Author: aaron

Complete JLPT N5 Counters

2018-08-08 by aaron·Comments Off

Studying for the JLPT N5 and confused by how to read the different counters? Is 6個 read as ろくこ or ろっこ? I've summarized all the counters you are likely to see on the JLPT N5 below. This is the complete guide--or the most complete one on the internet (Please use the contact form to let me know if anything is missing)--to the counters you are likely to encounter on the JLPT N5.

Bonus Content

Bonus content usually comes at the end, so it might seem weird to have it come first. But this is, in my mind, the most useful content in this entire article.

Bonus: 1-10 Possible Readings

Here is a summary of all the readings for 1-10 you will see in the counters listed below. I wish I had been showed me this summary table when I was studying Japanese. There's something about having all of this information in a single table that makes it much easier to learn. A good review is to look at each alternate reading and name at least one counter that uses it. Ex.: One alternate reading for 1 is ひと. This is used in the counter for people: 1人 (ひとり).

Download JLPT N5 Grammar List With Examples

2018-08-02 by aaron·Comments Off

Download my JLPT N5 Grammar List. Each entry comes with examples using N5 vocabulary (checkout my N5 vocab list or N5 kanji list) to help you review for the test. I also give abbreviated explanations on how to use some patterns to make them easily understandable.

Download

anki: Download the anki deck from ankiweb.net. This is the recommended format with full examples and furigana.
pdf: Download the pdf version
csv: Download the csv version encoded in SJIS

Also checkout these useful resources JLPT N5 verb conjugation JLPT N5 adjective conjugation JLPT N5 counters

JLPT N5 Grammar List

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Grammar	Usage Notes	Meaning	Example1	Example2	Note

JLPT N5 Verb Conjugation

2018-08-01 by aaron·Comments Off

One of the challenges when starting Japanese is learning verb conjugation. How do I make a verb negative or past tense? A quick search of wikipedia produces a page with over ten large tables which are intimidating and not well explained. When studying for the JLPT, you already need to memorize hundreds of words, kanji, and grammar patterns. So, large conjugation tables......no thank you. Instead I summarize verb conjugation into a set of quick and easy rules plus one medium sized table. This requires significantly less memorization. As with all rules (as well as large conjugation tables) there are exceptions. I try to list the ones I can think of, but there are more, especially at the higher levels. The following rules build on one another so I recommend you learn them in order. A note for Japanese linguists: These rules are meant to help Japanese learners (especially at the N5 level). They are not linguistically correct.

Prerequisite: Japanese Alphabet Rows

The following table is one that Japanese learners probably already know: the Japanese alphabet in hiragana. (I wrote it in western style, from left to right rather than the traditional Japanese style that would go from right to left.)…

Download JLPT N5 Kanji List With Examples

2018-06-08 by aaron·Comments Off

This is my JLPT N5 kanji list. Each entry has been checked for accuracy. Where possible I give examples that have the target kanji as part of an N5 vocabulary word (see the N5 vocabulary list. If there is no N5 compound available, I use the kanji itself as the example. I have also eliminated on-yomi and kun-yomi that I believe are too difficult to appear on the JLPT N5.

Download

anki: Download the anki deck from ankiweb.net. This is the recommended format.
pdf: Download the pdf version
csv: Download the csv version encoded in SJIS

Sources

Some definitions and readings provided by KANJIDIC2, available under the CC Share-Alike v3.0 license: http://www.edrdg.org/edrdg/licence.html.

JLPT N5 Kanji List

Kanji	On-Yomi	Kun-Yomi	Definition	Examples
一	イチ	ひと～、ひと・つ	one; one radical (no.1)	一つひとつ one (general counter) 一人ひとり one person 一番いちばん first \| best; most
七	シチ	なな、なな・つ、なの	seven	七つななつ seven (general counter) 七日なのか the seventh day of the month
万	マン		10,000; ten thousand	十万じゅうまん 100,000
三	サン	みっ・つ、み・つ	three	三つみっつ three (general counter) 三日みっか the third day of the month
上	ショウ、ジョウ	あ・がる、あ・げる、うえ、うわ～	above; up	上あげる to raise; to elevate \| to increase (price, quality,…

Download JLPT N5 Vocabulary List With Examples

2018-04-25 by aaron·Comments Off

This is a high quality JLPT N5 vocabulary list with over 680 words. Entries have been checked by hand for accuracy and are accompanied by examples that use relevant N5 grammar. This list is far from perfect, so please contact us if you find any errors, have suggestions for new entries, or have comments. Thank you!!

