JLPT N5 Vocabulary: 300 Words With Readings and Examples
The kanji is not the hard part at N5. Remembering which reading it takes is.
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At N5 the vocabulary itself is small, and that is what makes people underestimate it. The difficulty is not learning that 人 means person — it is that the same character is ひと on its own, にん when you count people, and じん in a nationality, and a word list that shows you only the kanji and the English leaves you guessing every time you meet it in a sentence. The same problem shows up in pairs like 早い and 速い, which share a reading and split on meaning. This deck covers 300 N5 words. Every card shows the word as it appears in text, and the back gives the kana reading, the English meaning, the part of speech, and an original Japanese sentence with its translation. Cards are tagged by theme — people, home, food, travel, time, position, questions — and by part of speech, so you can drill only verbs, or only the na-adjectives that behave differently. Import it and the deck joins your spaced-repetition schedule, and what stays in rotation is the set whose reading you still have to stop and work out.
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What's inside
Showing 100 representative cards from the full 300-card deck.
| Front | Back |
|---|---|
| 私 | Reading: わたし. Meaning: I, me (pronoun). Example: 私は学生です。 — I am a student. |
| 男 | Reading: おとこ. Meaning: man (noun). Example: 男の人が待っています。 — A man is waiting. |
| 子供 | Reading: こども. Meaning: child (noun). Example: 子供が公園で遊んでいます。 — A child is playing in the park. |
| 家族 | Reading: かぞく. Meaning: family (noun). Example: 家族は四人です。 — There are four people in my family. |
| 兄 | Reading: あに. Meaning: older brother (own) (noun). Example: 兄は大学生です。 — My older brother is a university student. |
| 弟 | Reading: おとうと. Meaning: younger brother (noun). Example: 弟は九歳です。 — My younger brother is nine. |
| 先生 | Reading: せんせい. Meaning: teacher (noun). Example: 先生に質問しました。 — I asked the teacher a question. |
| 大学 | Reading: だいがく. Meaning: university (noun). Example: 大学で日本語を勉強します。 — I study Japanese at university. |
| 勉強 | Reading: べんきょう. Meaning: study (noun). Example: 毎日勉強します。 — I study every day. |
| 辞書 | Reading: じしょ. Meaning: dictionary (noun). Example: 辞書で調べます。 — I look it up in a dictionary. |
| 会社 | Reading: かいしゃ. Meaning: company (noun). Example: 会社は九時に始まります。 — Work starts at nine. |
| 店 | Reading: みせ. Meaning: shop (noun). Example: 店は八時に閉まります。 — The shop closes at eight. |
| 家 | Reading: いえ. Meaning: house, home (noun). Example: 家に帰ります。 — I am going home. |
| 玄関 | Reading: げんかん. Meaning: entrance hall (noun). Example: 玄関で靴を脱ぎます。 — You take your shoes off in the entrance. |
| 机 | Reading: つくえ. Meaning: desk (noun). Example: 机の上に本があります。 — There is a book on the desk. |
| 電気 | Reading: でんき. Meaning: electricity, light (noun). Example: 電気をつけてください。 — Please turn on the light. |
| 水 | Reading: みず. Meaning: water (noun). Example: 水を一杯ください。 — One glass of water, please. |
| ご飯 | Reading: ごはん. Meaning: rice, meal (noun). Example: ご飯を食べましたか。 — Have you eaten? |
| 肉 | Reading: にく. Meaning: meat (noun). Example: 肉は食べません。 — I do not eat meat. |
| 野菜 | Reading: やさい. Meaning: vegetables (noun). Example: 野菜をたくさん食べます。 — I eat a lot of vegetables. |
| 朝ご飯 | Reading: あさごはん. Meaning: breakfast (noun). Example: 朝ご飯は七時です。 — Breakfast is at seven. |
