The JLPT is the standardized test to evaluate the language proficiency of non-native speakers. Although there is no official JPLT N5 list of kanjis, it corresponds mostly those in the Kentei 10 and 9, i.e., 1st and 2nd grade kanjis. However, the K9-10 kanjis are not enough. There are three categories of additional kanjis that appear in the test:

• kanjis of very common use outside Kentei 9 and 10
• combos of kanjis from Kentei 9 and 10 with their own meaning
• combos of kanji not in Kentei 9 and 10 with their own meaning

JPLT N5 kanjis not in Kentei 9-10

These are kanjis that didn’t make it to the Kentei 9 and 10 list but nonetheless are very common, and appear often in the test. A non-exhaustive list:

飲む	のむ – to drink	安い	やすい – cheap	駅	えき – station
私	わたし – I, me	卵	たまご – egg	傘	かさ – umbrella
飴	あめ – candy	鍵	かぎ – key	鞄	かばん – briefcase
箸	はし – chopsticks	薬	くすり – medicine	靴	くつ – shoes
階	かい – floor	才	さい – years old

kanji combos

Other kanjis and kanji words that appear often in the N5 test.

Time – before, now and after

夕べ	yuube – last night	今朝	kesa – this morning	今晩	konban – tonight
昨日	kinou – yesterday	今日	kyou – today	明日	ashita – tomorrow
先週	senshuu – last week	今週	konshuu – this week	来週	raishuu – next week
先月	sengetsu – last month	今月	kongetsu – this month	来月	raigetsu – next month
去年	kyonen – last year	今年	kotoshi – this year	来年	rainen – next year

more time related

一昨日	ototoi – day before yesterday	明後日	asatte – day after tomorrow
朝	asa – morning	晩	ban – evening
月曜日	getsuyoubi – Monday
火曜日	kayoubi – Tuesday	水曜日	suiyoubi – Wednesday
木曜日	mokuyoubi – Thursday	金曜日	kinyoubi – Friday
土曜日	doyoubi – Saturday	日曜日	nichiyoubi – Sunday
午前	gosen – a.m.	午後	gogo – p.m.

Space related

図書館	toshokan – library	銀行	ginkou – bank
病院	biouin – hospital	会社	kaisha – company
映画館	eiga-kan – movie theater	外国	gai-koku – foreign country
世界	sekai – the world

School related

学校	gakkou – school	授業	jugyou – lesson, class
学生	gakusei – student	中学	chuugaku – middle school
高校	koukou – high-school	大学	daigaku – college
質問	shitsumon – question	英語	eigo – English language

Verbs

入る	hairu – to enter	休む	yasumu – to rest
話	hanashi – speak	語	go – language
詰め	ume – stuffing	読む	yomu – to read
働く	hataraku – to work	出かける	dekakeru – to go out
生まれる	umareru – to be born	立つ	tau – to stand
開ける	akeru – to open	泳ぐ	oyogu – to swim
乗る	noru – to ride	浴びる	abiru – to take (a shower)
吸う	suu – to smoke, inhale

Nouns

電車	densha – train	電話	denwa – telephone
新聞	shinbun – newspaper	手紙	tegami – letter
息子	musuko – son	娘	musume – daughter
料理	ryouri – cooking

adjectives

暗い	kurai – dark	狭い	semai – narrow, confined
大事	daiji – important, serious	不便	fuben – inconvenience