Japanese Reading Practice: Apartment Rules About Bicycles and Rubbish

Read an invented apartment notice and separate an allowed location from a prohibited one. Find the day and time limit in the rubbish instruction.

Read the text

住んでいる皆さんへ

自転車は建物の後ろに置いてください。入り口の前に置かないでください。

ごみは水曜日の朝、八時までに出してください。

夜は廊下で大きな声で話さないでください。

How to read this text

The positive and negative requests concern different locations. 後ろ is behind; 前 is in front. A reader who notices only 置いてください will miss the restriction on the entrance.

The rubbish sentence gives both a day and a deadline. 八時までに means by eight, not from eight onwards. The last sentence concerns speaking loudly at night, not a statement that every sound is prohibited. These are invented rules for language practice. Actual rubbish collection and building rules must be checked locally; the exercise is not a guide to a real municipality or lease.

English translation — check after your first reading

To residents: Please put bicycles behind the building. Do not put them in front of the entrance. Put rubbish out on Wednesday morning by eight. At night, please do not speak loudly in the corridor.

Examples to read before you practise

The notice or message above is fictional and was written for this exercise. Answer from this text; do not assume that a real service follows these hours or rules.

Try six questions

Try these self-check questions from memory, then compare your answers with the explanations. For automatic checking and saved progress, open the related practice after this article.

1. Where should bicycles be put? Complete 建物の（　）.

2. Where should they not be put? Complete 入り口の（　）.

3. What day is rubbish put out in this fictional notice?

4. By what hour in the morning? Type digits only.

5. Where does the last instruction apply? Copy the place noun.

6. 置く → nai form for the negative request

Answer key and explanations

1. 後ろ / うしろ — The positive request specifies behind the building.

2. 前 / まえ — The negative request specifies in front of the entrance.

3. 水曜日 / すいようび — The notice specifies Wednesday.

4. 8 — 八時までに gives eight as the deadline.

5. 廊下 / ろうか — The final sentence mentions the corridor.

6. 置かない / おかない — 置かないでください uses the nai form.

Keep learning

• Study nai de kudasai.

• Study no location words.

• Read a new text and try five questions.

• See your daily study and review schedule.

Related lessons

• Japanese Reading Practice: A Train Notice with a Changed Departure Time

• Japanese Reading Practice: A Part-Time Job Notice and Its Schedule

• Desu vs Da Practice: Noun Sentences in Plain and Polite Style