JLPT N5 Vocabulary List With Audio

JLPT N5 vocabulary is the set of everyday Japanese words expected at the first level of the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test: numbers, days, family, food, common verbs and adjectives. The JLPT does not publish an official list, so every N5 list is an estimate; this one has 614 words, each with its kana reading, an English meaning and audio. It is the same list the N5 puzzles in our daily Japanese crossword draw from.

The JLPT N5 word list

Audio is Google Cloud text-to-speech (a Japanese neural voice), not a recording of a person. A word that fits two topics is listed once, under its first topic.

How should you study the N5 vocabulary?

1. One topic at a time. Words that belong together (days of the week, family, food) are easier to keep than a random list.
2. About 10 new words a day. Play each one, say it out loud twice, and read the meaning.
3. Test with the meanings hidden. Go down yesterday’s topic, say each meaning, then tap to check.
4. Use the words, not just the list. Fill them into a puzzle, write a sentence, or meet them in a short reading.

For the last step, the daily Japanese crossword turns these words into a grid: each clue is an English meaning and you type the reading in romaji. Crossword’s N5 puzzles draw from this same list of 614 words. For grammar at the same level, see the JLPT N5 grammar list; for keeping words over months, the Leitner system and the guide to building Japanese vocabulary.

Where does this list come from?

The words are the N5 entries of the word list behind My Senpai Crossword, as corrected for the Crossword release of October 25, 2026. For this page we fixed 9 more entries: an uncle that was listed as a grandfather (伯父おじ), soap that was listed as “economy” (せっけん), 半分はんぶん (half), 一日いちにち (one day), 少すこし (a little) and four する verbs whose reading included する. The three number topics are merged into one group, and meanings start in lower case. Some words appear twice, in kanji and in kana (椅子 and いす), or with two readings (七: しち and なな), as in the source list.

Frequently asked questions

How many words do you need for JLPT N5?

The JLPT does not publish an official number. Most N5 word lists, including this one, have between about 600 and 800 words; this list has 614. A list like this, plus N5 grammar and kana, covers the everyday vocabulary the N5 test is built on.

Is there an official JLPT N5 vocabulary list?

No. The JLPT stopped publishing official vocabulary and kanji lists when the current test began in 2010, so every N5 list is an estimate built from the older official lists and textbooks. Lists differ by a few dozen words at the edges; the core everyday words are the same.

How long does it take to learn the N5 vocabulary?

At 10 new words a day, 614 words take about two months, plus reviews. Learning words in topic groups, saying each one aloud with the audio and reviewing the ones you miss works better than reading the list top to bottom.

Do I need to learn the kanji for N5 words?

For the N5 test you need to read the most common kanji (unofficial N5 kanji lists have about 80 to 100) and recognise the rest in kana. Learn each word by its reading first, as listed here, and add the kanji for the words you most often see written in kanji.

Can I download the JLPT N5 vocabulary list?

Yes. The Download CSV link above the list gives a file with every word, its reading, meaning and topic. It opens in any spreadsheet and imports into Anki and most flashcard apps.

Is the audio recorded by a native speaker?

No. Each clip is generated with Google Cloud text-to-speech using a Japanese neural voice, the same kind of voice our apps use. It reads each word from its kana reading, so kanji are never misread, but the pitch of some words that share a reading can differ from what a person would say.

Last reviewed November 1, 2026. Readings and meanings follow the source list with the corrections above. Found a mistake? Email fluencytool@my-senpai.com.