Download

anki: Download the anki deck from ankiweb.net. This is the recommended format and contains furigana for examples.
pdf: Download the pdf version
csv: Download the csv version encoded in SJIS

JLPT N5 Vocabulary List

Kanji	Kana	POS	Definition	Example Sentence	Example Sentence English
～個	～こ	ctr	counter for small objects	ハンバーガーを二に個こ注文ちゅうもんした。	I ordered two hamburgers.
～冊	～さつ	ctr	counter for bound objects (ex. Books)	鞄かばんに一いっ冊さつが入はいっています。	There is one book in the bag.
～分	～ぷん	n,ctr	minutes (unit of time) \| counter for minutes	駅えきまで１０分ぷんがかります。	It takes 10 minutes to the station.
～匹	～ひき	ctr	counter for small animals	家いえに２に匹ひきの犬いぬがいる。	We have two dogs.
～台	～だい	ctr	counter for large objects (esp. devices such as refrigerators, cars)	家いえにテレビが２に台だいある。	We have 2 TVs at home.
～回	～かい	ctr	counter for number of times	先月せんげつあの映画えいがを3回かい見みました。	I saw that movie 3 times last month.
～年	～ねん	n,ctr	year (unit of time) \| counter for…

Do I Need The JLPT To Study At A Japanese University?

2018-01-10 by aaron·Comments Off

One of the best ways to experience Japan is by doing some of your university studies here. You can earn your degree, or credits towards a degree, while experiencing Japanese language and culture. Also, the many university “circles” (Japanese social organizations and clubs) and sports teams combined with good food and drink make it a lot of fun. Most universities have great support systems in place for international students. You always have somewhere to ask questions like “How do I open a bank account?” or “What does this notice from the utility company mean?” One question that people often have is “Do I need the JLPT to study at a Japanese university?” That depends on what type of program you are entering. I’ll give some general guidelines, but it is always best to check with the prospective university because rules differ.

Do I need the JLPT to do an inter-university exchange?

These are usually two-way exchange programs where students from your home university get to study at a Japanese partner university for a semester or two and visa versa. These programs are often designed to give the participants a way to experience a foreign culture. To make them accessible, there…

JLPT Vocabulary Strategies

2017-12-24 by aaron·Comments Off

In this post, I’ll talk about some JLPT vocabulary strategies that helped me when taking the test. Please see my post on JLPT test sections if you are unfamiliar with the different question types in the vocabulary section. If you are a seasoned SAT veteran, you may recognize some of these strategies or used variations of them on the SAT. First, let me give some overall pointers to keep in mind during this section.

Overall Strategies

Study Before The Exam

Yes, this sounds obvious. It is. When it comes to vocabulary, the best way to improve your score is by learning more words. The only way to do this is by studying beforehand.

Don’t Waste Time. Guess And Move On.

When it comes to the vocabulary section, you either know the answer or you don’t. If you know the answer, you don’t need to use any strategies to eliminate choices, just bubble in the correct answer. It is easy to get caught up in one question as you deliberate between two choices. If you find yourself looking at the same question for more than a minute, remember that it is only one question. There are many more on the…

JLPT Grammar Strategies

2017-12-06 by aaron·Comments Off

In this post I’ll give you some JLPT grammar strategies that I used when taking the test. Before getting into some strategies for each question type, here is the biggest pointer.

Study Before The Exam

The best thing you can do to get more questions correct in the grammar section is to learn all the grammar patterns before taking the exam. I know this is not a strategy you can employ during the test, but it is the most effective way to get more questions correct. I think that grammar gives you the most bang for your study time. Unlike vocabulary, where there are thousands of words and kanji to remember, there are only a few hundred grammar patterns. This means that it is possible to learn all the patterns that will appear on the test. Just load these into your anki deck and study them along with any kanji/vocab you have. (See my top 5 JLPT study tools for more about anki or get the deck I used to study for the N1.) Now, I’ll go over strategies that are specific to each question type below. If you are unfamiliar with the sections of the test, check…

JLPT Reading Strategies

2017-11-25 by aaron·Comments Off

For many people the reading section is the toughest section of the JLPT. You will encounter a few different question types (see JLPT test sections for details on each question type) and having a couple of good test taking strategies in your toolbox can go a long way towards getting a few more questions correct and boosting your overall score. Before I get into some strategies that are specific to each question type, I want to give a couple of overall strategies.

Overall Strategies

1. Watch your time.

It is easy to get caught up in one difficult reading passage. You need to remember that there are many passages and questions in this section. If you spend all of your time on one passage, you won’t have enough time to devote to the other ones. I like to start this section by flipping through the test booklet to see how many questions/passages there are total. This allows me to get a rough idea of how much time I should be spending on each question. I then look at my watch--yes, you need to bring a watch to the test because there won’t always be a clock to look at--at…

JLPT Listening Strategies

2017-11-14 by aaron·Comments Off

Depending on the JLPT level, you will encounter 4-5 types of questions in the listening section. Having an effective strategy to tackle each question type beforehand will give you a better chance of answering more questions correctly. I make no guarantee that these JLPT listening strategies will actually raise your score, but they worked for me. Before I get into detailed strategies for each question type, I want to say that many people associate the listening section with listening only. But I have found taking notes and crossing off wrong answers to be very helpful. Many questions have nothing written in the test booklet...you only get a blank "ノート" space. Mines looks like chicken scratch when the section is done. In trying my best to catch every detail in the conversation, I often forget what was said in the very beginning. Also, I like to write "1 2 3 4" for each question to represent the choices. As the answers are spoken during the test, I cross off obviously wrong ones. This helps me when I need to guess. I don't have to try remembering if choice 1 or 2 was wrong because I can clearly see it on the…