JLPT N5 Grammar Checklist: The Curated List
The JLPT N5 Grammar Checklist below collects roughly 70 grammar points that standard elementary textbooks treat as N5-level material.12 The points are grouped by theme. Each one gets a one-line orientation and a link to its full guide. This page routes you to the grammar. It does not teach it.
How to use this checklist
Each row names one grammar point, briefly says what it is, and explains why it matters at N5. The fourth column links to the main article that teaches the point in full.
This page orients and routes. It does not explain how a form is built or drill its uses. That work lives in the linked articles. Treat each row as a pointer, and check a point off once you have studied its article.
The "~70 points" figure is a textbook consensus, not an official JLPT count.312 No official N5 grammar list exists. See "What 'N5 grammar' really means" below for why.
References disagree on a handful of points (～たほうがいい, ～ことがある, ～ながら, ～ことができる, and the resultant-state sense of ～ている). They appear in N5 textbook scope but are tagged N4 by some standalone grammar references.1 This checklist follows textbook scope and flags each one inline.
The N5 grammar checklist
Copula and the sentence frame
This group centers on the first complete Japanese sentence a learner produces: the X は Y です frame.12
| Grammar point | What it is | Why it matters at N5 | Canonical article |
|---|---|---|---|
| です / だ (desu / da) | Copula linking a noun to the subject | The first predicate a learner produces | The Japanese Copula: です, だ, である Explained |
| は + です frame (wa) | The X は Y です declarative frame | The first complete sentence a beginner makes | The は Particle: Topic Marker |
| です/ます vs だ register | Polite style (丁寧体) vs plain style (普通体) | N5 material is overwhelmingly polite style | Polite vs. Plain Japanese: です/ます vs. だ (丁寧体・普通体) |
| は vs が orientation | Topic marker は vs subject marker が | The most common beginner particle confusion | Topic vs. Subject in Japanese: The Hidden Slot |
Core particles
Particles show grammatical roles in an SOV language, so N5 listening and reading hinge on recognizing them.41
| Grammar point | What it is | Why it matters at N5 | Canonical article |
|---|---|---|---|
| は (wa) | Topic marker; flags what the sentence is about | Frames nearly every N5 sentence | The は Particle: Topic Marker |
| が (ga) | Subject marker; also new information | Pairs with は in the core beginner contrast | The が Particle: Subject Marker (and More) |
| を (o) | Direct-object marker | Marks the thing a verb acts on | The を Particle: Direct Object |
| に (ni) | Location, time, direction, indirect object | The most overloaded N5 particle | The に Particle: A Multi-Function Workhorse |
| で (de) | Means/instrument and location of an action | Contrasts with に for location | The で Particle: Means and Location of Action |
| へ (e) | Direction marker (goal of movement) | Basic movement-destination particle | The へ Particle: Direction Marker |
| と (to) | "With," "and" (full listing), quotation | Three core senses tested at N5 | The と Particle: With, And, Quote |
| も (mo) | "Also / too"; replaces は/が/を | High-frequency additive particle | The も Particle: Also, Too |
| から (kara) | "From" (source) and "because" (reason) | Source and the first way to give a reason | The から Particle: From (Source and Reason) |
| まで (made) | "Until / as far as" (endpoint) | Pairs with から for ranges | The まで Particle: Until / As Far As |
| の (no) | Possessive/attributive linker; nominalizer | Joins nouns, everywhere in N5 text | The の Particle: Possessive, Nominalizer, Attributive |
| か (ka) | Sentence-final question marker; "or" | Turns statements into questions | The か Particle: Question Marker (and Disjunction) |
| に vs で for location | Existence (に) vs action (で) | The classic N5 location contrast | に vs. で for Location in Japanese: Existence vs. Action |
| Particles hub | Overview of the eight categories of 助詞 | Map of how all particles fit together | Japanese Particles (助詞): The Eight Categories Explained |
Verb forms and groups
Every N5 verb question depends on recognizing the verb's class and its form.12
