Looking for a definitive list of words that will appear on JLPT N5? There is no official one. The JLPT organizers say they do not publish itemized vocabulary, kanji or grammar lists. What you can use here is smaller and verifiable: all 12 words in the free Vocab Routine N5 web sample (this site previously called the app PiPi Words), with their actual readings and example phrases. Try the four checks below before opening the cards.
The 12 words you can actually practice here
These are the entries in the site’s English-language Japanese card preview, in deck order—not the most common N5 words, not a selection from past papers and not a full exam syllabus. Cover the English column, try to read the Japanese, then check the meaning and example. The English example glosses follow the card data; they are short phrase translations, not full lessons in grammar.
| Word | Reading | Meaning shown on card | Card example and English gloss |
|---|---|---|---|
| 食べる | たべる | to eat | 朝ごはんを食べる。 — To eat breakfast. |
| 飲む | のむ | to drink | 水を飲む。 — To drink water. |
| 行く | いく | to go | 学校に行く。 — To go to school. |
| 来る | くる | to come | 友達が来る。 — A friend comes. |
| 見る | みる | to see; to watch | 映画を見る。 — To watch a movie. |
| 聞く | きく | to listen; to ask | 音楽を聞く。 — To listen to music. |
| 書く | かく | to write | 手紙を書く。 — To write a letter. |
| 読む | よむ | to read | 本を読む。 — To read a book. |
| 話す | はなす | to speak; to talk | 日本語を話す。 — To speak Japanese. |
| 買う | かう | to buy | パンを買う。 — To buy bread. |
| 大きい | おおきい | big; large | この家は大きい。 — This house is big. |
| 小さい | ちいさい | small; little | 小さい猫がいる。 — There is a small cat. |
That is the entire web sample for this pack: ten verbs and two adjectives. There are no nouns in this particular 12-card set. The title says “sample” because promising a comprehensive N5 word list here would be misleading.
AI-generated illustrative image; the actual twelve words are in the table above.
A useful first pass for an English speaker
English translations alone can hide two different jobs. First, recognize the written form and its reading: 食べる is たべる, while 買う is かう. If you can guess “to eat” from a translated list but cannot read たべる, the Japanese side of the card still needs work. The official N5 level description includes understanding typical expressions written in hiragana, katakana and basic kanji.
Second, check the word inside a phrase. The card’s 映画を見る pairs a movie with “watch,” while 音楽を聞く pairs music with “listen.” 学校に行く uses “go,” but 友達が来る uses “come.” Those contrasts give you something more useful than twelve detached English glosses; they do not establish how often any word appears in the test.
The two adjectives also do different work in the sample: この家は大きい says the house is big, while 小さい猫がいる places “small” before “cat.” Notice the position first. This short set is not a substitute for a grammar guide.
Four checks: answer before you look back
Use only the table above. These are our own practice prompts, not official JLPT questions.
- Which card means “to come”: 行く or 来る? What is its reading?
- Which word completes 音楽を ___: 見る or 聞く?
- Read 書く aloud in hiragana, then say what 手紙を書く means.
- Which sample phrase puts the adjective before a noun: この家は大きい or 小さい猫がいる?
Answers: 1. 来る (くる); 2. 聞く; 3. かく, “to write a letter”; 4. 小さい猫がいる. If one pair was hard, revisit its whole example rather than just the English word. That is a practical choice for this exercise, not a measured claim about the best learning method.
Want to try writing from a meaning instead of choosing from answers? Write or type one Japanese word. This separate free example uses “water”, which is not one of the 12 cards above. Reveal its hiragana reference and compare it yourself. No sign-up or app is needed; there is no automatic grading, saved answer or transfer to app records.
What this sample leaves out
The official N5 test-item description includes kanji reading, orthography, vocabulary in context and paraphrases. The level also includes grammar, reading and listening. A 12-word English-meaning quiz does not cover those tasks, and these words have not been ranked against exam frequency. For the real question formats, go to the JLPT organizers’ sample questions.
If you want to try the words interactively, open the free N5 card preview. It shows the Japanese word and reading on the front, then the meaning and example after a flip. Hard collects hard cards to revisit after this pass; Good and Easy move on. These are your own ratings, not a correct-answer score. Restarting or changing the level, direction or mode clears them; no long-term schedule is saved. Its four-choice quiz draws five questions from the selected 12-word deck; answers and progress reset on reload and do not carry into the app. The app offers separate scheduled reviews, but you do not need to install it to use this list or the self-checks.
If you do want scheduled reviews in the app, Vocab Routine is on the App Store and Google Play. You would start fresh there; nothing from this page carries over.