JLPT N5 grammar: the core points, with examples

N5 grammar is small enough to fit in one article, and that is genuinely good news: the entire beginner syllabus is roughly a dozen particles, two verb conjugation systems, two adjective types, and about fifteen sentence patterns. What makes it hard is not volume but precision — the exam sets traps between に and で, between 好き and 好きな, between 高くないです and the tempting-but-wrong ×高いじゃないです. This guide walks through every core point with a real sentence, its reading, and an English translation, and flags the specific places beginners lose marks.

1. What N5 grammar actually tests

First, an honest caveat that most "N5 grammar list" pages skip: since the exam was redesigned in 2010, the JLPT organisers no longer publish an official grammar syllabus. Every list you find online — including this one — is a reconstruction from standard beginner textbooks, official sample questions, and past papers. The core is uncontroversial and stable, but a handful of items sit on the N5–N4 boundary and are labelled differently by different sources. Where that is true below, it is said explicitly rather than asserted.

Second, understand the shape of the questions. The grammar part of N5 sits inside the 言語知識(文法)・読解 section and asks three things. Form selection gives a sentence with a gap and four candidates, usually differing by one particle or one conjugation. Sentence assembly gives four scrambled chunks to reorder, then asks which chunk lands on the starred position — you must build the whole sentence in your head to answer. Text grammar gives a short passage with gaps and tests whether your choice fits the flow, not just the local slot. All three reward the same thing: knowing exactly which particle or ending a given verb or adjective demands.

Third, N5 grammar is inseparable from N5 vocabulary. A grammar question you understand perfectly is still unanswerable if you don't know the verb in the stem. Work through the N5 word list in parallel with this page rather than after it — around 800 words is the usual working estimate for N5, and our JLPT module covers 2,904 words across all five levels.

2. Noun sentences: です, でした, and the demonstratives

The very first Japanese sentence pattern is A は B です — "as for A, it is B". です is not a verb meaning "to be" so much as a politeness marker attached to the end of the sentence; its plain-form counterpart is だ, which you will meet properly in section 4.

• わたしは 学生です。(わたしは がくせいです) — "I am a student."
• 田中さんは 先生じゃありません。(たなかさんは せんせいじゃ ありません) — "Mr Tanaka is not a teacher." The negative is じゃありません, or the stiffer ではありません in writing.
• 昨日は 休みでした。(きのうは やすみでした) — "Yesterday was a day off." Past = でした.
• 昨日は 休みじゃありませんでした。 — "Yesterday was not a day off." Past negative stacks the two: じゃありません + でした.

The demonstratives — the こ・そ・あ・ど series — are pure N5 territory and appear in almost every past paper. They come in four parallel sets, and once you see the grid the whole family is learnable in an afternoon: これ・それ・あれ・どれ (stand-alone pronouns: this one / that one / that one over there / which one), この・その・あの・どの (attached to a following noun: この本 = "this book"), ここ・そこ・あそこ・どこ (places), and こちら・そちら・あちら・どちら (directions, and a politer substitute for the other sets). The こ- forms are near the speaker, そ- forms near the listener, あ- forms away from both, ど- forms are the question word.

• これは わたしの かばんです。 — "This is my bag." Note これ takes no following noun.
• この かばんは わたしのです。 — "This bag is mine." この must be followed by a noun; ×この は… is ungrammatical. Swapping これ and この is one of the most common N5 mistakes.
• トイレは どこですか。 — "Where is the toilet?" — arguably the single most useful N5 sentence in existence.

3. The particles — the real core of N5

If you only master one area before sitting N5, make it particles. They carry the grammatical relationships that English carries with word order, and the exam knows that learners guess them. Here is the full N5 set with a worked example for each:

Three confusions cause most lost marks. は versus が: は presents known or contrastive information, が presents new information or answers a question word. Compare 誰が田中さんですか — 「わたしが田中です」 (identifying, new) with the plain self-introduction 「わたしは田中です」. に versus で: に marks where something exists or where movement ends; で marks where an action takes place. 教室に います (I'm in the classroom) versus 教室で 勉強します (I study in the classroom). を versus が with feelings and abilities: Japanese treats "like" and "be good at" as states, so they take が, not を — ×音楽を好きです is wrong, 音楽が好きです is right. For a deeper treatment with more examples, the dedicated particles guide is worth an hour of your time.

