N5 Vocabulary List

A word memorized inside a sentence sticks far longer than a word memorized next to its English translation. Instead of "たべる = to eat", learn パンを たべます ("I eat bread"). The sentence gives you the particle (を), the polite form (たべます), and a natural collocation all at once. Every word in this list has an example sentence for exactly this reason — read the example aloud, not just the meaning.

Many N5 words are loanwords written in katakana: テレビ (television), コーヒー (coffee), テスト (test), カメラ (camera). If you can read katakana fluently, these are some of the easiest marks on the entire exam. If your katakana is shaky, fix that first — it unlocks a whole category of vocabulary with almost no extra memorization.

N5 has several pairs that beginners mix up: 行く (to go) vs 来る (to come), 上手 (good at) vs 下手 (bad at), 暑い (hot weather) vs 熱い (hot to the touch), きます which can mean both "come" (来ます) and "wear" (着ます) depending on kanji. When you meet a word that has an obvious opposite or look-alike, learn the pair together so the contrast itself becomes the memory hook.

Vocabulary shows up across the whole exam, but the dedicated questions ask you to pick the word that fits a blank, choose a synonym, or select the sentence that uses a word correctly. Because these are recognition questions, spaced repetition is the most efficient way to prepare: review each word just before you would forget it, and the 800-word set becomes manageable in a few weeks rather than months.