The JLPT N4 is still considered beginner level Japanese with basic words and sentences to learn. Compared to the N5 level, grammar is slightly more complex.
Below is our compilation of N4 vocabulary articles to help you study. For N5 revision purposes, we have an N5 Vocabulary Compilation article.
N4 Vocabulary
N4 Adjectives - 形容詞 (keiyoushi)
There are less adjectives to study at the N4 level as many regular expressions used in our daily lives have been covered in N5. At this point, you should be quite familiar with how to conjugate adjectives. With the additional number of adjectives in your repertoire, you can describe things, situations, etc. in more detail.
N4 Verbs - 動詞 (doushi)
A large number of verbs are covered at the N4 level, more so than in N5. There are many similar looking verbs in the N4 level, so take your time memorising them. Additionally, transitive verbs (他動詞 tadoushi) and intransitive verbs (自動詞 ji-doushi), which many people get easily confused by, are introduced. It is important to know the difference between transitive and intransitive verbs, using the wrong one can change the entire meaning of the sentence.
N4 Nouns - 名詞 (meishi)
Many nouns used in daily life have been covered in N5, so there are less to learn and memorise in N4. Compared to N5, where nouns cover a broad range of situations, N4 nouns are more situation specific. For example, nouns for education and study, work and occupation, events and incidents, etc. We’ve split the N4 nouns into 4 lists based on categories. You can study them separately with flashcards, or together in categories.
N4 Nouns List (Part 1): Education, Work, Hobbies, Nature
N4 Nouns List (Part 2): Action, Feelings, Quantity, Time
N4 Nouns List (Part 3): Places, Directions, Events, etc.
N4 Nouns List (Part 4): People, Home, Body, Clothing, etc.
N4 Particles - 助詞 (joshi)
Japanese particles are important to form the structure of sentences. At the N5 level, we learnt about Case Particles (or Case Markers), the most basic of particles required to form simple sentences.
At the N4 level, more complex particles such as Parallel Markers and Conjunctive Particles are covered. This allows students to make more complex and longer sentences to describe various situations.
N4 Adverbs - 副詞 (fukushi)
Adverbs are used a lot in Japanese to describe situations more accurately. More adverbs are introduced at this level to add to your growing collection from N5.
N5 ~ N1 Conjunctions - 接続詞 (setsuzokushi)
Essential for making long sentences. This article covers conjunctions from all 5 levels, but there is a section on just N4 if you want to study them a little at a time! You can review from the beginning on how conjunctions are used in Japanese with thorough examples!
Best of luck with your studies!