4. Verbs: the ます-form, and the plain form behind it

Japanese verbs fall into three groups, and every conjugation you will ever learn depends on knowing which group a verb belongs to. Group 2 (ichidan) verbs end in -eru or -iru and simply drop る: 食べる → 食べます (たべる → たべます), 見る → 見ます (みる → みます). Group 1 (godan) verbs shift their final syllable to the い-row: 飲む → 飲みます (のむ → のみます), 行く → 行きます (いく → いきます), 話す → 話します (はなす → はなします). Group 3 is just two irregulars: する → します and 来る → 来ます (くる → きます). Note that 来る changes its reading as it conjugates — く, き, こ — which is why the kanji alone won't tell you how to say it.

The polite ます-form has exactly four shapes, and N5 expects all four instantly:

• Present/future affirmative: 毎朝 コーヒーを 飲みます。(まいあさ コーヒーを のみます) — "I drink coffee every morning." Japanese does not distinguish present from future here; context does.
• Negative (ません): お酒は 飲みません。(おさけは のみません) — "I don't drink alcohol."
• Past (ました): 昨日 映画を 見ました。(きのう えいがを みました) — "I watched a film yesterday."
• Past negative (ませんでした): 昨日は 何も 食べませんでした。(きのうは なにも たべませんでした) — "I didn't eat anything yesterday."

The plain form (also called the dictionary or casual form) is introduced at N5 but exploited from N4 onwards. Its four shapes mirror the polite ones: 食べる / 食べない / 食べた / 食べなかった. Two reasons to learn it now rather than later. First, it is how words appear in dictionaries and on the word cards in the study page, so you cannot look a verb up without it. Second, almost every later grammar pattern attaches to the plain form, not the ます-form — including 〜ことができる in section 7 below. Getting comfortable with the ない-form early also pays off, because the negative of ある is the irregular ない (not ×あらない), and ない itself conjugates like an い-adjective: なかった.

The て-form deserves special mention. It is not a tense — it is a connector, and it is the single highest-leverage form in beginner Japanese, because 〜てください, 〜てから, 〜てもいいです and 〜ている all hang off it. The godan て-form endings are irregular enough that most learners drill them with a song or a chart: う・つ・る → って, む・ぶ・ぬ → んで, く → いて, ぐ → いで, す → して, with 行く → 行って as the famous exception. Group 2 verbs just swap る for て. If verb forms are your weak point, work through the verb conjugation guide before continuing here.

5. Adjectives: two types, four forms each

Japanese has two adjective classes that behave differently, and mixing them up is the most visible beginner error in written work. い-adjectives end in い and conjugate themselves. な-adjectives are really nouns in disguise; they borrow です/でした for their conjugation and take な when placed directly before a noun.

Worked examples: この レストランは 安くて おいしいです。(この レストランは やすくて おいしいです) — "This restaurant is cheap and tasty." 京都は 静かで きれいな 町です。(きょうとは しずかで きれいな まちです) — "Kyoto is a quiet, beautiful city."

Three traps. One: never conjugate an い-adjective with じゃありません — ×高いじゃありません is wrong; it is 高くないです. Two: いい ("good") is irregular because it conjugates from its older form よい — よくないです, よかったです, よくなかったです, never ×いかったです. This spreads to compounds, so かっこいい becomes かっこよかった. Three: a few words end in い but are な-adjectives, and the exam loves them: きれい (pretty/clean), 有名 (ゆうめい, famous) and 嫌い (きらい, disliked) all take な and じゃありません — きれいな 部屋, きれいじゃありません, never ×きれくない.

6. ある and いる: existence, location, possession

Japanese uses two different verbs for "there is", split by animacy. あります is for inanimate things — objects, plants, events, abstractions. います is for animate things that move under their own power — people and animals. The classic beginner error is ×うちに 犬が あります for "I have a dog"; because a dog moves, it must be 犬が います.

• 机の上に 本が あります。(つくえの うえに ほんが あります) — "There is a book on the desk." Pattern: [place] に [thing] が あります.
• 部屋に 猫が います。(へやに ねこが います) — "There is a cat in the room."
• 本は 机の上に あります。 — "The book is on the desk." Same facts, reversed emphasis: with は on the thing, you are answering "where is the book?" rather than "what's on the desk?"
• 時間が ありません。(じかんが ありません) — "I don't have time." あります also covers possession and scheduled events: 明日 試験が あります (あした しけんが あります) — "There's an exam tomorrow."

