagasaki's "Atomic Bomb Day'" - 77 years after the bombing, survivors pray for peace... Mayor says, "The use of nuclear weapons is not a baseless concern, but a crisis today.'"
Example 3: WebJapan
Let’s take a look at one last article title, this time from WebJapan:
You can tell by the simplicity of the title and the 読み仮名（よみがな/yomigana) that this is written for children.
The title is: 原爆の日と終戦記念日（げんばくのひとしゅうせんきねんび/Genbaku no hi to shūsen kinen bi), which means “Atomic Bomb Day and the Anniversary of the End of the War”.
原爆の日（げんばくのひ/genbaku no hi) which we saw in the second and third article titles could also be translated as “the day of the atomic bombing”.
Reading Practice: A Japanese Paragraph About Hiroshima & Nagasaki
Let’s stay on this last article and practicing reading the first paragraph. Especially if there are a lot of new words for you, I hope that having the 読み仮名（よみがな/yomigana) will be helpful.
広島と長崎の両方の爆心地は平和記念公園になっています。それぞれ8月6日と9日に、原子爆弾の犠牲者を悼み、永遠の平和を願う式典が各公園で行われます。二つの市の住民だけではなく、多くの日本人が原子爆弾を投下された唯一の国の国民として、戦争と核兵器のない世界の実現を願っています。（ひろしまとながさきのりょうほうのばくしんちはへいわきねんこうえんになっています。それぞれ8がつむいかとここのかに、げんしばくだんのぎせいしゃをいたみ、えいえんのへいわをねがうしきてんがかくこうえんでおこなわれます。ふたつのしのじゅうみんだけではなく、おおくのにほんじんが、げんしばくだんをとうかされたゆいいつのくにのこくみんとして、せんそうとかくへいきのないせかいのじつげんをねがっています。/Hiroshima to Nagasaki no ryōhō no bakushinchi wa heiwa kinen kōen ni natte imasu. Sorezore hachigatsu muika to kokonoka ni genshi bakudan no giseisha o itami, eien no heiwa o negau shikiten ga kaku kōen de okonawaremasu. Futatsu no shi no jūmin dake de wa naku, ōku no nihonjin ga genshi bakudan o tōka sareta yūitsu no kuni no kokumin to shite, sensō to kakuheiki no nai sekai no jitsugen o negatteimasu.)
Additional Japanese Vocabulary
You may have recognized some of the vocabulary from earlier, but there may be other words that are unfamiliar to you.
Are any of these words new?
平和（へいわ/heiwa) - peace
犠牲者（ぎせいしゃ/giseisha) - victim(s)
悼む（いたむ/itamu) - to mourn
永遠（えいえん/eien) - forever
式典（しきてん/shikiten) - ceremony
各（かく/kaku) - each
唯一（ゆいいつ/yuiitsu) - only
実現（じつげん/jitsugen) - realization
And just a quick note about 唯一（ゆいいつ/yuiitsu), you’ll notice that it’s ゆいいつ (yu i i tsu) but the pronunciation is ゆういつ (yu u i tsu).
Once we put everything together, this paragraph can be translated as:
“The hypocenters of both Hiroshima and Nagasaki are presently serving as Peace Memorial Parks. On August 6th and 9th, respectively, ceremonies are held in each park to mourn the victims of the atomic bombings and pray for eternal peace. As citizens of the only country to have been hit by an atomic bomb, not only residents of the two cities, but many Japanese people, hope for a world free of war and nuclear weapons.”
These are just 3 of many authentic news articles and other media about the atomic bombings that you can read, watch, or discuss to learn more. Some are more graphic than others. Some are geared toward children, and others for adults. A lot of them are great for intermediate and advanced Japanese language learners who want to practice reading and expand their vocabulary.
Recommended Resources for Further Learning
If you’re looking for non-news resources, I recommend listening to Setsuko Thurlow. She is a bilingual hibakusha, a survivor from Hiroshima who lives in Canada. Listening to survivors speak directly about their experiences can also be a meaningful way to practice listening comprehension while learning more about this important history. And if you’re visiting Japan, I’d like to recommend the museum in Hiroshima. I’ve been a few times myself, and it’s not easy going through it, but it’s a valuable experience that you really can’t get anywhere else.
Final Thoughts
Expanding your Japanese beyond textbook topics can help you better understand Japanese media, culture, and real-world conversations. Even difficult topics can become valuable opportunities for language growth, listening practice, and deeper cultural understanding.
If you’d like more support improving your Japanese pronunciation, reading skills, and confidence with authentic materials, explore the free resources below or check out Japanese Phonetics 101.
Thank you for joining me in this first instalment of "Let's talk about it in Japanese 「日本語でも話そう」” where we use authentic Japanese materials to look at a wider range of topics, including politics and social justice, not covered in classrooms or textbooks in order to empower Japanese language learners - like yourself - so that you can widen your scope of conversation, learning, and understanding. I hope you found today’s topic meaningful.
Please feel free to share your thoughts with me in the comments below. Thank you!
Frequently Asked Questions About Learning Japanese Through Real-World Topics
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Yes — reading Japanese news can be excellent practice, especially for intermediate and advanced learners. News articles expose you to authentic Japanese vocabulary, formal grammar, and real-world topics that are often not covered in textbooks. Even if you don’t understand everything at first, reading headlines, short articles, or children’s news resources can help improve your vocabulary, reading comprehension, and familiarity with natural Japanese writing styles.
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The level required depends on the type of article. Some resources, such as children’s news articles with 読み仮名 (よみがな), are accessible to lower intermediate learners, while standard newspaper articles written for adults can be much more challenging. Even if your Japanese is not advanced yet, you can still practice by focusing on headlines, key vocabulary, and shorter passages. Using dictionaries and reading support tools can also make authentic materials more approachable!
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One of the best ways to learn vocabulary naturally is through repeated exposure to authentic Japanese materials such as news articles, videos, conversations, podcasts, and books. Learning words within meaningful contexts makes them easier to remember and understand. Reading about real-world topics and seeing vocabulary used repeatedly in different situations can also help learners better understand nuance, tone, and usage.
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Yes — studying more serious or complex topics can help learners expand their vocabulary, improve comprehension, and become more confident discussing real-world issues in Japanese. Textbooks often focus on everyday situations, but authentic Japanese communication includes history, politics, social issues, and current events as well. Exploring these topics thoughtfully can help learners better understand Japanese media, culture, and conversations beyond the classroom.
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Textbook Japanese is usually designed to teach grammar, vocabulary, and basic communication in a structured and simplified way. Real Japanese, however, often includes more advanced vocabulary, culturally specific references, varied levels of formality, and more natural sentence patterns. Authentic materials like news articles and interviews expose learners to the kinds of language actually used by native speakers in everyday life and public discourse.
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Improving Japanese reading comprehension takes regular exposure and practice. Reading authentic materials, learning key vocabulary, analyzing headlines, and working through short passages can all help build confidence over time. Reading out loud, shadowing, and revisiting difficult sections multiple times can also improve understanding. Starting with simpler materials — such as children’s articles with 読み仮名 — and gradually progressing to more advanced texts is often an effective approach.
