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ALL LEVELS・N1–N5
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4,238words (N1–N5 total)
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N2
間近
まぢか
For a time or distance to be right there, close at hand. It is used both for situations where an event is drawing near in time, as in 「試験が間近に迫る」 and 「結婚式が間近だ」, and for being physically close in distance, as in 「山を間近に望む」 and 「間近で見る」. It is often used adverbially, as in 「間近で見る」, 「間近に控える」, and 「間近に迫る」. Note that the reading has a voiced sound after 「ま」, giving 「まぢか」.
AI-generated translation
N2, N5
待つ
まつ
wait. To stay in a place until a person or event arrives.
AI-generated translation
N1
末期
まっき
A period close to the end of an era or matter. 「末」 means the end, 「期」 means a period. Refers to the final stage of some division, as in 「江戸時代末期」, 「平安末期」, 「末期癌」, 「末期的状況」. Its objects are wide-ranging—history, illness, social conditions—and it is a bookish, hard word. Note that reading the same kanji as 「まつご」 gives the meaning "deathbed, the moment of death," used as in 「末期の水」, 「末期の言葉」. Note that the reading and meaning diverge by context.
AI-generated translation
N1
真っ向
まっこう
The front, the head-on direction. 「真っ」 is an emphatic prefix and 「向」 means direction, together expressing "directly in front." Mostly used adverbially in the form 「真っ向から」 to express facing or confronting something head-on, as in 「真っ向から反対する」, 「真っ向から否定する」, 「真っ向勝負」, 「真っ向対立」, in contexts describing an attitude of meeting matters directly without detour. It carries the nuance of confronting directly, excluding avoidance or compromise.
AI-generated translation
N2, N3
全く
まったく
Completely. Example: 「全く同じだ」 (completely the same). When used with a negative, it means "not at all," as in 「全く知らない」 (not know at all).
AI-generated translation
N1
真っ只中
まっただなか
The very center of a matter, or the midst of its most intense moment. 「真っ」 is an intensifying prefix, and 「只中」 originally means "right in the middle," referring to the very heart of something. Used as in 「議論の真っ只中」「嵐の真っ只中」「戦乱の真っ只中」 for both spatial center (the middle of a crowd, for instance) and temporal center (the period when an event is at its peak). It mostly appears in contexts emphasizing being in the thick of an intensely unfolding situation.
AI-generated translation
N1
全う
まっとう
The act of fulfilling a duty or role completely to the very end. Originally from the same source as 「全(まった)く」, meaning "completely, without anything missing." Used as a suru-verb in the form 「全うする」, as in 「責務を全うする」, 「役目を全うする」, 「天寿を全うする」, in contexts of carrying out duties, jobs, or one's lifespan to completion without abandoning them midway. A formal, hard word that is bookish and used in formal settings. It is a different word from the adjective 「真っ当(まっとう)な」 (meaning serious and proper).
AI-generated translation
N2, N3
窓口
まどぐち
A place at a government office or bank, etc., where staff deal with customers. Example: 「窓口で手続きする」 (to complete procedures at the counter). Also used to mean the person in charge of receiving inquiries, etc., as in 「相談窓口」 (a consultation counter/contact).
AI-generated translation
N2
纏まる
まとまる
For scattered things to come together and take shape as a whole. Used of opinions, luggage, discussions, or organizations settling into a unified form, as in 「意見がまとまる」(opinions come together), 「話がまとまる」(a deal is settled), 「考えがまとまる」(thoughts are organized), or 「グループとしてまとまる」(to unite as a group). 「纏める」 is used for someone who intentionally gathers things, and 「纏まる」 for what converges into one form of its own accord: 「意見をまとめる」 versus 「意見がまとまる」. Frequently appears in contexts describing a transition from confusion or dispersal to clarity and stability.
AI-generated translation
N3
まとまる
まとまる
For scattered things to come together into one. Example: 「意見がまとまる」 (opinions come together), 「話がまとまる」 (a deal is settled). 「まとまる」 is used when things come together on their own, while 「まとめる」 is used when a person brings them together: compare 「意見がまとまる」 with 「意見をまとめる」.
