Essential JLPT N5 Vocabulary: Your First 30 Japanese Words

By the NihongoWords Editorial Team · Last updated July 18, 2026 · Editorial standards

Every Japanese journey starts somewhere, and for most learners that somewhere is JLPT N5 — the first level of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test. The full N5 list is roughly 800 words, which sounds intimidating until you notice something: a small core of those words does most of the work in real conversation.

This guide gives you that core — 30 words grouped by situation, the pairs that make them stick, the traps that cost beginners points, and ten real sentences you can build from them today. Every word links to a full entry with kanji, pronunciation, and example sentences in three registers.

👥 People & yourself

6 WORDS

Japanese conversation is built on relationships — start with the people.

私	watashi	I / me — the standard polite self
人	hito	person — a kanji you’ll spot everywhere
友達	tomodachi	friend
家族	kazoku	family
子供	kodomo	child, children
誰	dare	who?

🏃 The six survival verbs

6 WORDS

These six cover a shocking amount of daily life.

食べる	taberu	to eat — the model “ru-verb”
飲む	nomu	to drink ⚠️ in Japanese you also “drink” medicine
行く	iku	to go (away from you)
来る	kuru	to come ⚠️ one of only two irregular verbs
見る	miru	to see, to watch
する	suru	to do ⚠️ the other irregular — makes hundreds of compound verbs

🎨 Adjectives that describe your day

7 WORDS

Learn these in pairs — contrast makes memory stick.

大きい	ookii	big
小さい	chiisai	small
寒い	samui	cold (weather)
暑い	atsui	hot ⚠️ kanji changes for weather vs. objects — classic N5 trap
甘い	amai	sweet ⚠️ also “naive” when aimed at people
面白い	omoshiroi	interesting and funny at once
好き	suki	liked / loved ⚠️ an adjective, not a verb: neko ga suki

🏠 Daily-life nouns

8 WORDS

School, work, and the things between them.

学校	gakkou	school
仕事	shigoto	work, job
勉強	benkyou	study — pair with suru
本	hon	book ⚠️ same kanji as the “hon” in Nihon (Japan)
電話	denwa	telephone — literally “electric talk”
買い物	kaimono	shopping
天気	tenki	weather — the universal small-talk opener
毎日	mainichi	every day

❓ Question words

4 WORDS

With these plus dare above, you can ask your way through Japan.

何	nani	what? ⚠️ sometimes read “nan” — knowing when is an N5 skill
どこ	doko	where?
いつ	itsu	when?
どう	dou	how? — as in dou desu ka

🎉 And one to cheer you on

1 WORD

すごい

sugoi

amazing! — the compliment you’ll hear most

⚠️ originally meant “dreadful” — meanings drift

🤝 Learn them in pairs

Opposites and partners anchor each other in memory. Quiz yourself: cover one column, recall the other.

This…	↔	With this	Why they pair
ookii 大きい	↔	chiisai 小さい	big ↔ small
samui 寒い	↔	atsui 暑い	cold ↔ hot weather
iku 行く	↔	kuru 来る	go ↔ come
taberu 食べる	+	nomu 飲む	every meal uses both
nani · doko	+	itsu · dou · dare	the five-question toolkit

💬 Your first 10 sentences

The point of 30 words isn’t the words — it’s that they already combine into real sentences. Read these aloud; every one is built from the vocabulary above plus basic particles.

1. 私はコーヒーが好きです。

Watashi wa koohii ga suki desu. — “I like coffee.”

uses: watashi, suki

2. 毎日日本語を勉強します。

Mainichi nihongo wo benkyou shimasu. — “I study Japanese every day.”

uses: mainichi, benkyou + suru

3. 友達とご飯を食べます。

Tomodachi to gohan wo tabemasu. — “I eat with my friend.”

uses: tomodachi, taberu

4. お茶を飲みますか。

Ocha wo nomimasu ka. — “Will you have some tea?”

uses: nomu

5. 明日学校に行きます。

Ashita gakkou ni ikimasu. — “I’m going to school tomorrow.”

uses: gakkou, iku

6. トイレはどこですか。

Toire wa doko desu ka. — “Where is the bathroom?”

uses: doko

7. これは何ですか。

Kore wa nan desu ka. — “What is this?”

uses: nani (read “nan” here!)

8. この本は面白いです。

Kono hon wa omoshiroi desu. — “This book is interesting.”

uses: hon, omoshiroi

9. 今日は寒いですね。

Kyou wa samui desu ne. — “Cold today, isn’t it?”

uses: samui, small talk with tenki words

10. 映画を見ました。すごかったです！

Eiga wo mimashita. Sugokatta desu! — “I watched a movie. It was amazing!”

uses: miru, sugoi (past form)

📚 How to actually study these

Don’t memorize the list top to bottom. Work group by group — people first, verbs second. Each group is a usable skill on its own.
Attach each word to one true sentence about your life. Mainichi koohii wo nomu beats any flashcard, because it’s yours.
Watch the ⚠️ notes. They mark exactly where N5 exams — and real conversations — catch beginners: nan vs. nani, suki as an adjective, the two irregular verbs.
Follow the links when a word resists you. The full entries show each word in casual, everyday, and formal registers — seeing it work in three contexts is what makes it stick.

When you’re ready for more, the full JLPT Vocabulary section covers words from N5 all the way to N1 — each written up individually, with the nuance your flashcards leave out.