| 晩ご飯 | Reading: ばんごはん. Meaning: dinner (noun). Example: 晩ご飯を作ります。 — I will make dinner. |
| 駅 | Reading: えき. Meaning: station (noun). Example: 駅はどこですか。 — Where is the station? |
| バス | Reading: バス. Meaning: bus (noun). Example: バスに乗ります。 — I will take the bus. |
| 自転車 | Reading: じてんしゃ. Meaning: bicycle (noun). Example: 自転車で来ました。 — I came by bicycle. |
| 切符 | Reading: きっぷ. Meaning: ticket (noun). Example: 切符を買いました。 — I bought a ticket. |
| 旅行 | Reading: りょこう. Meaning: trip (noun). Example: 来月旅行します。 — I am travelling next month. |
| 薬 | Reading: くすり. Meaning: medicine (noun). Example: 薬を飲んでください。 — Please take the medicine. |
| 目 | Reading: め. Meaning: eye (noun). Example: 目が悪いです。 — My eyesight is poor. |
| 口 | Reading: くち. Meaning: mouth (noun). Example: 口を開けてください。 — Please open your mouth. |
| 今日 | Reading: きょう. Meaning: today (noun). Example: 今日は暑いです。 — It is hot today. |
| 昨日 | Reading: きのう. Meaning: yesterday (noun). Example: 昨日は雨でした。 — It rained yesterday. |
| 昼 | Reading: ひる. Meaning: noon, daytime (noun). Example: 昼に休みます。 — I rest at midday. |
| 夜 | Reading: よる. Meaning: night (noun). Example: 夜は静かです。 — It is quiet at night. |
| 今週 | Reading: こんしゅう. Meaning: this week (noun). Example: 今週は忙しいです。 — I am busy this week. |
| 先週 | Reading: せんしゅう. Meaning: last week (noun). Example: 先週京都へ行きました。 — I went to Kyoto last week. |
| 時間 | Reading: じかん. Meaning: time, hour (noun). Example: 時間がありません。 — I have no time. |
| 週間 | Reading: しゅうかん. Meaning: week (counter) (noun). Example: 二週間休みます。 — I will take two weeks off. |
| 天気 | Reading: てんき. Meaning: weather (noun). Example: 今日は天気がいいです。 — The weather is good today. |
| 雪 | Reading: ゆき. Meaning: snow (noun). Example: 雪が積もりました。 — The snow has settled. |
| 行く | Reading: いく. Meaning: to go (verb). Example: 学校へ行きます。 — I go to school. |
| 帰る | Reading: かえる. Meaning: to return home (verb). Example: 六時に帰ります。 — I go home at six. |
| 食べる | Reading: たべる. Meaning: to eat (verb). Example: 朝ご飯を食べます。 — I eat breakfast. |
| 見る | Reading: みる. Meaning: to see, to watch (verb). Example: 映画を見ます。 — I watch a film. |
| 読む | Reading: よむ. Meaning: to read (verb). Example: 新聞を読みます。 — I read the newspaper. |
| 買う | Reading: かう. Meaning: to buy (verb). Example: パンを買います。 — I buy bread. |
| 使う | Reading: つかう. Meaning: to use (verb). Example: この辞書を使ってください。 — Please use this dictionary. |
| 取る | Reading: とる. Meaning: to take (verb). Example: 塩を取ってください。 — Please pass the salt. |
| 起きる | Reading: おきる. Meaning: to get up (verb). Example: 毎朝六時に起きます。 — I get up at six every morning. |
| 働く | Reading: はたらく. Meaning: to work (verb). Example: 銀行で働いています。 — I work at a bank. |
| 遊ぶ | Reading: あそぶ. Meaning: to play (verb). Example: 公園で遊びます。 — I play in the park. |
| 歩く | Reading: あるく. Meaning: to walk (verb). Example: 駅まで歩きます。 — I walk to the station. |
| 乗る | Reading: のる. Meaning: to ride, to board (verb). Example: バスに乗ります。 — I get on the bus. |
| 会う | Reading: あう. Meaning: to meet (verb). Example: 友達に会います。 — I meet a friend. |
| 習う | Reading: ならう. Meaning: to learn (verb). Example: ピアノを習っています。 — I am learning the piano. |
| わかる | Reading: わかる. Meaning: to understand (verb). Example: 意味がわかりません。 — I do not understand the meaning. |
| 開ける | Reading: あける. Meaning: to open (verb). Example: 窓を開けます。 — I open the window. |
| 掃除する | Reading: そうじする. Meaning: to clean (verb). Example: 部屋を掃除します。 — I clean the room. |