Learn the position nouns alongside these, because the exam pairs them constantly: 上 (うえ, above), 下 (した, below), 中 (なか, inside), 外 (そと, outside), 前 (まえ, in front), 後ろ (うしろ, behind), 隣 (となり, next to), 近く (ちかく, near). They attach with の: 駅の 近くに コンビニが あります (えきの ちかくに コンビニが あります) — "There's a convenience store near the station."

7. The sentence patterns you must be able to produce

Everything above is machinery. These patterns are what you actually say with it. Each one specifies what form it attaches to — that attachment rule is exactly what the multiple-choice questions test.

Requests: 〜てください

て-form + ください makes a polite request. ちょっと 待ってください。(ちょっと まってください) — "Please wait a moment." 名前を 書いてください。(なまえを かいてください) — "Please write your name." The negative counterpart uses the ない-form: 心配しないでください。(しんぱいしないで ください) — "Please don't worry."

Wanting: 〜たいです

Drop ます and add たい. 日本へ 行きたいです。(にほんへ いきたいです) — "I want to go to Japan." Critically, たい then behaves as an い-adjective, so the negative is 行きたくないです and the past is 行きたかったです — not ×行きたいじゃないです. With a direct object, both を and が are heard: 水が飲みたいです and 水を飲みたいです are both accepted, が being the more traditional. One restriction worth knowing: 〜たいです describes the speaker's own desire. Attributing desire to a third person needs 〜たがっている, which sits at the N5–N4 boundary and is usually deferred.

Inviting and suggesting: 〜ませんか / 〜ましょう

〜ませんか is a soft invitation — literally "won't you…?" — and is politer than a direct request because it leaves room to decline: 一緒に 昼ご飯を 食べませんか。(いっしょに ひるごはんを たべませんか) — "Would you like to have lunch together?" 〜ましょう is "let's", used once the idea is already agreed: じゃ、行きましょう。 — "Right, let's go." And 〜ましょうか offers help or checks a plan: 手伝いましょうか。(てつだいましょうか) — "Shall I help?"

Ability: 〜ことができる

Plain dictionary form + ことができます. 日本語を 話すことが できます。(にほんごを はなす ことが できます) — "I can speak Japanese." The dictionary form is non-negotiable here: ×話しますことができます is a classic distractor on the exam. With a noun, drop こと: 運転が できます (うんてんが できます) — "I can drive." The shorter potential form 話せます is generally treated as N4, so at N5 the ことができる construction is the expected answer.

Liking and skill: 〜が好き / 〜が上手

好き (すき), 嫌い (きらい), 上手 (じょうず, good at), 下手 (へた, bad at) are all な-adjectives, and all take が for their object. わたしは 音楽が 好きです。(おんがくが すきです) — "I like music." 田中さんは 料理が 上手です。(たなかさんは りょうりが じょうずです) — "Mr Tanaka is good at cooking." A cultural point that is also a language point: 上手 is not normally used about yourself, since it sounds boastful — Japanese speakers say something modest instead. Say 田中さんは日本語が上手ですね, not 私は日本語が上手です.

Comparison: 〜より / 〜のほうが

より marks the thing being beaten; のほうが marks the winner. 電車の ほうが バスより 速いです。(でんしゃの ほうが バスより はやいです) — "The train is faster than the bus." The two halves can swap order freely — バスより電車のほうが速いです means the same. To ask, use どちら: コーヒーと お茶と どちらが 好きですか。(コーヒーと おちゃと どちらが すきですか) — "Which do you prefer, coffee or tea?" For superlatives, use 一番 (いちばん): 果物の 中で りんごが 一番 好きです。(くだものの なかで りんごが いちばん すきです) — "Of all fruit, I like apples best."

Sequence and simultaneity: 〜てから / 〜ながら

て-form + から means "after doing": ご飯を 食べてから、出かけます。(ごはんを たべてから でかけます) — "I'll go out after eating." Note this から is not the "because" から from the particle table; the て-form in front tells you which one it is. ます-stem + ながら means "while doing", and the rule beginners miss is that the main action is the second clause: 音楽を 聞きながら 勉強します。(おんがくを ききながら べんきょうします) means "I study while listening to music" — the studying is the point. Both actions must share the same subject. 〜ながら is listed as N4 by several sources, so treat it as an N5–N4 boundary item you should still recognise.

