🌸 Search and select vocabulary

What Does Each JLPT Level from N5 to N1 Actually Test?

The JLPT does not publish a complete official vocabulary list. The level groupings on this site are organized for learning and can help you plan your review and practice with level-based word sets. They should not be treated as the official test scope or a guarantee that you’ll pass. Below is an overview of the vocabulary types, usage contexts, and commonly confused meanings you may encounter at each level from N5 to N1.

N5: Build a solid foundation in everyday Japanese

N5 isn’t about rare or obscure words. It’s about whether you can handle everyday situations in Japanese: What time is it? Where are you going? What do you want to eat? Who is this person? Click the N5 button to add about 155 words to your question bank at once. Most of them cover time (今日, 明日, 午前), quantities (一つ, 二つ), personal pronouns (私, 彼, 彼女), basic verbs (行く, 食べる, 見る), and adjectives and places (学校, 駅, 病院). The definitions of these words are often so short that it’s easy to assume you know them just because you’ve seen them before. What learners actually tend to miss are pronunciation and usage. Memorize the kana reading along with 今日. Both 居る and ある can mean “to exist” or “to be,” but the first is used for living things, while the second is used for nonliving things. This site’s quizzes ask you to enter the reading and choose the meaning; the pronunciation is not shown in advance. Memorizing the brief definitions in a word list isn’t enough. In listening practice, you also need to understand how a word functions in a sentence, especially when the sentence mentions a time, a place, and an action all at once.

N4: Move from basic expressions to everyday situations

N4 expands beyond classroom introductions to everyday situations such as commuting, shopping, feeling unwell, and taking short trips. Click the N4 button to add about 120 words to your question bank at once. Common vocabulary includes words for conditions and procedures, such as 必要, 不便, 安全, 経験, 切符, 乗り換える, and 終電, as well as everyday words like 喉, 薬, 病気, and 着替える. The most common problem at this stage isn’t that you’ve never seen a word. It’s that you can’t tell apart two words with similar definitions when they appear as answer choices. For example, 知る is closer to “find out” or “come to know,” while 分かる is closer to “understand.” The intransitive verb 決まる describes something being decided or settled, while the transitive verb 決める means that someone makes a decision. Both, however, may simply be glossed as “decide.” Try writing a short example sentence for each word you tend to confuse instead of just underlining them in a vocabulary list. If you’re studying with a textbook, search for unfamiliar words from your lessons above, then select your textbook and the corresponding lesson to narrow the list and add only the words you need to your question bank. For words such as “ticket,” “transfer,” and “last train,” study them alongside a route you know or plan to take. Connecting vocabulary to real situations makes it easier to remember than memorizing words in list order.

N3: Meaning becomes more context-dependent

N3 is often described as a sudden jump in difficulty because words become tied to specific situations rather than having a simple one-to-one definition. Click the N3 button to add about 125 words to your question bank at once. The vocabulary covers social and academic topics, including 文化, 歴史, 連絡, 銀行, and 大使館, as well as words related to opinions and emotions (怖い, 真面目, 緊張する, 興味). What you need to practice at this level is collocation and usage, not just memorizing dictionary definitions again. For example, 集まる means that people gather on their own, and the subject takes the particle “が.” 集める means that someone gathers people or things, and the object takes the particle “を.” If you memorize both as simply “gather,” it can be hard to know which one to use when forming a sentence. This level is also a good time to practice intransitive and transitive verbs and commonly confused words. Many wrong answers happen not because you never studied the word, but because you memorized different words as having the same meaning. In reading, these words can determine whether you understand a notice or announcement, so learn them with example sentences. They often appear in public notices, bank transactions, and school administration. Study them in complete sentences rather than relying only on the short definitions in a word list.

N2: Learn to distinguish the nuances of near-synonyms

N2 assumes you can already understand articles about everyday life. The challenge with vocabulary shifts to words that have very similar meanings but different nuances. Click the N2 button to add about 144 words to your question bank at once. Many of these words appear in the news, at work, and in more formal writing, so they’re used in a wider range of situations than the everyday conversations found in beginner textbooks. The same kanji may have both kun’yomi and on’yomi readings. Choosing the wrong reading can cost you points in listening, even if you guess the meaning correctly. This site’s quizzes ask you to enter the reading and choose the meaning, helping you check whether you’ve really learned each word. You can remove words you already know from the question bank on the right and keep practicing the ones you’re still unsure about. You should also start learning the particles that commonly go with a word instead of memorizing nouns in isolation. If your goal is to pass on your first attempt, divide your study time between new vocabulary and the words you got wrong last time. Focusing only on new words means the gaps you had last month will follow you right into the test. This list is a practice sample, so use it alongside your N2 textbook rather than treating it as an official test vocabulary list. When you encounter kun’yomi and on’yomi, record an expression you’ve actually heard for each reading in an example sentence instead of memorizing only the first reading listed in the dictionary. Emails, announcements, and news headlines are especially worth revisiting when reviewing mistakes at this level.

N1: Subtle distinctions matter more than short definitions

N1 covers a very large vocabulary. Click the N1 button to add about 198 words to your question bank at once. This list is a sample for advanced practice. It does not guarantee that you’ll pass just by memorizing every word, and it is not a complete official vocabulary list. Common mistakes at this level include using written language in casual conversation and treating two words that seem to mean “roughly the same thing” as interchangeable. Short definitions can be especially misleading because the difference between similar-looking answer choices often lies in tone, the people or things they apply to, or whether the meaning is positive or negative. A more reliable approach is to search for unfamiliar words and add them to your question bank, then use a quiz that day to check their pronunciation and meaning. After some time has passed, practice with commonly confused words again to see whether you still mix up similar terms. Remove words you already know from the question bank so you can focus on near-synonyms you haven’t learned to distinguish yet. Every website’s level groupings are learning aids, so use them as a review roadmap rather than your only study resource. Keep written and spoken language separate, too: don’t automatically use words suited to news articles when talking with friends.

How to remember high-value vocabulary: N5 example sentences

If you memorize only “Japanese word, pronunciation, and meaning,” 暑い and 熱い may both become “hot,” and you may miss that 開ける describes an action performed by a person. Below are five N5 words with example sentences and translations. These examples demonstrate a study method; they are not another vocabulary list. You can use the same format to write one sentence for each word you get wrong.

The “View vocabulary lists by level” section above opens the word list for each level, so you can preview the words before adding them to your question bank. This section uses example sentences to show how a few of those words work in context.