Emotion and mental-state vocabulary appears frequently in JLPT N3 reading and listening sections. This guide covers the essential words organized by category, with natural example sentences to help you use each word correctly.
| Word | Reading | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 感動 | かんどう | Being moved / impressed | N3 |
| 不安 | ふあん | Anxiety / unease | N3 |
| 満足 | まんぞく | Satisfaction | N3 |
| 後悔 | こうかい | Regret | N3 |
| 焦り | あせり | Impatience / panic | N3 |
| 嫉妬 | しっと | Jealousy | N3 |
| 安心 | あんしん | Relief / peace of mind | N3 |
| 失望 | しつぼう | Disappointment | N3 |
Positive Emotion Vocabulary
Yuka
その映画を見て、本当に感動した。
(I was truly moved by that movie.)
Rei
私も！特にラストシーンが良かった。
(Me too! Especially the last scene.)
| Word | Reading | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 感動 | かんどう | Be moved | 感動的なスピーチ (a moving speech) |
| 安心 | あんしん | Relief | 合格して安心した (relieved to have passed) |
| 満足 | まんぞく | Satisfaction | 満足のいく結果 (a satisfying result) |
| 感謝 | かんしゃ | Gratitude | 感謝の気持ち (feelings of gratitude) |
| 喜び | よろこび | Joy | 喜びを感じる (feel joy) |
Negative Emotion Vocabulary
Yuka
試験の前はいつも不安になる。
(I always get anxious before exams.)
Reiわかる。でも準備してきたから大丈夫！
(I get it. But you’ve prepared, so you’ll be fine!)
| Word | Reading | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 不安 | ふあん | Anxiety | 不安を感じる (feel anxious) |
| 後悔 | こうかい | Regret | 後悔している (I regret it) |
| 失望 | しつぼう | Disappointment | 失望させてごめん (sorry to disappoint) |
| 悔しい | くやしい | Frustrated / bitter | 負けて悔しかった (frustrated at losing) |
| 嫉妬 | しっと | Jealousy | 嫉妬を感じる (feel jealous) |
Mental State Verbs and Adjectives
Many emotion words in Japanese function as する-verbs or な-adjectives:
| Word | Type | Usage |
|---|---|---|
| 安心する | する verb | 安心しました (I was relieved) |
| 感動する | する verb | 感動しました (I was moved) |
| 失望する | する verb | 失望しました (I was disappointed) |
| 不安な | な adjective | 不安な気持ち (anxious feeling) |
| 満足な | な adjective | 満足な結果 (satisfying result) |
Expressing Degree of Emotion
Yuka
この知らせを聞いて、ものすごく安心した。
(Hearing this news, I felt an enormous sense of relief.)
Rei
それは良かった！心配してたよ。
(That’s great! I was worried.)
| Intensifier | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ものすごく | Extremely | ものすごく感動した |
| 非常に | Very (formal) | 非常に満足している |
| 少し | A little | 少し不安だった |
| かなり | Quite / considerably | かなり後悔している |
| まったく | Completely / not at all | まったく失望していない |
Reading Section Strategy: Emotion Words
In N3 reading passages, emotion vocabulary often appears in the conclusion or character reflection sections. Watch for these patterns:
| Pattern | Signal |
|---|---|
| 〜て、〜を感じた | Character felt an emotion after an event |
| 〜ので、〜になった | Reason → emotion (cause-effect) |
| 〜ても、〜だった | Despite X, still felt Y (contrast) |
Yuka
頑張ったのに失敗して、とても悔しかった。
(Even though I tried hard and failed, I was really frustrated.)
Reiこの文型、読解でよく出てくるよ！
(This sentence pattern comes up a lot in reading sections!)
Quick Quiz
Match the emotion word:
1. Test results were better than expected → _____
→ 安心 / 満足
2. You wish you had studied harder → _____
→ 後悔
3. A friend got the job you wanted → _____
→ 嫉妬
Have a question about JLPT N3? Drop it in the comments below — Yuka reads every one! 💬
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