Obligation and permission: 〜なければなりません / 〜てもいいです

Take the ない-form, drop the い, add ければなりません: 明日 早く 起きなければなりません。(あした はやく おきなければ なりません) — "I have to get up early tomorrow." 〜なくてはいけません is an equally correct variant, and in speech each has its own contraction — なければ → 〜なきゃ, なくては → 〜なくちゃ. Permission uses the て-form: トイレに 行っても いいですか。(トイレに いっても いいですか) — "May I go to the toilet?" Prohibition is the て-form plus はいけません: ここで 写真を 撮っては いけません。(ここで しゃしんを とっては いけません) — "You may not take photographs here." These four sit around the N5–N4 line depending on the textbook, but they appear in beginner reading passages often enough to be worth learning at N5.

8. Question words, and how N5 questions are built

Japanese does not reorder a sentence to make a question. You keep the word order, put the question word where the answer would go, and add か at the end. 何を 食べましたか。(なにを たべましたか) — "What did you eat?" answered by パンを 食べました。

The N5 question words are 何 (なに / なん, what), 誰 (だれ, who), どこ (where), いつ (when), どう (how / what's it like), どうして and なぜ (why), いくら (how much), いくつ (how many), どれ・どの・どんな (which / what kind of), and どちら (which of two, or a polite "where"). Two details matter for marks. 何 changes its reading depending on what follows: 何ですか is なんですか, 何を is なにを, and it becomes なん before counters and t/d/n sounds — 何時 (なんじ), 何人 (なんにん), 何日 (なんにち). The counters guide covers the sound changes that come with those. Question-word subjects take が, never は: 誰が 来ましたか is correct, ×誰は来ましたか is not.

Finally, question words combine with particles to make indefinites, and this small system is high-value: 何か (something), 誰か (someone), どこか (somewhere) with か; and with も plus a negative verb, 何も ありません (there's nothing), 誰も いません (there's no one), どこにも 行きません (I'm not going anywhere). 何か 食べましたか — いいえ、何も 食べませんでした。 — "Did you eat something?" "No, I ate nothing."

9. How grammar and vocabulary meet on the exam — and a study sequence

On paper, N5 splits into 文字・語彙 (script and vocabulary), 文法・読解 (grammar and reading), and 聴解 (listening). In practice the split is an illusion. The grammar questions are built from N5 vocabulary, the reading passages are grammar questions with more context around them, and the listening section is both, delivered at speed with no replay. Students who drill grammar rules in isolation and then meet 「駅の 近くに 郵便局が ありますから、そこで 切手を 買ってください」 discover that knowing 〜てください is worthless if 郵便局 (ゆうびんきょく) and 切手 (きって) are blanks.

So run vocabulary and grammar on the same clock. A sequence that works for most learners, assuming three to five study sessions a week:

1. Script first, and finish it. Hiragana and katakana are not optional groundwork — every N5 question is written in them, and katakana is where most beginners stay weakest longest. Two to four weeks of daily drilling is typical; the hiragana memorisation guide lays out a method that transfers directly to katakana afterwards.
2. First 300 everyday words alongside sections 2–3 here. Nouns and the particle set together let you build real sentences immediately. Our Basic module holds 1,500 high-frequency words for exactly this stage.
3. Verbs and adjectives next (sections 4–5), with 100 verbs to conjugate. Conjugation only sticks when you have enough verbs to practise on. Start every session with five minutes of forced production: pick a verb, say all four ます-forms aloud, then the て-form.
4. The patterns in section 7, one per session. Write three original sentences for each — not translations of the examples, sentences about your own day. Saying them aloud matters more than writing them neatly; the goal is that 〜てから and 〜ながら come out without a pause.
5. Consolidate with spaced repetition and past papers. Push everything you get wrong into the review deck so the scheduler brings it back exactly when you are about to forget it. Two or three timed past papers in the final month will teach you the question formats faster than any explanation.
6. Then look up. Once N5 is comfortable, the N4 word list roughly doubles your vocabulary and introduces plain-form-based grammar in earnest — which is why the plain forms in section 4 are worth over-learning now rather than meeting cold in six months.

One last piece of exam realism: N5 is scored out of 180 with two scoring sections, and there is a minimum you must clear in each section as well as an overall pass mark — so a strong grammar score cannot rescue a collapsed listening score. Give listening its own slot in the timetable from week one, however basic the material.