How Many Kanji and Words Do You Need for JLPT N5? (There's No Official List)

How many kanji and words for JLPT N5?

For JLPT N5 you need about 100 kanji and about 800 words. Those are the JLPT's own figures for the old Level 4, the level N5 was designed to match, but there is no official N5 list.

The JLPT stopped publishing lists of kanji, vocabulary and grammar when the test was revised in 2010. Every N5 list you'll find online, ours included, is unofficial. So treat 100 and 800 as "about", not as a checklist.

Unofficial lists give between 79 and 103 kanji, and a few give more. Our N5 list has 668 words and 103 kanji. The rest of this page explains where the numbers come from, why sites disagree, and shows all 103 kanji.

Is there an official JLPT N5 kanji list?

No. Before 2010, the JLPT published "Test Content Specifications": lists of the vocabulary, kanji and grammar for each level. The current test doesn't. The official FAQ explains why:

We believe that the ultimate goal of studying Japanese is to use the language to communicate rather than simply memorizing vocabulary, kanji and grammar items. ... Therefore, we decided that publishing "Test Content Specifications" containing a list of vocabulary, kanji and grammar items was not necessarily appropriate.

Instead, jlpt.jp points learners to three things:

• The level summary. For N5 it's short: "The ability to understand some basic Japanese." For reading, one "is able to read and understand typical expressions and sentences written in hiragana, katakana, and basic kanji." For listening, one can follow conversations about daily life and the classroom, and pick out what's needed from short conversations spoken slowly.
• The composition of test items. This lists the question types at each level. For N5, the Vocabulary section has kanji reading and orthography (how a word is written) questions.
• The sample questions and practice workbooks. jlpt.jp publishes these free.

So if a site says its list is "the official JLPT N5 list", it isn't. That doesn't make it useless. It just means someone made it.

Where 100 kanji and 800 words come from

The old JLPT (up to 2009) had four levels, 1 to 4. Level 4 was the easiest.

The test was revised in 2010. jlpt.jp says the new pass lines were set, by statistical analysis, to match the old ones. So people who could pass the old Level 4 can pass N5. In its own words:

This means that examinees with the Japanese-language competence to pass Levels 1, 2, 3 and 4 in the old test can pass N1, N2, N4 and N5 in the current test.

The official comparison of the old and new tests gives the old criteria. For Level 4:

The examinee has mastered the basic elements of grammar, knows around 100 kanji and 800 words, has the ability to engage in simple conversation and read and write short, simple sentences. This level is normally reached after studying Japanese for around 150 hours and after completion of the first half of an elementary course.

Here are all four old levels, from easiest to hardest:

N3 has no old equivalent. It was added in 2010, between the old Levels 2 and 3, so it has no official kanji or word figure at all.

These round figures are the JLPT's own, but they describe the old test. The new N5 has the same pass standard, not necessarily the same content. For how the 150-hour figure compares with other estimates, see how long to study for JLPT N5.

Why sites say 79, 100, 103 or 112 kanji

Search for "JLPT N5 kanji" and you'll get several different numbers. They're not mistakes. They're different lists.

The lists overlap far more than the numbers suggest. All 79 kanji on Waller's list are among the 103 that KANJIDIC2 tags as old Level 4. The difference is 24 kanji at the edge, not two different sets.

What matters for the test is less the exact count than knowing the words those kanji appear in. N5 questions ask you to read a word written in kanji, or to choose how a word is written. A kanji you know on its own but can't read inside a word won't earn many points.

Our JLPT N5 vocabulary list: 668 words

Our N5 vocabulary list has 668 words. It has 677 entries, because a few words appear twice, under two spellings, forms or readings.

It's based on Jonathan Waller's JLPT lists (tanos.co.uk), which he publishes under a Creative Commons Attribution licence. The readings come from JMdict, the open Japanese-English dictionary. Like every N5 list, it's unofficial.

A few words from it:

Why 668 and not 800?

Word counts depend on what a list counts as one word, and which borderline words it includes. Ours, for example, has both the noun and the adjective for "blue" as separate entries:

"About 800" is the old test's round figure. It isn't the length of a list you can check against. So a list a little shorter or longer is not a sign that something is missing. If you know all 668 of ours and meet a word on the test you don't know, the answer is to keep reading and listening at this level, not to hunt for a longer list.

