Japanese for Tabletop Games: Asking About Furigana and Kanji Readings on Cards
Learn beginner Japanese phrases to ask about furigana and kanji readings on game cards, confirm meanings with other players, and keep a session moving smoothly.
By PookieFriends & plans · Yapr Learn
When you sit down at a Japanese tabletop game, the cards may be dense with kanji, and small furigana may be printed beside them. If you cannot read a character or you are unsure which reading applies, you do not need to guess silently. This lesson gives you beginner-level Japanese for asking about readings and furigana on cards, checking meanings with other players, and responding when someone explains a card to you. You will practice the core question patterns この漢字の読み方は何ですか and ふりがなはどこですか, plus the vocabulary you need for card text such as カードの文字 and ルビ. The goal is practical table talk: short, polite questions that fit naturally between turns.
By the end, you can…
- ask how a kanji on a game card is read.
- ask where the furigana is printed on a card.
- confirm the meaning of a card word with another player.
- respond politely when someone explains a reading to me.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
この漢字の読み方は何ですか。
How is this kanji read?
kono kanji no yomikata wa nan desu ka
Point to the kanji on the card as you say it. This asks for the reading, not the meaning.
ふりがなはどこですか。
Where is the furigana?
furigana wa doko desu ka
Use this when the card has small kana printed near the kanji, or when you cannot find them.
このカードの文字は何と読みますか。
How do you read the text on this card?
kono kādo no moji wa nan to yomimasu ka
A slightly fuller question for when several characters or a whole card title are unclear.
この言葉の意味は何ですか。
What does this word mean?
kono kotoba no imi wa nan desu ka
Use after you know the reading but still do not understand the card effect or keyword.
ルビを見てもいいですか。
May I look at the ruby text?
rubi o mite mo ii desu ka
ルビ refers to the small reading gloss printed beside kanji. Ask before leaning in or handling someone else's card.
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
The pattern この〜の読み方は何ですか asks specifically about how something is read. Replace 漢字 with another noun to fit the card: このカードの読み方は何ですか (How is this card read?), この名前の読み方は何ですか (How is this name read?). For a whole phrase or title, このカードの文字は何と読みますか is natural because 何と読みますか asks 'how do you read it?' The answer often comes as 〜と読みます, for example これは「たたかう」と読みます (This is read as 'tatakau'). Keep the question short and point to the exact part of the card you mean.
When to use it
Use ふりがなはどこですか when the card is supposed to have small kana but you cannot locate them, or when you want to check whether the tiny text beside a kanji is furigana or part of the design. Use この漢字の読み方は何ですか when you can see the character clearly but do not know its reading. Use この言葉の意味は何ですか after the reading is clear but the card's effect or keyword is still unclear. At a table, it is polite to ask during a pause rather than in the middle of someone's turn, and to thank the person briefly with ありがとうございます.
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
すみません、このカードの漢字の読み方が分かりません。
Excuse me, I don't know how to read the kanji on this card.sumimasen, kono kādo no kanji no yomikata ga wakarimasenどの漢字ですか。ふりがなはどこですか。
Which kanji? Where is the furigana?dono kanji desu ka. furigana wa doko desu kaここです。この小さい文字です。読み方は何ですか。
Here. This small text. How is it read?koko desu. kono chiisai moji desu. yomikata wa nan desu kaああ、それは「こうげき」と読みます。意味は「攻撃」です。
Ah, that is read as 'kōgeki'. It means 'attack'.ā, sore wa kōgeki to yomimasu. imi wa kōgeki desuA little context goes a long way
At a Japanese game table, asking about a reading is normal and helpful, but keep the question focused on the card in front of you. Use すみません to open, and ありがとうございます to close. If someone explains a reading, repeating it back with 〜と読みますか confirms you understood without sounding like a challenge. Avoid grabbing another player's cards; ask 見てもいいですか before looking closely.
One thing to watch for
Asking この漢字は何ですか when you want to know how it is read.
Try this instead: この漢字は何ですか sounds like 'What is this kanji?' and may get you the character's name or meaning, not its reading. Use この漢字の読み方は何ですか or この漢字は何と読みますか. For example, この漢字の読み方は何ですか。 — kono kanji no yomikata wa nan desu ka.
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1You see a kanji on a card but no small kana beside it. Which question asks where the furigana is?
Show a sample answer
ふりがなはどこですか。
This directly asks where the furigana is. If you also need the reading itself, follow with この漢字の読み方は何ですか。
2You know the card says 攻撃 but you do not know what it means. What do you ask?
Show a sample answer
この言葉の意味は何ですか。
This asks for the meaning of the word. You can also point and say これはどういう意味ですか, which is natural in conversation.
3Another player says それは「こうげき」と読みます。 How can you confirm you heard the reading correctly?
Show a sample answer
「こうげき」と読みますか。
Repeating the reading with 〜と読みますか confirms it politely. A simple なるほど、ありがとうございます also works if you are confident.
Point to the exact kanji, ask この漢字の読み方は何ですか for the reading, ask ふりがなはどこですか when the small kana are missing, and confirm meanings with この言葉の意味は何ですか. Short, polite questions keep the game moving.
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