Welcome to Part 3 of the N5 Nouns article collection. In this part, we will introduce nouns useful for travelling, understanding directions to places, and other good to know nouns. They total 115 that you need to know for the N5 level.
Table of Contents
- N5 Nouns List - Places
- N5 Nouns List - Directions and Describing Placement
- N5 Nouns List - Vehicles
- N5 Nouns List - Other Nouns
- Example Simple Sentences at N5 Level
In this article, we have compiled 81 nouns for the places, directions, and vehicles category. How are they related?
-
Places : Destinations or Landmarks
-
Directions : To understand or give directions to a place, to describe placement
-
Vehicles : Transportation to places
Not just to pass the N5 test, these are practical words that are useful in everyday life as well as for travels.
N5 Nouns List - Places
General Places
General places, or types of places, to know. Many of these can be used as a suffix, for example:
-
~駅 : 渋谷駅 (shibuya eki) - Shibuya Station
-
~橋 : 祖谷かずら橋 (iya kazura-bashi)
-
~町 : 麹町 (koujimachi)
-
~店 : 〇〇書店 (〇〇 shouten) - 〇〇 book shop
In some cases, the reading may change.
せかい |
世界 |
the world |
えき |
駅 |
train station |
ところ |
所 |
place |
はし |
橋 |
bridge |
まち |
町 |
town; neighbourhood |
みせ |
店 |
shop; store |
みち |
道 |
road; street |
むら |
村 |
village |
Names of Places
Specific names of places that you should know at the N5 level.
Note that Kanji in BOLD need to be memorised.
じむしょ |
事務所 |
office |
かいぎしつ |
会議室 |
meeting room |
うけつけ |
受付 |
reception |
りょう |
寮 |
dormitory |
くうこう |
空港 |
airport |
しやくしょ |
市役所 |
city office |
くやくしょ |
区役所 |
ward office |
がっこう |
学校 |
school |
きょうしつ |
教室 |
classroom |
こうこう |
高校 |
high school |
だいがく |
大学 |
university |
かいしゃ |
会社 |
company; corporation |
ぎんこう |
銀行 |
bank |
こうばん |
交番 |
police box |
びょういん |
病院 |
hospital |
ゆうびんきょく |
郵便局 |
post office |
おてあらい |
お手洗い |
toilet |
えいがかん |
映画館 |
cinema; movie theatre |
びじゅつかん |
美術館 |
art gallery |
たいしかん |
大使館 |
embassy |
としょかん |
図書館 |
library |
はくぶつかん |
博物館 |
museum |
くすりや |
薬屋 |
pharmacy |
ケーキや |
ケーキ屋 |
cake shop |
はなや |
花屋 |
flower shop |
ほんや |
本屋 |
book shop |
ラーメンや |
ラーメン屋 |
ramen shop |
カフェ |
- |
cafe |
きっさてん |
喫茶店 |
coffee shop |
こうえん |
公園 |
park |
こうさてん |
交差点 |
intersection |
コンビニ |
- |
convenience store |
しょくどう |
食堂 |
cafeteria; dining hall |
スーパー |
- |
supermarket |
デパート |
- |
department store |
プール |
- |
swimming pool |
ホテル |
- |
hotel |
やおや |
八百屋 |
greengrocer |
レストラン |
- |
restaurant |
Writer's Pick
N5 Nouns List - Directions
4 Cardinal Directions
You will need to remember the kanji for the 4 cardinal directions.
The most common place to encounter them are at train stations to mark exits - “北口 (kitaguchi) - north exit”, “南口 (minamiguchi) - south exit”, and so on.
きた |
北 |
north |
みなみ |
南 |
south |
ひがし |
東 |
east |
にし |
西 |
west |
To Understand Directions
Knowing how to ask for directions is one thing, but more importantly, you need to be able to understand them. From hereon are N5 vocabulary that will help with that, including key landmarks and objects that you should know.
いりぐち |
入口 |
entrance |
でぐち |
出口 |
exit |
ろうか |
廊下 |
corridor; passageway |
もん |
門 |
gate |
エスカレーター |
- |
escalator |
エレベーター |
- |
elevator |
ちか |
地下 |
basement |
For Object Placement Also
Not just for directions, these are also used to describe object placement.