The 103 JLPT N5 kanji

The N5 path also teaches 103 kanji: the whole old Level 4 set as KANJIDIC2 tags it. They come about ten at a time, between the word stages. Here they are in that order, most common first. Tap any kanji to see its readings and how it's written.

The first seven chapters of the N5 path are free: 100 words and 20 kanji. Each stage opens when you've learned 80% of the one before, and everything you learn comes back in Smart Review.

How to use an unofficial N5 list

• Learn words, not just kanji. The test asks you to read and write words. Learn each kanji inside the words you already know. If kanji are new to you, start with what is kanji?
• Go most common first. If you run out of time before the test, you'll have covered the words most likely to appear.
• Don't skip kana. The official N5 description is about sentences "written in hiragana, katakana, and basic kanji". On our list, 147 of the 677 entries are written without kanji, and 58 of those are in katakana. If you're still unsure of either script, start with how to memorise hiragana and katakana.
• Check yourself on real questions. jlpt.jp publishes the questions from its two Official Practice Workbooks free, with answers and listening audio. Each has almost the same number of questions as a real test. They'll show you where your list, whichever it is, has gaps.
• Review what you learn. 668 words is manageable, but only if they stay learned. A spaced-repetition review, a few minutes a day, does most of the work. For a sensible daily pace, see how many new words a day. If an app is your main tool, see is Duolingo enough for JLPT N5?

Questions about JLPT N5 kanji and vocabulary

How many kanji should I learn for N5?

About 100 kanji is the target for JLPT N5. That's the JLPT's figure for the old Level 4, which N5 matches. Unofficial lists range from 79 to 103, and a few go higher. Our N5 path teaches 103.

How many words do you need for JLPT N5?

About 800 words is the JLPT's figure for the old Level 4, the level N5 matches. Our N5 list has 668 words. Other lists differ, depending on what they count as one word.

Is there an official JLPT N5 vocabulary list?

No, the JLPT hasn't published an official vocabulary, kanji or grammar list since the test was revised in 2010. Its FAQ says the goal of study is to communicate, not to memorise lists. Every N5 list online is unofficial.

Can I pass N5 without kanji?

Probably not, because skipping kanji gives away points you need. The Vocabulary section has kanji reading and orthography questions. jlpt.jp's N5 summary also says you read sentences "written in hiragana, katakana, and basic kanji". We haven't checked how often the rest of the paper prints the reading over a kanji, so don't count on it. For the pass marks, see JLPT N5 passing score.

Can I skip N5 and go to N4?

Yes, as far as jlpt.jp says: it doesn't require you to pass N5 before you take N4. Its advice is to choose a level by reading the level summary and trying the sample questions. Local test centres can add their own registration rules, so check with yours. If you're a complete beginner, N5 is still the natural first goal.

Sources

• The Japan Foundation and JEES, Frequently asked questions, jlpt.jp: why "Test Content Specifications" are no longer published (#anchor28), how current levels were matched with old levels (#anchor13), how to decide which level to take, and eligibility.
• Comparison of the old and new tests (PDF), jlpt.jp: the criteria for old Levels 1 to 4.
• N1-N5: Summary of Linguistic Competence Required for Each Level, jlpt.jp.
• Test sections and composition of test items, jlpt.jp.
• Sample questions and Official Practice Workbooks, jlpt.jp.
• Jonathan Waller, JLPT N5 resources and N5 kanji list (79 kanji), tanos.co.uk, CC BY.
• KANJIDIC2, © Electronic Dictionary Research and Development Group, CC BY-SA 4.0 (project page). The note on JLPT levels is in the dictionary file's documentation. The 103 kanji and their order come from its old Level 4 tags and newspaper frequency ranks.
• JMdict, © Electronic Dictionary Research and Development Group, CC BY-SA 4.0 (project page).
• Reviewed by two independent reviews. The points about furigana on the N5 paper, sitting N4 without N5, and teaching kanji most common first are waiting for a teacher's check.
• The full list of sources is on our attributions page.