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Grammar by level

JLPT N5 grammar

Build the sentence foundation with core particles, noun endings, basic verb and adjective forms, questions, time, comparison, and high-frequency everyday patterns.

How to use this page. Start with a connected overview when one is available, then browse by category or search for a form or meaning. Open individual points for formation, usage notes, contrasts, and examples.

About the level labels. These are Kotomora's editorial study groupings, not an official syllabus. The JLPT does not publish a fixed grammar-point list for the current test. See the official JLPT FAQ.

Find a JLPT N5 grammar point

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122 available

Furigana

Start with a connected overview

Compare related forms before studying them one by one.

は・がChoosing the right markerChoose by the job you want the marked phrase to do. は sets the frame—what you are talking about—or contrasts one choice with another. が points out who or what acts, exists, or has the quality being described. It also marks the target in certain learned expressions of preference, skill, and understanding. Because these jobs are different, both particles can appear naturally in one sentence.4 pointsこれ・この・ここ・こう・こちら・こんな・こういうThe reference-word systemMake two choices. First choose the relationship: こ for the speaker’s side, そ for the listener’s side or something just mentioned, あ for something distant or shared in memory, and ど when asking. Then choose what you need to refer to: a thing, a noun, a place, a direction, a manner, or a kind.7 pointsに・へ・をEndpoint, direction, or routePicture the movement and ask what role the place plays. Use に for the endpoint reached, へ for the direction headed toward, and を for the route traveled through. The English words “to,” “through,” and “along” can help, but the Japanese choice ultimately depends on the scene and the verb.3 pointsている・てるActions, states, and habitsている presents a situation as holding over a span of time. With an activity, that may be an action in progress; with a change, it may be the state left afterward; with repeated events, it may be an established habit. The verb and the surrounding time context—not the form alone—choose the reading.3 points

Foundations

50
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Comparison & degree

12
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Cause & purpose

3
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Reporting & discourse

9
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Scope & focus

4
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Interaction & register

12
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Time & aspect

12
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Relations & manner

2
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Agency & control

14
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Conditions & concession

3
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Modality & evaluation

1
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