N4 Nouns List (Part 3) - Let’s Pass the JLPT!

To pass the JLPT exams, it is extremely important to learn a large number of nouns to be able to understand the questions. At the JLPT N4 level, you will need to remember hundreds of nouns as well. In this part, we introduce nouns related to places, directions, transportation, countries, and events & incidents that will be useful when travelling in Japan as well. 

Table of Contents

1. N4 Nouns List - Places and Facilities
2. N4 Nouns List - Directions and Placement
3. N4 Nouns List - Transportation
4. N4 Nouns List - Continents and Countries
5. N4 Nouns List - Events and Incidents 

In this article, we have compiled 83 Japanese nouns for the N4 level. These nouns are categorised into 5 categories: 

• Places & Facilities : destinations or Landmarks

• Directions & Placement : giving and understanding directions, and describing placement of items and objects 

• Transportation : vehicles and related vocabulary 

• Continents and Countries : the names of continents and countries

• Events and Incidents : the names of events and incidents, both good and bad 

Not just to pass the exams, these are practical words that will come up in daily life and travels. 

N4 Nouns List - Places and Facilities

To begin with, let’s look at some nouns about places. Japan is a country made up of cities and rural areas, 「都」is read “miyako” and means “city” or “capital”. In Japan, there is「1都 1道 2府 43県」. Tokyo, as the core of the Greater Tokyo Metropolitan area (首都圏 shutoken), is the only 都 in Japan. When the Kanji 「都」is attached to「東京」(Tokyo) to form「東京都」, it is read as “Tokyo-to”. 

Note: N5 and N4 level Kanji will be marked in BOLD.

Japanese words for other common facilities and places are as follows:

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N4 Nouns List - Directions and Placement

Knowing the directions and where you are is important when visiting tourist attractions and asking for directions. We have already learned how to say the individual four cardinal directions in Japanese at the N5 level. In N4, we will study the intercardinal directions that are in the same order as English. For example,「北東」(hokutou)」is 北 (north) + 東 (east) = northeast. 

Fun fact, the “four cardinal directions” are called「東西南北」(tou-zai-nan-boku) in Japanese, but it also means “coming from all directions”.

Note: N5 and N4 level Kanji will be marked in BOLD.

N4 Nouns List - Transportation

For those travelling independently, knowing transportation and vehicle related vocabulary is important. 

There are different types of train services in Japan. These 4 words are commonly displayed on train departure boards at the train station, among these words「普通」,「急行」and「特急」are especially important as it indicates the train service - what stations will the train stop at, and how fast you can arrive at your destination. 

「普通」is the local train service that stops at every station along the route. Whereas, 「急行」and 「特急」are faster train services that skip some stations. 「特急」is the fastest train service. 

Note: Kanji in BOLD need to be remembered at the N4 level. 

If you are driving in Japan, these are important words to know. 

N4 Nouns List - Continents and Countries

In the first N5 Nouns Article List, we introduced the Japanese names of some countries so that everyone can introduce their place of origin when making a self-introduction. At the N4 level, we learn more country names as well as the names of continents. 

N4 Nouns List - Events and Incidents 

For the last part, we will introduce the name of events that you can participate in when in Japan. There are many large and small scale festivals (お祭り; omatsuri) in Japan. Events in summer like summer festivals (夏祭り; natsumatsuri) and fireworks festivals (花火大会; hanabitaikai) are both Japanese summer customs. 

Among the happy and celebrated events, we also include incidents and happenings. It is good to know what these are called, whether to make conversation, or to report an incident. 

Note: N4 level Kanji are marked in BOLD.

These 83 Japanese nouns are useful not just for passing the JLPT but when travelling in Japan. Try to remember them all.