A note, a short story about someone’s Sunday and a library notice, with questions in Japanese, explanations and a timer.
The best JLPT N5 reading practice is short, real-looking texts with exam-style questions: a note, a short passage about someone’s week and a notice or timetable. Below are three original passages in that format, with the questions in Japanese as on the test, instant answers that point to the sentence holding each answer, and a furigana switch. At N5, reading shares one 40-minute section with grammar and is scored together with vocabulary and grammar, so steady reading practice also lifts that whole section.
Read each passage, then pick an answer. You get the explanation straight away. Start the timer if you want to practise at exam pace; the targets are our suggestion, not an official limit.
0 of 4 answered.
Suggested pace: 2:00 for reading and answering.
田中さんへ
明日の朝、駅の前で会いましょう。九時に来てください。雨が降ったら、駅の中の喫茶店で待っています。
キム
To Tanaka: Let’s meet in front of the station tomorrow morning. Please come at nine. If it rains, I will wait in the coffee shop inside the station. Kim
Suggested pace: 4:00 for reading and answering.
私は毎週日曜日に公園へ行きます。公園は家から歩いて十分ぐらいです。朝は人が少ないので、静かです。
私は池の近くで本を読んだり、写真を撮ったりします。先週の日曜日は妹と行きました。妹は犬が好きなので、公園で犬を見て、「かわいい！」と言いました。
昼ごはんは公園の前の店で食べました。来週は友だちと行きたいです。
Every Sunday I go to the park. The park is about a ten-minute walk from my house. In the morning there are few people, so it is quiet. I read books and take photos near the pond. Last Sunday I went with my younger sister. She likes dogs, so when she saw a dog in the park she said, “So cute!” We ate lunch at the shop in front of the park. Next week I want to go with a friend.
Suggested pace: 3:00 for reading and answering.
みどり図書館
| 月曜日 | 休み |
|---|---|
| 火曜日～金曜日 | 午前九時～午後七時 |
| 土曜日・日曜日 | 午前十時～午後五時 |
・本は一人五さつまでです。
・二週間あとに かえして ください。
Midori Library. Monday: closed. Tuesday to Friday: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Up to five books per person. Please return them after two weeks.
The furigana setting “Hide on N5 kanji” uses a common unofficial N5 kanji list (the JLPT publishes none). A word keeps its reading unless every kanji in it is on the list. All passages are original, written by My Senpai in the style of the test.
The N5 test has three sections: Language Knowledge (Vocabulary) at 20 minutes, Language Knowledge (Grammar)・Reading at 40 minutes, and Listening at 30 minutes (times since December 2020). Reading comes after the grammar questions in the second section, so the time you spend on grammar is time you do not have for reading.
Scoring groups vocabulary, grammar and reading into one section worth 0 to 120 points; you need at least 38 there, at least 19 of the 60 listening points, and 80 of 180 overall to pass. The JLPT describes N5 reading as reading and understanding typical expressions and sentences written in hiragana, katakana and basic kanji.
| Task type | What you read | What the question asks |
|---|---|---|
| Short passage | A note, message or short email about plans | One detail: where, when, what to bring |
| Mid-size passage | A short text about someone’s day, family or hobby | What happened, who did it, what the writer likes or wants |
| Information retrieval | A notice, timetable, menu or price list | Which option fits a person’s situation |
Notes and messages usually carry one plan and one condition. Look for ～てください (please do), ～ましょう (let’s) and ～たら (if or when), because the question is almost always about one of them.
Underline 毎週, 先週, 来週 and every day of the week. N5 passages often mention two times, and the wrong option comes from the other one, as in the park passage above.
Do not read the notice from the top. Read the person’s situation first (the day, the time, the budget), then look only at the rows that could match. Check 午前 and 午後, closed days (休み) and limits such as ～まで.
| Days | What to do |
|---|---|
| Days 1 to 3 | One short passage a day, untimed. Read it twice, then answer. Save every word you looked up. |
| Days 4 to 7 | Add a mid-size passage. Read the questions first, then find the sentence that answers each one. |
| Days 8 to 11 | Information tasks: notices, timetables and price lists. Practise scanning for days, times, prices and 午前/午後. |
| Days 12 to 14 | One timed set a day at the suggested pace. Note every mistake as vocabulary, grammar or careless, and reread the sentence that held the answer. |
If the kanji slow you down, read with furigana on first and switch to hiding them on a second read. Our guide to what furigana is and when to stop relying on it explains the habit.
To compare reading apps side by side, see the best Japanese reading apps for beginners.
Ready for the next level? Try the JLPT N4 reading practice, then the JLPT N3 reading practice guide.
Reading has no section of its own at N5. It shares the 40-minute Language Knowledge (Grammar)・Reading section with the grammar questions. Vocabulary is a separate 20-minute section and listening takes 30 minutes, so the whole test runs 90 minutes plus breaks.
Reading is scored together with vocabulary and grammar as one section worth 0 to 120 points, and you need at least 38 in it. Listening is worth 0 to 60 with a minimum of 19. To pass N5 you also need 80 of the 180 points overall.
Three kinds: short passages such as notes, messages and emails; a mid-size passage about daily life; and an information-retrieval task where you find one detail in a notice, timetable or price list. They are written in hiragana, katakana and basic kanji.
The JLPT publishes no official kanji list. Unofficial learner lists usually give about 80 to 100 kanji for N5, mostly numbers, days, time words and everyday verbs such as 行, 来 and 見. Knowing the words matters more than the count, since readings change from word to word.
Read one short passage a day and answer the questions before checking a translation. Read the question first, find the sentence that answers it, and save every word you looked up. YoMoo has 65 N5 passages with furigana and one-tap meanings for this.
Last reviewed November 3, 2026. Section times, scoring and level descriptions: JLPT, Test sections and test times and jlpt.jp. Kanji counts come from unofficial learner lists; the JLPT has not published vocabulary or kanji lists since the current test began in 2010.
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