# JFT-Basic Reading 4-1: short letters, messages and notices

Category 4-1 gives a short everyday text and asks what it says. Why the answer is rarely the sentence that repeats the question's words, with three worked items.

## The short answer

Comprehending Content is category 4-1, the first of the two Reading Comprehension categories. You read a short everyday text, such as a message from a colleague or a piece in a town magazine, and answer a question about it. The Japan Foundation's purpose for it is reading a short and simple letter, message or similar text. The whole text is on screen, so nothing has to be remembered.

## Key facts

- **Section:** Reading Comprehension
- **Category number:** 4-1
- **What it tests:** Reading a short and simple letter or message
- **Questions in the section:** Around 12
- **Stimulus:** A short everyday text, on screen throughout
- **Review:** Allowed anywhere inside the section

Sections, categories and rules come from the Japan Foundation's JFT-Basic pages and its "About the JFT-Basic" deck, checked 27 September 2026.

## How it's scored

This category comes last, and the 60 minutes covers the whole test. Time borrowed at the start is time taken from here. That is the most common reason people rush a reading they could have answered.

The texts are ordinary: a note left on a desk, a message about a change of plan, a short piece in a community magazine. The question usually asks what someone did, what they want, or how they felt about something.

> Read the question first, then the text. Everything stays on screen and nothing is timed per question. There is no reason to read a text before you know what you need from it.

## Comprehending Content examples

Worked examples written for this page. Answer each one before you open the model response: memorizing a response is scored as an irrelevant answer in the real test.

**Example 1 -- a message about a change**

> リンさんへ
> 
> おつかれさまです。あしたの 打ち合わせですが、部長が 出張から 帰るのが おそく なるので、時間を 午後3時から 午後4時半に かえました。場所は 同じ 2かいの 会議室です。
> しりょうは 今日中に メールで 送って ください。会議の 前に 見て おきたいので、よろしく おねがいします。
> 
> 田中

Prompt: リンさんは 今日、何を しなければ なりませんか。 What must Lin do today?

- A. 会議室を よやくする
- B. 部長を むかえに 行く
- C. 打ち合わせの 時間を かえる
- D. しりょうを メールで 送る
Answer: D.

Model response: しりょうを メールで 送る. 今日中に is the only thing in the message asked of Lin today; the time change is something Tanaka has already done.

Why it scores: Most of the message is about the meeting, so the meeting-shaped options look right. The question asks what Lin must do, and only one sentence is addressed to her as an instruction.

**Example 2 -- how someone felt**

> 先月、町の ぼうさい訓練に はじめて さんかしました。日本語が まだ よく わからないので、少し しんぱいでしたが、町の 人が ゆっくり 話して くれました。消火器の 使い方も おしえて もらいました。
> 一人で 住んで いると、こういう ことを 知る きかいが ありません。来年も かならず 行こうと 思って います。

Prompt: この 人は 訓練に ついて どう 思いましたか。 How did this person feel about the drill?

- A. 行って よかったので、また 行きたい
- B. 日本語が わからなかったので、もう 行きたくない
- C. 消火器は むずかしくて 使えなかった
- D. 町の 人が はやく 話すので こまった
Answer: A.

Model response: 行って よかったので、また 行きたい. The worry comes before が, and the last line says they will definitely go again next year.

Why it scores: The anxiety and the language difficulty are both really in the text, which is what makes the negative options tempting. が turns the sentence and 来年も かならず settles it.

**Example 3 -- what the town magazine offered**

> 「はるの まつり」の お知らせ
> 
> 4月12日(土)、みどり公園で はるの まつりを 行います。今年は はじめて、外国から 来た 方の ための 日本語の 相談コーナーを つくります。
> また、子どもむけの おかしづくり教室も あります。参加は むりょうですが、おかしづくりは 前の 日までに 申しこみが 必要です。

Prompt: おかしづくり教室に 参加したい 人は どうしますか。 What must someone do to join the sweets class?

- A. 当日 みどり公園で お金を はらう
- B. 4月11日までに 申しこむ
- C. 相談コーナーで 名前を 書く
- D. 何も しなくて いい
Answer: B.

Model response: 4月11日までに 申しこむ. The festival is on 12 April and the class needs an application by 前の 日, the day before.

Why it scores: 参加は むりょう sits right next to the requirement, which makes 何も しなくて いい look right. Free and no-application-needed are two different things, and the text says が between them.

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## Common mistakes

| What costs marks | Do this instead |
| --- | --- |
| Choosing the option that repeats words from the text. | Wrong options are built from the text's own vocabulary. Match the meaning, not the words. |
| Answering before が. | が, でも and however-words turn the sentence. In a text about a feeling they usually separate the worry from the verdict. |
| Missing who is being addressed. | A message can describe things the writer has done and things the reader must do. Check which one the question asks about. |
| Arriving here with no time left. | One clock runs all four sections. Budget the last stretch for reading before you start the test, not during it. |

**See how far 200 is** The JFT-Basic score checker turns a total on the 10-250 scale into its level band, says whether it clears A2, and works out what you still need. [Open the JFT-Basic score checker](/jft-basic/score-checker)

## How to practice

1. Read the question first every time you practice. The whole text is on screen in the test, so this is free.
2. Practice on real material: community magazines, workplace notes, school newsletters. That is the register this category uses.
3. For each item you miss, find the sentence that actually held the answer and mark what made you look elsewhere.
4. Time a full 60-minute mock rather than this section alone. Running out of time here is a pacing problem from earlier in the test.

## Common questions

### How long are JFT-Basic reading texts?

Short. The Japan Foundation describes them as short and simple letters, messages and explanations from everyday situations. The whole text stays on screen while you answer.

### Can one text carry more than one question?

Yes. The Japan Foundation's own sample for this category asks two questions about one piece from a town magazine. Expect to read once and answer more than once.

### Is Reading Comprehension the last section?

Yes, and the 60 minutes is shared across all four sections. Whatever you spend earlier is taken from here, which is why pacing shows up as a reading problem.

**Sources**
- [The Japan Foundation: About the JFT-Basic, test structure and categories (PDF)](https://www.jpf.go.jp/jft-basic/e/about/pdf/describing_en.pdf)
- [The Japan Foundation: about the JFT-Basic (checked 27 September 2026)](https://www.jpf.go.jp/jft-basic/e/about/index.html)

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