Japanese study guide
Essential JLPT N4 Vocabulary: 50 Intermediate Words to Know
Essential JLPT N4 vocabulary by theme: verbs, nouns and adjectives with kanji, readings and meanings, to bridge beginner to intermediate Japanese.
Once you've cleared N5, N4 is where Japanese starts feeling useful: you move from survival words to expressing plans, opinions, and reasons. The full N4 list runs to roughly 1,500 words; here are 50 essential ones, grouped by type. (Exact JLPT tiers aren't officially published and vary slightly by source, so treat these as solidly N4-level.)
New to N5 first? Start with essential JLPT N5 vocabulary.
Useful verbs
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 選ぶ | えらぶ | to choose |
| 運ぶ | はこぶ | to carry |
| 比べる | くらべる | to compare |
| 決める | きめる | to decide |
| 集める | あつめる | to collect, gather |
| 育てる | そだてる | to raise, bring up |
| 捨てる | すてる | to throw away |
| 探す | さがす | to look for |
| 続ける | つづける | to continue |
| 直す | なおす | to fix, repair |
| 手伝う | てつだう | to help |
| 遅れる | おくれる | to be late |
| 間に合う | まにあう | to be in time |
| 込む | こむ | to be crowded |
| 準備する | じゅんびする | to prepare |
| 案内する | あんないする | to guide, show around |
| 説明する | せつめいする | to explain |
| 経験する | けいけんする | to experience |
| 予約する | よやくする | to reserve, book |
| 運転する | うんてんする | to drive |
Everyday nouns
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 経験 | けいけん | experience |
| 予定 | よてい | plan, schedule |
| 約束 | やくそく | promise, appointment |
| 意見 | いけん | opinion |
| 理由 | りゆう | reason |
| 用事 | ようじ | errand, things to do |
| 生活 | せいかつ | daily life |
| 習慣 | しゅうかん | habit, custom |
| 文化 | ぶんか | culture |
| 歴史 | れきし | history |
| 世界 | せかい | world |
| 会議 | かいぎ | meeting |
| 受付 | うけつけ | reception desk |
| 交通 | こうつう | traffic, transport |
| 事故 | じこ | accident |
| 品物 | しなもの | goods, items |
| 値段 | ねだん | price |
| 財布 | さいふ | wallet |
| 地図 | ちず | map |
| 会話 | かいわ | conversation |
Adjectives and describers
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 複雑 | ふくざつ | complicated |
| 適当 | てきとう | suitable; half-hearted |
| 熱心 | ねっしん | enthusiastic, eager |
| 邪魔 | じゃま | a nuisance, in the way |
| 立派 | りっぱ | splendid, fine |
| 安全 | あんぜん | safe |
| 危険 | きけん | dangerous |
| 丁寧 | ていねい | polite, careful |
| 特別 | とくべつ | special |
| 盛ん | さかん | thriving, popular |
Don't just read the list, retain it
At N4 the word count is climbing fast, so retention is the whole game. Skimming a table feels productive but most of it evaporates within a week. To actually keep N4 vocabulary:
- Learn each word in a real sentence with audio, not as an isolated pair, so you learn usage, not just meaning.
- Review on a spaced schedule so words move into long-term memory. See spaced repetition for Japanese.
- Practice recall, producing the word from its meaning (why that matters).
Any tool that does those three will work; Cotobara does them for the full N4 corpus if you'd rather not build the deck yourself. For the road ahead, see how many words you need for each JLPT level.