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JLPT N5 study guide
The entry point for the N5 study material in this knowledge base. N5 is the easiest JLPT level: it certifies the ability to understand some basic Japanese — typical expressions and sentences written in hiragana, katakana, and basic kanji, and short conversations on daily-life and classroom topics spoken slowly (official ability summary on the JLPT N5 test page).
What the test looks like at N5
Official structure and pass conditions (details on the JLPT N5 test page and test format):
| Test section | Time | Approximate items |
|---|---|---|
| Language Knowledge (Vocabulary) | 20 min | 35 |
| Language Knowledge (Grammar)・Reading | 40 min | 22 grammar + 13 reading |
| Listening | 30 min | 24 |
| Total | 90 min | 94 |
Pass: total ≥ 80/180, with Language Knowledge・Reading ≥ 38/120 and Listening ≥ 19/60.
The JLPT publishes no official vocabulary, kanji, or grammar lists — the study sets below are community targets. Question-type mechanics are explained on the question types overview.
Study material in this knowledge base
| Page | What it covers |
|---|---|
| N5 vocabulary | 660 headwords in 7 reviewable batches (Tanos-based community set; dictionary facts from JMdict, furigana from JmdictFurigana, corpus examples from Tatoeba, frequency from TUBELEX) |
| N5 kanji | the 103-character community kanji set, readings taught through N5 example words |
| N5 grammar | an 84-pattern community compilation with original study notes, linked to the foundations |
| N5 reading expectations | what the N5 reading section assumes (3 item types, ≈13 items) and how the study material supports it |
| N5 listening expectations | what the N5 listening section assumes (4 item types, 24 items, audio played once) and how the study material supports it |
Language foundations the N5 material builds on
- Japanese writing system — hiragana, katakana, kanji, okurigana, readings
- Verb groups and conjugation — the three verb groups and the five core forms every pattern uses
- Adjectives and the copula — い-adjective and な-adjective conjugation, だ/です
- Core particles — は/が/を/に/で/へ/と/の/も/から/まで/や/か
- Numbers, counters, dates and time — counting, time, dates, relative time
- Reading comprehension and listening comprehension — cross-level skills that connected passages and audio assume
Suggested route
- Learn the scripts on the writing system page.
- Work through the vocabulary batches and the kanji page in parallel — the kanji readings are taught through the vocabulary.
- Study the grammar page pattern by pattern, using the foundations for any conjugation or particle you need to refresh.
- Read the reading expectations and listening expectations pages, then practise against the official item types with the sample questions and Official Practice Workbooks (Vol.1/Vol.2).
The natural next step after N5 is the N4 study guide: Tanos describes the N4 vocabulary and kanji lists as non-cumulative, so N4 preparation assumes this N5 set as the prerequisite.