LavaJapanese
N5 study map: 30 connected units
Start with kana, build sentences with particles and word forms, then read short messages. Ten core units have three-step lessons with 15 questions; the others include an explanation, an example and two check questions. Start without an account.
This map focuses on reading and grammar foundations commonly studied at N5. It does not cover the exam's full vocabulary, kanji or listening syllabus.
01 · Study unit
Read hiragana words
Read each kana as part of a word. Keep a full-sized や separate from a small ゃ.
やまです。
Study and check02 · Study unit
Read katakana words
Use katakana for these loanwords. Notice the direction of the strokes in シ and ツ.
バスが来ます。
Study and check03 · Study unit
Small kana and long vowels
A small っ holds the following consonant. A long vowel changes the word; do not drop it when typing.
きってを買います。
Study and check04 · Study unit
Noun sentences with desu
Use です after a noun for a polite statement. Change the predicate ending to express past time or negation.
学生でした。
Study and check05 · Study unit
Ask with ka; add with mo
Put か at the end of a polite question. Use も instead of は when adding another person to the same statement.
田中さんも学生ですか。
Study and check06 · Study unit
Choose a thing-word, noun modifier or place-word
これ, それ and あれ stand alone as nouns. Choose according to the positions of the speaker and listener.
3 steps · 15 questions
それはかさです。
Study and check07 · Study unit
Put kono before a noun
この, その and あの must be followed by a noun. Do not use これ directly before a noun.
この本を読みます。
Study and check08 · Study unit
Say what exists and where it is
Use います for people and animals, あります for ordinary objects. Mark the location of existence with に.
3 steps · 15 questions
庭にねこがいます。
Study and check09 · Study unit
Choose a topic or identify the answer
は establishes what the sentence is about. が can identify the answer to a who-question. Read the context before choosing.
3 steps · 15 questions
だれが来ましたか。田中さんが来ました。
Study and check10 · Study unit
Connect a place and its position
Use の between a reference object and a location word such as 上 or 下. Then choose the particle for the whole location.
机の下にかばんがあります。
Study and check11 · Study unit
Mark an object with wo
For these transitive actions, を marks what you read, eat or drink. The written particle を is usually pronounced o.
新聞を読みます。
Study and check12 · Study unit
Locate an activity or an existing person
Use に for where someone exists and で for where an activity happens. A location alone does not determine the particle.
3 steps · 15 questions
図書館で勉強します。
Study and check13 · Study unit
Destinations and exact times
Both に and へ can mark a destination with 行く. An exact departure time takes に; it is not a direction.
七時に大阪へ行きます。
Study and check14 · Study unit
Complete and open-ended lists
と joins the items in a complete list for the sentence. や presents examples, leaving room for other items.
パンやくだものを買います。
Study and check15 · Study unit
Describe things with i- and na-adjectives
For a regular い-adjective, replace final い with くない for a negative and かった for a past statement.
3 steps · 15 questions
昨日は寒かったです。
Study and check16 · Study unit
Describe a noun with na
な-adjectives use な directly before a noun. Words such as きれい belong to this pattern even though they end in the sound i.
静かな町です。
Study and check17 · Study unit
Connect two descriptions
Connect a regular い-adjective with くて and a な-adjective with で. Keep the final predicate at the end.
安くて、おいしいです。
Study and check18 · Study unit
Recognise verb groups
Learn a verb with its group. A final る does not by itself tell you whether a verb belongs to the ichidan group.
毎日、学校に行きます。
Study and check19 · Study unit
Build polite statements and distinguish tense
Use the correct stem before ます, ません and ました. These endings mark politeness and tense separately from the verb group.
3 steps · 15 questions
昨日、音楽を聞きました。
Study and check20 · Study unit
Match plain and polite verbs
Match the same tense and meaning across plain and polite style. Adding です to a dictionary verb does not make its normal polite form.
毎朝、パンを食べる。
Study and check21 · Study unit
Form plain negatives without using a masu stem
For godan verbs, use the a-row before ない; verbs ending in う use わない. Ichidan verbs drop る.
3 steps · 15 questions
今日は肉を食べない。
Study and check22 · Study unit
Form the te-form and connect actions
The て-form changes according to the verb ending. Learn the special form 行って alongside the regular patterns.
3 steps · 15 questions
少し待ってください。
Study and check23 · Study unit
Use plain past forms in a short account
The plain past follows the sound changes of the て-form. Replace て with た and で with だ.
3 steps · 15 questions
昨日、友達に会った。
Study and check24 · Study unit
Describe an ongoing action
Attach いる or います to the て-form. Depending on the verb, the pattern can describe an action in progress or a resulting state.
今、手紙を書いています。
Study and check25 · Study unit
Ask someone to act
A てください request asks the listener to do the action. First make the verb into its て-form.
ここに名前を書いてください。
Study and check26 · Study unit
Ask permission to act
Use てもいいですか to ask whether an action is allowed. Identify who will do the action before choosing a request or permission question.
ここで写真を撮ってもいいですか。
Study and check27 · Study unit
Order actions in time
Use the dictionary form before 前に and the た-form before 後で. The verb form helps express the order of the actions.
食べた後で、薬を飲みます。
Study and check28 · Study unit
Separate clock times, durations and deadlines
Read the whole notice before extracting a time. Contrast the usual schedule with the special schedule for today. This is fictional practice material.
3 steps · 15 questions
今日は十一時に開きます。
Study and check29 · Study unit
Find a place in a message
Separate where someone is from where you will meet. Follow the final instruction instead of copying the first place name. This message is fictional.
駅の前で待っています。
Study and check30 · Study unit
Read a request and its exception
Find both the requested action and anything excluded from it. Negative requests often change what you should bring. These messages are fictional.
本を持ってきてください。
Study and check