| 置く | Reading: おく. Meaning: to put, to place (verb). Example: 机の上に置いてください。 — Please put it on the desk. |
| あげる | Reading: あげる. Meaning: to give (verb). Example: 妹にペンをあげました。 — I gave my sister a pen. |
| 終わる | Reading: おわる. Meaning: to end (verb). Example: 仕事は五時に終わります。 — Work ends at five. |
| 曲がる | Reading: まがる. Meaning: to turn (verb). Example: 次の角を右に曲がってください。 — Please turn right at the next corner. |
| 降る | Reading: ふる. Meaning: to fall (rain, snow) (verb). Example: 雨が降っています。 — It is raining. |
| 大きい | Reading: おおきい. Meaning: big (adjective). Example: 大きいかばんですね。 — That is a big bag. |
| 古い | Reading: ふるい. Meaning: old (things) (adjective). Example: この建物は古いです。 — This building is old. |
| 低い | Reading: ひくい. Meaning: low (adjective). Example: この机は低いです。 — This desk is low. |
| 広い | Reading: ひろい. Meaning: wide, spacious (adjective). Example: 広い部屋がいいです。 — I would like a spacious room. |
| 多い | Reading: おおい. Meaning: many (adjective). Example: 人が多いです。 — There are a lot of people. |
| 悪い | Reading: わるい. Meaning: bad (adjective). Example: 天気が悪いです。 — The weather is bad. |
| 寒い | Reading: さむい. Meaning: cold (weather) (adjective). Example: 冬は寒いです。 — Winter is cold. |
| 難しい | Reading: むずかしい. Meaning: difficult (adjective). Example: この問題は難しいです。 — This question is difficult. |
| 楽しい | Reading: たのしい. Meaning: enjoyable (adjective). Example: 旅行は楽しかったです。 — The trip was enjoyable. |
| 怖い | Reading: こわい. Meaning: scary (adjective). Example: その映画は怖いです。 — That film is scary. |
| 遅い | Reading: おそい. Meaning: late, slow (adjective). Example: もう遅いです。 — It is already late. |
| 甘い | Reading: あまい. Meaning: sweet (adjective). Example: このケーキは甘いです。 — This cake is sweet. |
| 元気 | Reading: げんき. Meaning: well, energetic (na-adjective). Example: お元気ですか。 — How are you? |
| 便利 | Reading: べんり. Meaning: convenient (na-adjective). Example: この駅は便利です。 — This station is convenient. |
| 嫌い | Reading: きらい. Meaning: disliked (na-adjective). Example: 虫が嫌いです。 — I dislike insects. |
| 大変 | Reading: たいへん. Meaning: tough, very (na-adjective). Example: 仕事が大変です。 — Work is tough. |
| 一 | Reading: いち. Meaning: one (numeral). Example: 一つください。 — One, please. |
| 四 | Reading: よん. Meaning: four (numeral). Example: 四月に始まります。 — It starts in April. |
| 八 | Reading: はち. Meaning: eight (numeral). Example: 八時に出ます。 — I leave at eight. |
| 千 | Reading: せん. Meaning: thousand (numeral). Example: 千円札があります。 — I have a thousand yen note. |
| 上 | Reading: うえ. Meaning: above, on (noun). Example: 机の上にあります。 — It is on the desk. |
| 外 | Reading: そと. Meaning: outside (noun). Example: 外は寒いです。 — It is cold outside. |
| 左 | Reading: ひだり. Meaning: left (noun). Example: 左に銀行があります。 — There is a bank on the left. |
| 間 | Reading: あいだ. Meaning: between (noun). Example: 銀行と郵便局の間です。 — It is between the bank and the post office. |
| どこ | Reading: どこ. Meaning: where (pronoun). Example: トイレはどこですか。 — Where is the toilet? |
| あれ | Reading: あれ. Meaning: that one over there (pronoun). Example: あれは私のかばんです。 — That over there is my bag. |
| 誰 | Reading: だれ. Meaning: who (pronoun). Example: あの人は誰ですか。 — Who is that person? |
| どうして | Reading: どうして. Meaning: why (adverb). Example: どうして遅れましたか。 — Why were you late? |
| とても | Reading: とても. Meaning: very (adverb). Example: とても面白いです。 — It is very interesting. |
| もっと | Reading: もっと. Meaning: more (adverb). Example: もっとゆっくり話してください。 — Please speak more slowly. |
