JLPT N5 Vocabulary List for Beginners

JLPT N5 is the first level of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, and its vocabulary — roughly 800 words — is the working set of beginner Japanese: greetings, family, time, places, the verbs and adjectives of daily life. Master these and you can introduce yourself, shop, order food, and survive a day in Japan.

Below is the core of that list, organized by topic, with the kana reading and the romaji you'd type on a keyboard. (That last column matters more than you think — more on that at the end.)

Greetings & survival phrases

These are the highest-frequency words in the entire language. Note that こんにちは ends in the particle は, so it's typed haeven though it's pronounced "wa".

People & family

Japanese distinguishes between your own family and someone else's — the forms with お〜さんare the polite ones you'll use most as a beginner.

Time words

Time words appear in nearly every N5 sentence. Three of them have irregular kanji readings worth flagging early: 今日 (kyou), 明日 (ashita), and 昨日 (kinou).

Places

The ten verbs you'll use every day

N5 tests about 100 verbs, but these ten do most of the work. Learn them in dictionary form first; the polite 〜ます forms follow regular rules.

Core adjectives

Most N5 adjectives end in 〜い and conjugate like tiny verbs. Learn them in pairs of opposites — big/small, new/old, expensive/cheap — and you get two words for the effort of one.

Question words

Question words punch far above their weight: with どこ and いくらalone you can navigate a shop, a station, or a street in Japan. They also anchor the test's listening section, where nearly every dialogue turns on a who, where, or when. Drill them until they're instant.

How many words do you actually need?

The JLPT stopped publishing official lists in 2010, but analysis of past exams puts N5 at roughly 700–800 words and about 100 kanji. That sounds like a lot until you break it down: at a modest 10 new words a day, the entire N5 vocabulary fits in under three months — and the words are so frequent that daily exposure keeps refreshing them for free. The categories above cover the highest-value core; the rest of the list is more of the same patterns (more nouns for food and objects, more everyday verbs, numbers and counters).

A realistic plan: spend your first two weeks on greetings and the question words (they unlock conversations immediately), then add verbs and adjectives — they carry the most meaning per word — and let nouns accumulate through sentences rather than lists. Numbers, dates, and times deserve their own focused sessions, because Japanese gives them special readings (4 o'clock is yoji, not yonji; the 1st of the month is tsuitachi).

How to make N5 vocabulary stick

Flashcards build recognition — you see 食べるand remember "to eat". But the JLPT (and real life) also demands the reverse: producing the reading. That's why typing is such an effective drill. To type 食べる you must recall taberu, letter by letter — recognition and recall in one repetition, with your fingers building the muscle memory.

• Start with kana-only words so the alphabet never blocks the vocabulary.
• Type each word in a sentence — context is what makes words usable, and N5 sentences are short enough to type in seconds.
• Hide the romaji once a word feels familiar — reading the kana directly is the real test.

From words to the test

On the actual N5 exam, vocabulary is tested in context — short sentences where you pick the right word or the right reading. That means isolated word knowledge isn't quite enough; you need to recognize words at reading speed, inside sentences, written in kana and basic kanji. The most efficient bridge is exactly that: short, natural N5 sentences (わたしはがくせいです, えきはどこですか) practiced until they parse instantly. Each sentence rehearses three or four vocabulary items, the grammar that connects them, and your kana reading — all in a few seconds of typing.

If you're starting from zero, begin with our hiragana chart— you'll need the kana before the vocabulary. Already comfortable? Drill these words in full N5 sentences below.