| Grammar point | What it is | Why it matters at N5 | Canonical article |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verb groups (一段/五段/irregular) | The three conjugation classes | Every conjugation decision depends on it | Japanese Verb Groups: 一段, 五段, and Irregular |
| ます-form (食べます) | Polite non-past (present/future) ending | The default verb form in N5 material | The Masu Form (ます): Polite Present and Future Tense |
| Dictionary (plain) form | The plain non-past / citation form | Needed to read dictionaries and build forms | Japanese Verb Groups: 一段, 五段, and Irregular |
| te-form construction (食べて) | The connective form, built by sound-change rules | Gateway to requests, permission, linking | The Te-Form in Japanese: Construction Rules |
| te-form uses | Linking, cause, light imperative, continuation | Home of ～てください, the core request | The Te-Form in Japanese: Uses (Linking, Cause, Light Imperative, Continuation) |
| ない-form (食べない) | Plain negative of verbs | Base for plain negation and later patterns | The Nai-Form (ない形): Plain Negative of Japanese Verbs |
| た-form construction (食べた) | The plain past, built on te-form rules | Plain past for casual speech and patterns | The Ta-Form in Japanese: Construction Rules |
| た-form meaning | Past, perfective, and beyond | Separates completed action from tense | The Plain Past た-Form in Japanese: Past, Perfective, and Beyond |
| Verb stem / masu-stem (連用形) | The 連用形 base for attaching forms | Hinge for ～たい, ～ながら, ～ます | The Japanese Verb Stem (連用形): The Masu-Stem and Its Uses |
| ある / いる | Existence verbs: inanimate vs animate | The animacy split is an early trap | ある vs. いる: The Two Japanese Existence Verbs |
| ～ている | Progressive "is doing" / resultant state | Basic progressive is N5 in textbook scope | The ～ている Form in Japanese: Progressive vs. Resultant State |
The basic progressive sense ("is doing") is N5 in textbook scope, but the resultant-state sense and the overall N5/N4 boundary are disputed across references.1 At N5, hold this row to the progressive reading and study the resultant-state sense when you reach N4 material.
Adjective conjugation
Japanese adjectives carry their own tense and negation. Choosing the wrong class breaks the sentence, which makes this a frequent N5 trap.12
| Grammar point | What it is | Why it matters at N5 | Canonical article |
|---|---|---|---|
| い vs な adjective overview | The two classes (形容詞 vs 形容動詞) | Wrong class breaks the sentence | Japanese Adjectives Overview: The Two Classes (い-形容詞 vs な-形容詞) |
| い-adjective conjugation | Non-past, ～くない, ～かった, past negative | i-adjectives carry their own tense | い-Adjective Conjugation in Japanese: All Tenses and Forms |
| な-adjective conjugation | Conjugates via the copula | A trap is conjugating them like i-adjectives | な-Adjective Conjugation in Japanese: All Tenses and Forms |
| adjective te-form | Linking with くて (i) and で (na) | Needed to stack two descriptions | Adjective Te-Form in Japanese: How to Link with くて and で |
| adverbial く / に | Turning adjectives into adverbs | How adjectives modify verbs | Adverbial Forms of Japanese Adjectives: く and に |
| Attributive vs predicative | Why 静か needs な before a noun | Explains the な in attributives | Attributive vs. Predicative Adjectives in Japanese: Why 静か Needs な But 大きい Does Not |
| いい / 良い irregular | Stem shifts to よ (past よかった) | A common N5 conjugation trap | The いい / 良い Irregular: Why the Past Is よかった |
Key expressions and patterns
These high-frequency patterns let you say what you want, can, or should do. They are tested directly at N5.12
| Grammar point | What it is | Why it matters at N5 | Canonical article |
|---|---|---|---|
| ～たい (食べたい) | "Want to do"; attaches to the masu-stem | The core desire pattern | The ～たい Form: How to Say "Want To Do" in Japanese |
| ～がほしい | "Want (a thing)"; marks object with が | The noun-desire counterpart to ～たい | ～がほしい: How to Say "Want Something" in Japanese |
| ～てください | "Please do"; te-form request | The standard polite request | The Te-Form in Japanese: Uses (Linking, Cause, Light Imperative, Continuation) |
| ～てもいい / ～てはいけない | Permission vs prohibition | High-frequency permission/prohibition pair | ～てもいい / ～てはいけない: How to Ask Permission and State Prohibition in Japanese |