For example, “つくえの上にねこがねています (tsukue no ue ni neko ga neteimasu) - a cat is sleeping on the table”.
Note : At the N5 level, the kanji in BOLD need to be remembered.
なか |
中 |
inside; within; center |
そと |
外 |
outside |
した |
下 |
down; below; under |
うえ |
上 |
up; above; over; surface |
みぎ |
右 |
right |
ひだり |
左 |
left |
かど |
角 |
corner; angle |
そば |
側 |
beside |
となり |
隣 |
next door |
へん |
辺 |
area; vicinity |
まえ |
前 |
in front; previous; ago |
うしろ |
後ろ |
behind; back; rear |
むこう |
向こう |
opposite side; over there |
N5 Nouns List - Vehicles
The kanji in BOLD need to be remembered at this level.
くるま |
車 |
car |
じてんしゃ |
自転車 |
bicycle |
じどうしゃ |
自動車 |
car; automobile |
タクシー |
- |
taxi |
ちかてつ |
地下鉄 |
subway |
でんしゃ |
電車 |
train |
バイク |
- |
motorcycle; motorbike |
バス |
- |
bus |
ひこうき |
飛行機 |
aeroplane |
ふね |
船 |
ship |
しんかんせん |
新幹線 |
bullet train |
N5 Nouns List - Other Nouns
This part is unrelated to the above. They are, unfortunately, nouns that do not belong in any of the other categories. There are 34 of them.
These 4 are useful for describing things in certain situations.
ほか |
他 |
other (place, thing, person) |
おなじ |
同じ |
same |
さき |
先 |
previous |
つぎ |
次 |
next |
As for these, they are nouns for a variety of things that you need to know at the JLPT N5 level. As usual, the Kanji in BOLD need to be memorised.
おかね |
お金 |
money |
かいもの |
買い物 |
shopping; purchased goods |
かぜ |
風邪 |
a cold |
かた |
方 |
method |
カメラ |
- |
camera |
きっぷ |
切符 |
ticket |
コンピューター |
- |
computer |
せいかつ |
生活 |
a living |
ぜんぶ |
全部 |
all |
そうじ |
掃除 |
cleaning |
たばこ |
- |
tabacco; cigaratte |
チケット |
- |
ticket |
ちず |
地図 |
map |
テープレコーダー |
- |
tape recorder |
にもつ |
荷物 |
luggage; baggage |
ニュース |
- |
news |
はいざら |
灰皿 |
ashtray |
はこ |
箱 |
box |
パスポート |
- |
passport |
パソコン |
- |
PC |
はなし |
話 |
talk; conversation |
パンチ |
- |
punch |
びょうき |
病気 |
sickness; disease; illness |
ファックス |
- |
fax |
プレゼント |
- |
present |
ポスト |
- |
mailbox; postbox |
マッチ |
- |
match (for lighting fire) |
もの |
物 |
thing |
レコード |
- |
record |
でんち |
電池 |
battery |
Example Simple Sentences at N5 Level
A quick lesson on how to put these nouns to good use. The words in BOLD are ones that you’ve learnt above.
1. わたしの学校はえきの前にあります。
(watashi no gakkou wa eki no mae ni arimasu)
- My school is in front of the train station.
2. すみません、おてあらいはどこですか?
(sumimasen, otearai wa doko desuka?)
- Excuse me, where is the toilet?
3. おてあらいは下のかいにあります。エスカレーターを降りたらすぐそこです。
(otearai wa shita no kai ni arimasu. esukareetaa wo oritara sugu soko desu.)
- The toilet is on the floor below. Ride the escalator down and it’s right there.
4. わたしはじてんしゃで大学へ通います。
(watashi wa jitensha de daigaku he kayoimasu.)
- I commute to university by bicycle.
5. しんかんせんははやいですね。
(shinkansen wa hayai desune.)
- The bullet train is so fast.
6. お金がほしいです。
(okane ga hoshii desu.)
- I want money.
7. このスカートはほかの色はありますか?
(kono sukaato wa hoka no iro wa arimasuka?)
- Is this skirt available in another colour?
8. つぎは何がしたい?
(tsugi wa nani ga shitai?)
- What do you want to do next?