Numbers, family, food, time and more: 838 beginner words from the JLPT lists sorted by topic, each with its reading and meaning. Read a topic here, then let Lock&Learn Japanese put the words on your Lock Screen.
Exam lists run in list order; a beginner thinks in topics. These 15 pages regroup the JLPT vocabulary by what the words are about, every entry with its reading and meaning and a level chip, and the JLPT N5 words with a real example sentence. Start with numbers and greetings, and come back for the rest.
Digits, tens, hundred, thousand, ten thousand
ไธ one · ไบใค five things · ไน nine · ไน nine
36 words Read the list → Days, months and timeDays of the week, months, seasons, today, tomorrow, hours
็ง autumn season · ๆ morning · ๆๅพๆฅ day after tomorrow · ๆๆฅ tomorrow
90 words Read the list → ColorsRed, blue, white, black and the rest
้ blue color · ้ใ blue · ่ตค red color · ่ตคใ red
26 words Read the list → FamilyParents, siblings, grandparents, spouses, children
ๅ my older brother · ๅง my older sister · ๅฆน younger sister · ใๆฏใใ mother
67 words Read the list → Body and healthHead to foot, plus sick, hospital, medicine
่ถณ; ่ foot · ้ ญ head · ๅป่ medical doctor · ็ใ painful or sore
65 words Read the list → Food and drinkMeals, dishes, drinks, eating and ordering
ๆๅพก้ฃฏ breakfast · ็ใ sweet · ้ฃด hard candy · ็พๅณใใ delicious or tasty
75 words Read the list → AnimalsPets, farm and wild animals, birds, fish
็ฌ dog · ้ญ fish · ๅ็ฉ animal · ้ณฅ bird
28 words Read the list → Weather and natureRain, snow, hot, cold, mountain, river, sea
ๆใใ warm · ๆใ hot weather · ้จ rain · ๆฑ pond
59 words Read the list → ClothesShirts, shoes, coats, and the verbs for wearing them
ไธ็ coat or jacket · ใใฐใ bag · ใใถใ put on head · ็ใ to wear clothes
62 words Read the list → Home and everyday objectsRooms, furniture, household objects
ใขใใผใ apartment building · ๅฎถ house · ๆค ๅญ chair · ใใก home or house
70 words Read the list → School and workSchool, study, exams, office, company, job
่ฑ่ช English language · ้็ญ pencil · ๆใใ to teach · ่ฆใใ to memorize
90 words Read the list → Travel and placesTransport, stations, tickets, hotels, directions
ๅ ฅๅฃ entrance · ๆ ็ป้คจ a movie theater · ้ง train station · ้ใใ to get off
99 words Read the list → FeelingsHappy, sad, angry, tired, surprised
ๅซ disagreeable · ๅซใ dislike · ๅฅฝใ to like · ๅคงๅฅฝใ like very much
30 words Read the list → Question wordsWhat, who, where, when, why, how, which
ใใใ how · ใใใค how many items · ใใใ how much money · ใใค when
20 words Read the list → Greetings and phrasesHello, goodbye, thank you, sorry, please
ใใใ no · ใใ yes · ไธใใ (after te-form) please do for me · ใใ; ใใใงใ that is right
21 words Read the list →Every word on these topic pages also sits on its level list, in the order the JLPT syllabus runs. Pick a level when you want the whole picture.
The ones a beginner meets first: every word on the JLPT lists that belongs to an everyday topic (numbers, time, family, food, the body, the weather, clothes, the home, school and work, travel, feelings, question words and greetings). Most of them sit at the first two levels, and the level chip on every row says which. Abstract words and grammar words stay on the level lists, where list order matters more than topic.
The words come from the JLPT vocabulary lists this site publishes level by level; the topic on each word is Lock&Learn's own tagging, one topic per word, kept deliberately strict so that a topic page holds only what a learner would look for under that heading.
Install Lock&Learn Japanese, then touch and hold your Lock Screen, tap Customize, tap the widget area and choose Lock&Learn Japanese. The JLPT N5 pack, free in the app, holds most of the words on these pages. A word waits in kanji, the way the test shows it; one tap reveals the reading, the meaning and a real sentence.
Yes. The app is free on iOS: JLPT N5 is free, every other pack opens with a free preview, and another word unlocks daily. Lock&Learn+ is an optional upgrade that opens every pack at once, offered as a yearly plan or a one-time lifetime purchase.