AI-generated translation
N2
纏める
まとめる
To bring scattered things into one and put them in order. The object is very broad, ranging from physical things to abstract ones: bringing things together, as in 「荷物をまとめる」「髪をまとめる」; bringing thoughts together, as in 「意見をまとめる」「議論をまとめる」; bringing writing together, as in 「論文をまとめる」「報告書をまとめる」; bringing organizations together, as in 「チームをまとめる」. It expresses the act of moving from a chaotic or scattered state to an integrated, well-ordered one.
AI-generated translation
N3
まとめる
まとめる
To arrange scattered things into one. Example: 「荷物をまとめる」 (to pack up one's belongings), 「考えをまとめる」 (to organize one's thoughts). 「まとめる」 is used when a person brings things together, while 「まとまる」 is used when they come together on their own: compare 「意見をまとめる」 with 「意見がまとまる」.
AI-generated translation
N1
眼差し
まなざし
The look in one's eyes or the gaze when looking at something. 「眼」 means the eye, 「差し」 means to direct light or a gaze, together expressing "a gaze directed from the eyes." Its characteristic is that it implies not just the direction of the gaze but the emotion or attitude carried in it. Used in contexts expressing a gaze accompanied by emotion, as in 「優しい眼差し」, 「鋭い眼差し」, 「冷たい眼差し」, 「温かい眼差し」. A word with a bookish, literary ring, frequently appearing in descriptions of people and psychology.
AI-generated translation
N3
学ぶ
まなぶ
learn. To study and acquire knowledge or skill. Example: 「大学で経済を学ぶ」 (to study economics at university). Also used to mean coming to know something through experience, as in 「失敗から学ぶ」 (to learn from failure).
AI-generated translation
N2
免れる
まぬがれる
To get by without receiving responsibility, punishment, danger, or the like. 「免」 means to permit or to remove, expressing a state of escaping from something originally hard to avoid. Used in situations of slipping out of a disadvantage one would otherwise have received, as in 「処分を免れる」, 「危険を免れる」, 「責任を免れる」, 「死を免れる」. Also read 「まぬかれる」, with both readings used in modern usage. It differs in meaning from 「免じる」 (to relieve from a post, to pardon), which uses the same kanji.
AI-generated translation
N2, N3
真似
まね
imitation. To do exactly as another person does. Example: 「先生の発音を真似する」 (to imitate the teacher's pronunciation).
AI-generated translation
N2, N3
招く
まねく
To invite someone as a guest. Example: 「パーティーに招く」 (to invite to a party). Also used to mean causing an undesirable result, as in 「誤解を招く」 (to invite/cause misunderstanding).
AI-generated translation
N1
間延び
まのび
A state in which actions, speech, or timing lack snap and feel slack and dull. 「間」 refers to a pause or break in time or action; 「延び」 means stretching out; together the word describes "a state in which the breaks are dragged out limply." Used as in 「間延びした顔」「間延びした話し方」「間延びしたメロディ」 in contexts that critically evaluate a lack of tension and tautness. It is commonly used for things in which rhythm and crispness are at issue, such as speech arts, music, facial expressions, and writing.
AI-generated translation
N1
まばゆい
まばゆい
Describes light so bright you can hardly keep your eyes open. Used as in 「まばゆい朝日」, 「まばゆい光」, and 「まばゆいばかりの白さ」. Also often used figuratively, as in 「まばゆいばかりの才能」 and 「まばゆいばかりの美しさ」, for something so striking it captivates the eye. Close in meaning to 「まぶしい」, but 「まばゆい」 has a more literary, formal ring. In kanji it is written 「眩い」 or 「目映い」, but it is also often written in hiragana.
AI-generated translation
N1
まばら
まばら
A state in which things or people are scattered here and there, with low density. Expresses a sparse state of something that ought to gather or be continuous, as in 「まばらに生えた木々」, 「客足がまばら」, 「観客はまばらだった」. Basically refers to a state where gaps are visually conspicuous, used for people, things, vegetation, hair, and so on. Also written 「疎ら」 in kanji, but the hiragana spelling is common. Often used with a negative, lonely nuance.
