MultiL · Texts

Read across five tongues.

Short articles and everyday conversations — Arabic fully vowelled, Japanese with furigana, English, Indonesian, and Chinese, each with a Thai gloss. Pick a language, pick a field, start reading.

25 conversations · history · page 1 / 2

JA · conversation

江戸えどまち

The Town of Edo

Two students talk about what daily life looked like in Edo-period Japan.

history · beginner
JA · conversation

ピラミッドなぞ

The Mystery of the Pyramids

A child asks a parent about who built the Egyptian pyramids and why.

history · beginner
JA · conversation

大化の改新たいかのかいしん

The Taika Reform

Two junior high students discuss the Taika Reform and how it changed ancient Japan.

history · beginner
JA · conversation

シルクロードたび

Travelling the Silk Road

A teacher and student talk about what traders carried along the ancient Silk Road.

history · beginner
JA · conversation

鎌倉かまくら幕府ばくふ始まりはじまり

The Start of the Kamakura Shogunate

Two elementary students discuss how Minamoto no Yoritomo founded Japan's first warrior government.

history · beginner
JA · conversation

万里の長城ばんりのちょうじょう

The Great Wall of China

Two friends talk about why the Great Wall was built and how long it took.

history · beginner
JA · conversation

黒船くろふね来航らいこう

Arrival of the Black Ships

A grandparent tells a grandchild about Commodore Perry's ships and the opening of Japan.

history · beginner
JA · conversation

奈良のならの大仏だいぶつ

The Great Buddha of Nara

A family visiting Nara's Todaiji discuss why the Great Buddha was built.

history · beginner
JA · conversation

縄文じょうもん時代じだい暮らしくらし

Life in the Jomon Period

Two students at a museum exhibit discuss what life was like for Jomon people in ancient Japan.

history · beginner
JA · conversation

明治維新めいじいしん近代化きんだいか

The Meiji Restoration and Modernisation

Two high school students discuss how Japan rapidly modernised after the Meiji Restoration.

history · intermediate
JA · conversation

古代ローマこだいローマ政治せいじ社会しゃかい

Politics and Society in Ancient Rome

Two university students compare the Roman Republic and Empire and discuss Roman society.

history · intermediate
JA · conversation

戦国時代せんごくじだい三英傑さんえいけつ

The Three Heroes of the Warring States Period

Two colleagues discuss Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu and their contrasting styles.

history · intermediate
JA · conversation

大航海時代だいこうかいじだい世界せかい地図ちず

The Age of Exploration and World Maps

Two students debate how European exploration changed the understanding of world geography.

history · intermediate
JA · conversation

平安時代へいあんじだい文化ぶんか

Culture of the Heian Period

A teacher and student discuss the literary and artistic flourishing of Japan's Heian period.

history · intermediate
JA · conversation

モンゴル帝国ていこく拡大かくだい

Expansion of the Mongol Empire

Two colleagues discuss how Genghis Khan built the largest land empire in history.

history · intermediate
JA · conversation

産業革命さんぎょうかくめい変えたかえた社会しゃかい

How the Industrial Revolution Changed Society

Two students discuss how Britain's Industrial Revolution transformed work, cities and daily life.

history · intermediate
JA · conversation

イスラーム文明ぶんめい黄金時代おうごんじだい

The Golden Age of Islamic Civilisation

Two friends discuss the scientific and cultural achievements of the Islamic Golden Age between the 8th and 13th centuries.

history · intermediate
JA · conversation

幕末ばくまつ攘夷論じょういろん開国論かいこくろん

Expulsionism vs. Opening Japan at the End of the Edo Period

Two graduate students debate the ideological clash between xenophobic expulsionism and the pro-opening faction in late Edo Japan.

history · advanced
JA · conversation

ルネサンス人文主義じんぶんしゅぎ思想しそう

The Renaissance and Humanist Thought

Two academics examine how Renaissance humanism challenged medieval scholasticism and reshaped European intellectual life.

history · advanced
JA · conversation

冷戦れいせん核抑止かくよくし論理ろんり

The Logic of Nuclear Deterrence During the Cold War

Two researchers debate the strategic logic of mutual assured destruction and its historical implications.

history · advanced
JA · conversation

ハプスブルクヨーロッパ婚姻外交こんいんがいこう

The Habsburg Dynasty and Marriage Diplomacy in Europe

Two historians discuss how the Habsburg family used strategic marriages to build a pan-European empire.

history · advanced
JA · conversation

日本国憲法にほんこくけんぽう制定過程せいていかてい

The Drafting Process of Japan's Postwar Constitution

Two legal historians examine the circumstances and debates surrounding the drafting of Japan's 1947 constitution.

history · advanced
JA · conversation

フランス革命フランスかくめい近代的きんだいてき市民権しみんけん

The French Revolution and Modern Citizenship

Two academics debate how the French Revolution transformed concepts of citizenship, sovereignty and rights.

history · advanced
JA · conversation

古代こだいギリシャポリス民主政みんしゅせい

The Greek Polis and Democracy in Antiquity

Two scholars examine the nature of Athenian democracy and its limits compared with modern democratic ideals.

history · advanced