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How to answer each JLPT N5 vocabulary question type
Mondai 1 Kanji reading46 questions
Choose the correct reading of the underlined kanji word.
- Watch long vowels, small っ and voiced sounds: きょう vs きょ, しゅっ vs しゅ.
- Decide first whether the word takes an on reading or a kun reading.
- When unsure, rule out readings that don't exist in Japanese.
- Common mistake: The options differ by one long vowel or one dakuten, so they all look right.
Sample · July 2018, Mondai 1
___の言葉の読み方として最もよいものを選びなさい。
Mondai 2 Orthography32 questions
Read the word in hiragana and choose how it is written in kanji.
- The options are usually kanji that sound the same or look alike, so think about the meaning first.
- Break each kanji into its parts and check the radical against the meaning.
- Learn new words with their kanji, not just their sound.
- Common mistake: Same sound, different kanji: 暑い, 熱い and 厚い are all あつい. Choosing by sound alone goes wrong.
Sample · July 2018, Mondai 2
Mondai 3 Contextual expressions40 questions
Choose the word that fills the blank so the sentence makes sense.
- Read the whole sentence and find the word the blank has to go with.
- The options are usually the same kind of word, so judge by collocation and tone, not meaning alone.
- Katakana words and sound-symbolic words (onomatopoeia) come up often.
- Common mistake: An option that makes sense but is not how Japanese puts those words together.
Sample · July 2018, Mondai 3
わたしの へやは この アパートの 2( )です。
Mondai 4 Paraphrases20 questions
Choose the expression closest in meaning to the underlined part.
- Explain the underlined word to yourself in simple Japanese first.
- Put each option back into the sentence and read it.
- Check that degree and tone match, as in 少し vs かなり.
- Common mistake: An option that matches only part of the meaning, or means the opposite.
Sample · July 2018, Mondai 4
JLPT N5 vocabulary practice: questions
Where do the questions come from?
All from the vocabulary section of the JLPT N5 past papers, 2010–2018: 4 papers, 138 questions, each paper in printed order.
Is it free?
All 4 papers are free.