AI-generated translation
N2
麻痺
まひ
A state in which the function of nerves or muscles is lost, and sensation or movement becomes impossible. Both 「麻」 and 「痺」 are characters meaning to go numb, together expressing a state in which sensation or movement has been taken away. Medically it refers to a symptom in which part of the body cannot move due to stroke, nerve damage, and the like, used as in 「半身麻痺」, 「顔面麻痺」, 「下肢の麻痺」. Figuratively it is also used to mean that an organization or system stops functioning normally, as in 「交通麻痺」, 「機能麻痺」, 「都市機能の麻痺」. It is also used to mean that sensitivity is dulled by repetition, as in 「感覚が麻痺する」.
AI-generated translation
N2
間引く
まびく
To remove some items from a crowded group in order to improve the growth or efficiency of what remains. It is originally an agricultural term referring to the work of pulling out some seedlings from densely grown vegetables to create space, so that the remaining seedlings can grow larger. Its original meaning is seen in expressions like 「大根を間引く」. From there, it is also used figuratively, as in 「人員を間引く」 and 「運行本数を間引く」, to mean removing part of an overcrowded state in order to make the whole more efficient. It also appears frequently in the context of reducing the number of train or bus services.
AI-generated translation
N1
瞼
まぶた
The part of skin that covers the eye. It protects the eyeball and carries out the actions of blinking and closing the eyes. Used as in 「瞼を閉じる」, 「瞼が腫れる」, 「瞼が重い」. Also used in compound forms such as 「上瞼」, 「下瞼」, 「一重瞼」, 「二重瞼」. Figuratively, it is also used in contexts of visually recalling memories or recollections, as in 「瞼に焼き付く」, 「瞼に浮かぶ」. Also written 「目蓋」, but the spelling 「瞼」 is common.
AI-generated translation
N2
幻
まぼろし
Something that is seen or sensed even though it does not actually exist. It originally referred to "something that appears as a dream or hallucination but has no substance," used in expressions like 「幻を見る」 and 「目の前に幻が現れる」. From there, its usage extended figuratively to express "something that ended without being realized" or "something lost that can never be obtained again." It appears frequently in contexts describing something extremely rare and hard to obtain, or something whose existence is legendary, as in 「幻のチャンピオン」, 「幻の名作」, 「幻の銘酒」, and 「幻に終わる」.
AI-generated translation
N3
間もなく
まもなく
soon. Right away, in a little while. 「間もなく電車が参ります」. A formal expression often used in announcements. In the forms 「〜して間もなく」「〜して間もない」 it expresses being just after a certain event. 「引っ越して間もなく」 means the time when not much has passed since moving, and 「入社して間もない」 means having only just joined the company.
AI-generated translation
N3
守る
まもる
To protect against danger. Example: 「家族を守る」 (to protect one's family). Also used to mean keeping to a promise or rule exactly, as in 「約束を守る」 (to keep a promise). The antonym in the sense of rules is 「破る」 (to break).
AI-generated translation
N1
繭
まゆ
A covering of thread that the larva of a silkworm or the like makes around itself before metamorphosis. To protect itself until it becomes an adult (a moth), the larva wraps its body in thread spun from its mouth. The silkworm's cocoon is the raw material for silk thread and has historically played a central role as a material in the silk-reeling industry. Used as in 「繭を作る」, 「繭から糸を取る」, 「白い繭」. There is also a figurative usage expressing a state shut off from the outside, as in 「繭にこもる」.
AI-generated translation
N3
迷う
まよう
Not being able to decide what to do. Example: 「買うかどうか迷う」 (uncertain whether to buy it). Also used to mean losing one's way, as in 「道に迷う」 (to lose one's way).
AI-generated translation
N2
丸暗記
まるあんき
Memorizing sentences, formulas, and the like exactly as they are, without thinking about their meaning or the reasons behind them. Used as in 「公式を丸暗記する」 (to learn a formula by rote), 「教科書を丸暗記する」. The 「丸」 at the front means "whole, entirely," and 「丸写し」 and 「丸覚え」 are formed in the same way. Unlike simply saying 「暗記」, this word is sometimes used with the negative view that the content has not been understood.
