JLPT N5 Vocabulary List: 800 Essential Words to Study

If you are preparing for the JLPT N5, vocabulary is the single most important place to start. The N5 exam tests roughly 800 words — and knowing them well means you can read the questions, understand the listening passages, and choose the right answers with confidence. This guide walks you through every major category of N5 vocabulary with organized tables, memory tips, and a quiz to test yourself.

How N5 Vocabulary Is Tested

The JLPT N5 vocabulary section does not give you a list of words and ask you to translate them. Instead, questions test your ability to read a word in context and pick its correct meaning, or read a sentence with a blank and choose the right word to fill it. Here is what you need to know going in.

Question Format 1: Vocabulary Reading

A word is written in kanji or hiragana and you must choose its correct reading or meaning from four options. For example: 山 — which reading is correct? (Answer: やま yama)

Question Format 2: Sentence Vocabulary

A sentence has one blank and you must pick the word that fits: わたしは まいにち _____ をのみます。 (I drink _____ every day.) Options: みず・あめ・かぜ・でんしゃ. Answer: みず (water).

Common Traps to Watch For

Several N5 words look or sound similar but mean very different things. These are the most common sources of errors:

Note on あつい: Both 暑い (hot weather) and 熱い (hot to the touch) are read あつい but written with different kanji. The N5 exam may test this distinction in the reading section.

Yuka

One trick I used was to group “look-alike” pairs on the same flashcard — so I always studied みぎ and ひだり together, never separately. It made the contrast obvious from day one!

Numbers, Time & Dates

Numbers, time expressions, days of the week, and months are among the most frequently tested N5 vocabulary items. They appear in both the vocabulary section and the listening section, so fluency here gives you a double advantage.

Cardinal Numbers

Tip: 4 and 7 each have two readings. Use し/しち in formal counting and compounds; use よん/なな when counting objects or stating phone numbers to avoid confusion (し sounds like 死 “death”; しち sounds like 一 in fast speech).

Days of the Week

Months

Key Time Words

For a deeper dive into Japanese numbers and counting, see this full guide:

あわせて読みたい

Japanese Numbers Complete Guide: Sino-Japanese, Native, and Formal Kanji Number systemWhen usedExampleSino-Japanese (一二三...)Counting, math, money, dates一万五千三百 = 15,300...

People & Family

Japanese has two sets of family vocabulary: one for talking about your own family (humble forms) and one for talking about someone else’s family (respectful forms). The N5 exam tests both. Here are the words you must know.

Core Family Vocabulary

People & Pronouns

Actions: Essential Verbs

Verbs are the backbone of Japanese sentences. At N5 level, you need to know around 50 core verbs and be able to recognize them in dictionary form (plain form), て-form, and past tense. Below are the 50 most essential N5 verbs organized by meaning.

Rei

Rei here! When I was studying N5 verbs, I split them into “things I do at home,” “things I do outside,” and “things I say.” Organizing by your real life makes them much easier to remember.

Daily Action Verbs (Group 1 & 2)

Movement & Transportation Verbs

Cognitive & Communication Verbs

State & Existence Verbs

ある vs. いる — the most important N5 distinction: Use ある for non-living things (books, cars, buildings) and いる for living things (people, pets). Mixing these up is one of the most common N5 errors.

Describing Things: Adjectives

Japanese adjectives come in two types: い-adjectives (end in い) and な-adjectives (take な before a noun). You need to recognize and use both types at N5 level. Here are the 30 most essential ones.

い-Adjectives (i-adjectives)

な-Adjectives (na-adjectives)

Important: きれい ends in い but it is a な-adjective, not an い-adjective. This is one of the most frequently tested traps at N5. You cannot say ~~きれいくない~~ — the correct negative is きれいじゃない.

Places & Directions

Location words appear constantly in the N5 listening and reading sections. You will hear sentences like “The post office is to the left of the bank” and need to understand where things are. Learn these thoroughly.

Direction & Position Words

Common Places

Food & Shopping

Food vocabulary comes up in both the vocabulary section and the listening dialogues — often in restaurant or shopping scenarios. Shopping words also appear in reading comprehension passages about receipts, menus, and price tags.

Food & Drink

Shopping & Money Words

Yuka

A quick tip for shopping vocabulary: practice the phrase これはいくらですか？ (How much is this?) out loud until it feels automatic. In the N5 listening section, you will hear variations of this exchange in almost every session!

How to Memorize N5 Vocabulary Efficiently

Knowing the words is not enough — you need to be able to recall them instantly under exam conditions. Here are the most effective strategies used by N5 passers.

