JLPT N5 — Beginner A1

JLPT N5 is the entry point to Japanese proficiency certification. At this level you can handle basic greetings, introduce yourself, ask and answer simple questions about familiar topics, and read short sentences using hiragana, katakana, and 103 basic kanji. It corresponds to roughly 150–300 hours of study for an adult English speaker.

Level Overview

Exam Format

• Sections: Language Knowledge (vocabulary + grammar), Reading, Listening
• Time: Language Knowledge + Reading: ~60 min; Listening: ~35 min
• Total possible: 180 pts (60 pts per section)
• Pass threshold: Total ≥ 80; each section ≥ 19 pts
• Held: July and December (Japan); December (overseas, most countries)

Core Vocabulary Themes

N5 vocabulary covers basic everyday situations:

• Greetings: おはようございます (ohayou gozaimasu), こんにちは (konnichiwa), ありがとう (arigatou)
• Family: おかあさん (okaasan, mother), おとうさん (otousan, father), あに (ani, older brother)
• Numbers and time: いち (ichi, 1), にち (nichi, day), なんじ (nanji, what time)
• Food and drink: たべる (taberu, to eat), のむ (nomu, to drink), ごはん (gohan, rice/meal), みず (mizu, water)
• Places: がっこう (gakkou, school), うち (uchi, home), えき (eki, station)
• Actions: いく (iku, to go), くる (kuru, to come), する (suru, to do), みる (miru, to see/watch)
• Adjectives: おおきい (ookii, big), ちいさい (chiisai, small), たかい (takai, expensive/tall), やすい (yasui, cheap)
• Question words: なに (nani, what), どこ (doko, where), だれ (dare, who), いつ (itsu, when), なぜ (naze, why)

Essential Vocabulary Sample

N5 Kanji (103 total)

The 103 N5 kanji include the most basic characters covering numbers, time, directions, people, and common objects:

Numbers: 一 二 三 四 五 六 七 八 九 十 百 千 万

Time: 年 月 日 時 分 前 後 午 曜

People/Family: 人 子 女 男 父 母 先 生

Nature/Place: 山 川 空 海 木 花 雨 火 水 土 国

Actions/Common: 大 小 中 上 下 右 左 外 入 出 来 行 見 食 飲 書 読 聞 話

Numbers for counting: 何 本

Core Grammar Points

1. Sentence structure: Subject は Predicate

The particle は (wa) marks the topic of the sentence. Japanese is typically SOV (subject-object-verb).

• 私は学生です。Watashi wa gakusei desu. — I am a student.
• これは本です。Kore wa hon desu. — This is a book.

2. Polite forms: です and ます

All N5 sentences use polite forms. です follows nouns and adjectives; ます follows verbs.

• 食べます。Tabemasu. — [I] eat.
• 高いです。Takai desu. — [It] is expensive.

3. Negation: ません / じゃありません

• 食べません。Tabemasen. — [I] don't eat.
• 学生じゃありません。Gakusei ja arimasen. — [I] am not a student.

4. Past tense: ました / でした

• 食べました。Tabemashita. — [I] ate.
• 高かったです。Takakatta desu. — [It] was expensive.

5. Question particle か

Add か to any statement to make a question. Answer with はい (yes) or いいえ (no).

• 学生ですか？Gakusei desu ka? — Are you a student?
• 食べましたか？Tabemashita ka? — Did you eat?

6. Particles: を、に、で、へ、と

• を (o): marks direct object — りんごを食べる (ringo o taberu) — eat an apple
• に (ni): direction / time / indirect object — がっこうに行く (gakkou ni iku) — go to school
• で (de): location of action / means — でんしゃで行く (densha de iku) — go by train
• へ (e): direction (softer than に) — にほんへ行く (nihon e iku) — go to Japan
• と (to): and; together with — ともだちと行く (tomodachi to iku) — go with a friend

7. Existence: あります / います

• あります: for inanimate things — 本があります (hon ga arimasu) — There is a book.
• います: for animate things (people, animals) — 猫がいます (neko ga imasu) — There is a cat.

8. Connector: て-form + います (ongoing action)

The て-form connects verbs and, with います, expresses ongoing action:

• 食べています。Tabete imasu. — [I] am eating.

9. Adjective conjugation (i-adjectives)

I-adjectives end in い and conjugate directly:

• Present: 大きい (ookii) — big
• Past: 大きかった (ookikatta) — was big
• Negative: 大きくない (ookikunai) — not big
• Negative past: 大きくなかった (ookikunakatta) — was not big

10. The verb する (suru) with nouns

Many action nouns use する to form verbs:

• 勉強する (benkyou suru) — to study
• 仕事する (shigoto suru) — to work
• 電話する (denwa suru) — to phone

Study Plan for N5

Phase 1 (Weeks 1–4): Writing Systems

1. Master hiragana completely (~1 week)
2. Master katakana completely (~1 week)
3. Begin learning the 103 N5 kanji (5–7 per day)
4. Start Anki with N5 vocabulary deck (10 new cards/day)

Phase 2 (Weeks 5–12): Grammar Foundation

1. Work through Genki I chapters 1–6 (or Tae Kim's Guide, beginner section)
2. Add grammar cards to Bunpro (N5 grammar points)
3. Increase Anki to 15–20 new vocabulary cards/day
4. Begin listening: JapanesePod101 absolute beginner lessons

Phase 3 (Weeks 13–20): Consolidation

1. Complete all 100 N5 grammar points on Bunpro
2. Finish all ~800 N5 vocabulary on Anki
3. Complete all 103 N5 kanji recognition
4. Practice with N5 mock exams (JLPT Official Practice Workbook N5)
5. Listening: NHK World beginner lessons, anime with full Japanese subtitles

Recommended Resources

What Next — Aiming for N4

After reaching N5 level, your targets for N4 are:

• Vocabulary: Expand from ~800 to ~1,500 words (+700 new items)
• Kanji: Add 181 new kanji (cumulative: ~284 kanji) — JLPT N4 does not list kanji officially, but this is the widely cited count
• Grammar: Learn ~150 grammar points — introduces te-form connections, conditionals (〜たら, 〜ば), and more complex verb forms
• Key new topics: Te-form usage (requests, permission, prohibition), potential form (できる, 食べられる), comparative expressions (〜より、〜のほうが), giving/receiving verbs (あげる、もらう、くれる)
• CEFR: Advance from A1 to A2
• Study time: ~300–600 total hours from zero, or ~150–300 more hours from N5 pass