N4 Japanese Reading Practice: Neighbor's Plants
This free JLPT N4 reading practice follows a small favor: a neighbor asks the narrator to water the plants, the soil dries out, and a short note is left. Use furigana if you need it, check the notes, then generate more everyday scenes in Yomigi.
隣の人の植物
隣の人が一週間、旅行に行くので、植物に水をやってほしいと言われました。鍵を預かって、毎朝、隣の家のベランダに行っていました。三日目、一番小さい鉢の土が乾いていたので、水をいつもより少し多くやって、メモを残しました。「小さい鉢の土が乾いていたので、少し多く水をやりました。帰ったら見てくださいね。」
隣の人が一週間、旅行に行くので、植物に水をやってほしいと言われました。鍵を預かって、毎朝、隣の家のベランダに行っていました。三日目、一番小さい鉢の土が乾いていたので、水をいつもより少し多くやって、メモを残しました。「小さい鉢の土が乾いていたので、少し多く水をやりました。帰ったら見てくださいね。」Summary
A neighbor who is leaving on a one-week trip asks the narrator to water the plants. They take the key and go to the neighbor’s balcony every morning. On the third day the smallest pot’s soil is dry, so they give it a bit more water than usual. They leave a note explaining what happened and ask the neighbor to check the pot after returning.
Key Vocabulary
- 隣となりnext door / neighboring
- 預かってあずかってtake into one’s care / keep for someone (て-form of 預かる)
- 植物しょくぶつplants
- 鉢はちplant pot
- 乾いていたかわいていたwas dry / had dried out
- 残しましたのこしましたleft (behind) (polite past of 残す)
Grammar Notes
- 〜てほしい for what someone wants you to do
- 水をやってほしい is the neighbor’s request: they want the narrator to water the plants. やる is the usual verb for watering plants, not あげる.
- 〜ていました for a repeated action
- 毎朝ベランダに行っていました is the daily habit during the trip. Plain 行きました would sound like a single visit.
- 〜ので for a soft reason
- 乾いていたので explains why they gave extra water. The ので clause stays in plain form even when the main sentence is polite.
Comprehension
01Why did the narrator start watering the plants?Reveal AnswerHide Answer
The neighbor was going on a one-week trip and asked them to water the plants (水をやってほしいと言われました).
02What did they notice on the third day?Reveal AnswerHide Answer
The soil in the smallest pot was dry (土が乾いていた).
03What did they do after giving extra water?Reveal AnswerHide Answer
They left a note explaining that the soil was dry and asking the neighbor to check the pot when they get back.
Why This Level
A small household favor with a mild problem—typical N4 stretch past N5 fact lists.
Uses てほしい, ていました, and ので without nested workplace nuance.
Vocabulary stays concrete (neighbor, key, balcony, pot, dry soil, note).