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N5 Japanese Culture Lesson

Onigiri: The Japanese Rice Ball

おにぎり

7:02 min video · 21 sentences · 7 key words

Transcript with English

Click a line to hear it, or loop it to shadow it.
  1. 0:01
  2. 0:10
  3. 0:22
  4. 0:33
  5. 0:57
  6. 1:11
  7. 1:21
  8. 1:34
  9. 1:44
  10. 1:54
  11. 2:07
  12. 2:18
  13. 2:27
  14. 2:53
  15. 3:03
  16. 3:11
  17. 3:23
  18. 3:33
  19. 3:42
  20. 3:53
  21. 4:01

About this lesson

This lesson explains what onigiri are, what goes inside, how people eat them, and why they are loved in Japan.

How to practise

  1. Read what you will learn on the first card, then follow the lesson section by section with English.
  2. Repeat every sentence out loud in the 言ってみよう · Your turn pause: you learn the facts and the words together.
  3. At the end, check the recap and answer the question in the YouTube comments.

おにぎり

Onigiri

In this lesson

  • What onigiri is and its usual shape
  • Popular fillings like plum and salmon
  • How people eat and buy onigiri

Key takeaways

  • Onigiri is a lump of rice, often a triangle.
  • Plum and salmon are popular fillings.
  • People eat onigiri with their hands.
  • Konbini wrappers keep the seaweed crispy.

Your turn: Do you have a food like onigiri in your country?

Key words

JapaneseEnglishLevel
おにぎりrice ballN4
ごはんrice, mealN5
のりseaweed sheetN5
うめpickled plumN5
しゃけsalmonN5
手handN5
コンビニconvenience storeN5

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