| ～なくてもいい / ～なくていい | "Don't have to" | The negative-obligation pattern | ～なくてもいい / ～なくていい: How to Say "You Don't Have To" in Japanese |
| ～たほうがいい | Advice, "you should / had better" | N5 advice in Genki I; some tag it N4 | ～たほうがいい / ～ないほうがいい: How to Give Advice ("You Should" / "You Shouldn't") in Japanese |
| ～ことがある | "Have done X before" (experience) | Late elementary; some tag it N4 | ～ことがある: How to Say "I Have Done X Before" in Japanese |
| ～ましょう / ～ましょうか | Polite volitional, "let's / shall we" | Core suggestion/invitation pattern | The Polite Volitional ～ましょう: How to Say "Let's" in Japanese |
| あげる / くれる / もらう | Giving and receiving verbs | Direction of the gift is the trap | Japanese Giving and Receiving Verbs: あげる, くれる, もらう |
| より / の方が / 一番 | Comparison and superlative | How to compare two things and pick the top one | Adjective Comparisons in Japanese: より, の方が, 一番 |
| ～でしょう | Conjecture and confirmation | Softens assertions, seeks agreement | ～でしょう / ～だろう: Conjecture and Confirmation in Japanese |
| ～ながら | Doing two things at once; masu-stem | Simultaneous-action pattern; some tag it N4 | The ～ながら Form in Japanese: Doing Two Things at Once (and the Concessive ～ながら(も)) |
| ～から (reason) | "Because"; clause-final cause | The first way to state a reason | から vs. ので: Cause and Reason in Japanese |
| ～が (but) | Connective particle; mild contrast / preface | The basic clause connector for "but" | The Connective Particle が: "But" and the Soft Preface in Japanese |
| ～ことができる | "Can do" (potential via nominalization) | A basic ability pattern; sometimes N4 | ～ことができる: How to Say "Can Do" in Japanese |
One high-frequency group does not yet have a dedicated grammar article in the index, so it carries no link.
| Grammar point | What it is | Why it matters at N5 |
|---|---|---|
| なに / だれ / どこ / いつ / いくら / どう + か / も | Question words and their か/も forms | High-frequency interrogatives, tested directly |
What "N5 grammar" really means
The JLPT publishes no official grammar list. Since the 2010 redesign, the administering bodies have said that issuing "Test Content Specifications" listing vocabulary, kanji, and grammar items is not appropriate, because the test measures communicative competence rather than memorized lists.3 The older specification (first published 1994, revised 2004) was discontinued. The JLPT now offers only a "Summary of Linguistic Competence Required for Each Level" and the test-section composition.34
The "~70–80 N5 grammar points" figure is therefore a consensus drawn from standard elementary textbooks, not an official number. Genki I covers lessons 1 through 12 (The Japan Times).15 Minna no Nihongo Shokyu I covers 25 lessons and is explicitly pitched at lower-beginner / N5-equivalent level with about 1,000 headwords (3A Corporation).2
Counts vary by source, roughly from ~70 to ~90. Some references bundle multiple senses of one particle into a single entry, while others split them. References also disagree on a handful of borderline points. No single number is authoritative.3
Good to know
Don't study this list top to bottom
Standard textbooks usually teach the sentence frame first, then particles, verbs, adjectives, and expressions. Both Genki I and Minna no Nihongo I follow a graded sequence rather than a reference grouping.12 This checklist's theme grouping is built for tracking and review, not for first-time learning.
Particles are the highest-leverage rows
は, が, を, に, and で recur in nearly every Japanese sentence. Particles show grammatical roles in an SOV language, so N5 listening and reading hinge on them.41 Prioritize these rows over the rarer expression patterns.
"Checked off" means you can recognize it under time pressure
The N5 test is recognition-based across language knowledge, reading, and listening, not production.4 A checkmark should mean you can recognize the point under time pressure and connect it to the examples in the linked article. It should not mean only that you read the explanation once.
See also
- JLPT N5 Prep Overview: What's on the Test
- JLPT N5 Section-by-Section Strategy
- A 4-Month JLPT N5 Study Plan from Zero
- JLPT N4 Grammar Checklist: The Curated List
- How Japanese Grammar Works: A Big-Picture Overview
- Japanese Particles (助詞): The Eight Categories Explained