1. Use Anki with the Right Settings

Anki is a free spaced repetition flashcard app that is the #1 tool for JLPT vocabulary. The key settings for N5 study:

• Set your daily new card limit to 20–30 cards per day — enough to cover N5 in 30–40 days without burnout
• Use a deck with Japanese on the front, English on the back for production practice; flip it for recognition practice
• Add an audio field (Forvo or the Takoboto dictionary app) so you hear the word as you see it
• Review daily — even 10 minutes of Anki review beats 2-hour cramming sessions once a week

2. Spaced Repetition Without an App

If you prefer paper flashcards, use the Leitner box system: five boxes labeled Day 1, Day 2, Day 4, Day 8, and Day 16. A card you get right moves to the next box; a card you get wrong goes back to Box 1. This replicates spaced repetition manually.

3. Vocabulary in Sentences, Not in Isolation

Do not just memorize 食べる = to eat. Learn it inside a sentence: わたしは まいにち ごはんを たべます。 (I eat rice every day.) The sentence gives the word context, and context is what your brain remembers.

4. Mnemonics for Tricky Words

Some N5 words benefit from a mnemonic — a mental image or wordplay trick:

• 難しい (むずかしい) — “moose-kashi” — imagine a moose that is kinda shy (kashii) — this word is DIFFICULT to say, and difficult to remember, but the moose helps!
• 郵便局 (ゆうびんきょく) — “you-bean-kyoku” — you drop a bean at the post office. Silly, but it sticks.
• 忙しい (いそがしい) — “ee-so-ga-shee” — “I so gotta rush!” = busy

5. Study in Thematic Groups

This guide is organized by theme for exactly this reason. Studying station, bus, train, platform, ticket together builds a mental network — when you recall one word, the others come with it. This is far more efficient than studying words in alphabetical order.

6. Realistic Study Timeline

For a full N5 study plan covering grammar, kanji, and reading — not just vocabulary — see:

あわせて読みたい

JLPT N5 Grammar List: Every Pattern You Need to Pass ItemDetailsLevelJLPT N5 (beginner)Grammar patterns covered25+Particles covered10 core particlesVerb forms coveredます, ない, て, た (4 forms)Best used asStud...

Quick Quiz: Test Your N5 Vocabulary

Try these five questions without looking back at the tables. Check your answers below.

Fill in the Blank

Q1. わたしは まいあさ _______ をのみます。(I drink _______ every morning.) [Hint: it’s a hot Japanese beverage]

Q2. えきは びょういんの _______ にあります。(The station is _______ of the hospital.) [Hint: a direction word — the station is to the right]

Q3. When talking about your own mother, which word do you use?
A) おかあさん　　B) はは　　C) おにいさん　　D) あね

Multiple Choice

Q4. Which word means “to enter”?
A) かえる　　B) はいる　　C) でる　　D) のる

Q5. きれい is what type of adjective?
A) い-adjective　　B) な-adjective　　C) adverb　　D) verb

Answers

A1. おちゃ (お茶) — green tea
A2. みぎ (右) — right
A3. B) はは (母) — the humble form used when referring to your own mother. おかあさん is used when talking about someone else’s mother.
A4. B) はいる (入る)
A5. B) な-adjective — きれいな へや (beautiful room); the negative is きれいじゃない, not ~~きれいくない~~

How did you do? If you missed any, go back to the relevant section and add those words to your Anki deck today. Which N5 vocabulary category do you find the hardest? Share in the comments below — we read every one!

Keep Learning

Ready to go deeper? These JPyokoso guides are the perfect next step after mastering N5 vocabulary:

あわせて読みたい

JLPT N5 Grammar List: Every Pattern You Need to Pass ItemDetailsLevelJLPT N5 (beginner)Grammar patterns covered25+Particles covered10 core particlesVerb forms coveredます, ない, て, た (4 forms)Best used asStud...

あわせて読みたい

Japanese Numbers Complete Guide: Sino-Japanese, Native, and Formal Kanji Number systemWhen usedExampleSino-Japanese (一二三...)Counting, math, money, dates一万五千三百 = 15,300...

あわせて読みたい

JLPT N3 vs N4: Which Should You Take First? Should you take JLPT N4 or go straight for N3? This guide compares vocabulary, kanji, grammar, pass rates, study time, and career value to help you decide.

📖 Want to take your Japanese further? Practice speaking with a professional Japanese tutor on italki — affordable 1-on-1 online lessons at your own pace.

About the Author

Daisuke is the creator of JP YoKoSo — a Japanese learning site for English speakers. Every article is written to explain Japanese clearly, with real examples, grammar notes, and practical tips for learners at every level.

💬 Found a mistake or have a question? Contact us here — we review and update articles regularly.