| あまり | Reading: あまり. Meaning: not very (adverb). Example: あまり好きではありません。 — I do not like it very much. |
| ちょっと | Reading: ちょっと. Meaning: a little, a moment (adverb). Example: ちょっと待ってください。 — Please wait a moment. |
| はじめまして | Reading: はじめまして. Meaning: how do you do (phrase). Example: はじめまして、田中です。 — How do you do, I am Tanaka. |
| こんにちは | Reading: こんにちは. Meaning: hello (phrase). Example: こんにちは、お元気ですか。 — Hello, how are you? |
| ありがとうございます | Reading: ありがとうございます. Meaning: thank you (phrase). Example: 手伝ってくれてありがとうございます。 — Thank you for helping me. |
| いただきます | Reading: いただきます. Meaning: said before eating (phrase). Example: いただきます。 — Thank you for the food. |
| どういたしまして | Reading: どういたしまして. Meaning: you are welcome (phrase). Example: いいえ、どういたしまして。 — Not at all, you are welcome. |
Frequently asked
Does importing this deck use AI credits?
No. Importing uses the saved deck as published; it does not run AI generation or use AI credits. The complete deck can therefore be imported on the free plan.
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Nothing is duplicated. Cards you already have are skipped and only newly added cards come across. Including re-imports after deleting, each official deck can be imported three times per account.
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Yes. The deck is added to your account, so the same cards and the same progress are available in the web app, the iOS app and the Android app.
Can I edit the cards after importing?
Yes. Imported cards are yours: you can edit both sides, delete cards you do not need, change tags, and move cards to another deck.
What is in the deck?
112 nouns, 71 verbs, 43 i-adjectives, 16 na-adjectives, 20 adverbs, 12 pronouns, 13 numerals and 13 set phrases, 300 in total. One word per card, so nothing appears twice.
Do I need to read kanji already?
No. Every card gives the kana reading on the back, so you can start from zero kanji and still use the whole deck. Seeing the word in its written form from the first day is deliberate: it is how the word will appear in the exam and in real Japanese, and recognising it there is the skill being built.
Does it cover grammar and particles?
Not as rules, but every card carries a full sentence, so the particles are in front of you constantly. Reading 学校へ行きます three hundred times in context does more for particle instinct than a table of は and が ever will. For the grammar points themselves you will still want a textbook.
Is this enough to pass N5?
It covers the vocabulary section thoroughly. Import it and open it daily, and the only words that come up are the ones whose reading or meaning you cannot yet produce. Spend the time that frees up on listening, which is where most N5 candidates actually lose marks.
Editorial method and sources
Memly's editors use the primary sources below to check scope and terminology, then independently write and review the cards.
JLPT N5 Vocabulary: 300 Words With Readings and Examples
Add every card on the free plan. Importing runs no AI generation and spends no AI credits. You'll need a Memly account.
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Selection reflects the vocabulary commonly associated with the N5 level; the Japan Foundation and JEES do not publish an official word list and have not endorsed this deck. Every entry, example and translation is written by Memly. Scope reviewed 2026-08-17.