AI-generated translation
N1
丸腰
まるごし
The state of not carrying any weapon. Originally meaning "not having a sword at one's hip," derived from the historical background that for a samurai, carrying a sword was called 「腰に差す」. In modern Japanese, beyond the literal sense of being unarmed, it is used figuratively for "facing a matter with no preparation or countermeasures." Used as in 「丸腰で交渉に臨む」「丸腰の状態で警察に出頭する」. It carries the nuance of confronting a situation defenselessly, with nothing to shield oneself.
AI-generated translation
N1
丸っきり
まるっきり
An adverb meaning "completely / entirely," accompanied by a following negative or negative content. 「丸」 expresses complete or whole, and 「っきり」 is a suffix-like element adding emphasis. Used as in 「丸っきり知らない」, 「丸っきり違う」, 「丸っきり駄目だ」, emphasizing that the degree of something is complete. A somewhat colloquial and slangy word; in writing 「全く」 or 「全然」 are more often chosen. Also written 「丸きり」, 「まるきり」.
AI-generated translation
N2
丸々
まるまる
An adverb meaning "completely, entirely, the whole." It is a reduplicated form that emphasizes the completeness and undiminished nature of an amount or condition. There is a use that indicates that some unit extends in full from beginning to end, as in 「丸々一週間休む」「丸々一冊を読み終える」, and another use that depicts something plump and round, as in 「丸々太った赤ん坊」「丸々と肥える」. The former is adverbial; the latter is used adverbially in the form 「丸々と〜」.
AI-generated translation
N2
稀
まれ
Something that rarely happens, that almost never occurs. Expresses low frequency or rarity, used as in 「稀な現象」, 「稀に見る才能」, 「ごく稀に」, 「稀にしか起こらない」. Used both as an adjectival noun in the form 「稀な〜」 and adverbially in the form 「稀に〜」. Also written 「希」, which is likewise a common spelling. A bookish, somewhat hard word, used in more writing-oriented settings than the everyday 「めったに」. Used for both positive and negative matters, but there are also many usages emphasizing positive evaluation, as in 「稀に見る才能」.
AI-generated translation
N3
満員
まんいん
A state of being full of people, with no more room. Example: 「満員電車」 (a packed/crowded train).
AI-generated translation
N1
蔓延
まんえん
The spreading of something undesirable over a wide range. 「蔓」 is the vine of a plant, 「延」 means to extend and spread, together giving the original meaning of "spreading like a vine growing." Mostly used in contexts where illnesses, bad trends, or social problems spread over a wide range, as in 「感染症の蔓延」, 「悪習の蔓延」, 「不正の蔓延」. Its characteristic is that, unlike the neutral 「広がる」 or 「普及する」, its object is limited to undesirable things. A bookish, hard word, frequently appearing in journalism, argument, and public settings.
AI-generated translation
N2
満喫
まんきつ
To savor and enjoy something fully, until one is satisfied.
AI-generated translation
N2
満場
まんじょう
Everyone present at the venue. 「満」 means "full," and 「場」 means "that place"; together the word denotes "the state in which the venue is filled with those present," and by extension "all the people there." Used as in 「満場一致」「満場の拍手」「満場が沸く」 in contexts where the entire venue shows a single response. It is a written-language term used in formal settings such as conferences, ceremonies, theaters, and parliaments; it is not used to describe the number of people in everyday conversation.
AI-generated translation
N2
慢性
まんせい
A state in which a symptom or condition continues for a long time and does not readily change. 「慢」 means taking time, dragging on. Originally a medical term, paired with 「急性」 (acute, suddenly occurring), referring to an illness that persists over a long period. Figuratively, it is also used for social phenomena or organizational problems that go unresolved over a long period, as in 「慢性的な人手不足」, 「慢性的な渋滞」, 「慢性の赤字」. Mostly used as the adjectival noun 「慢性的な」, carrying a negative implication.
AI-generated translation
N1
漫然
まんぜん
A state of being vague, without a clear purpose or attention. 「漫」 means as one feels, without discipline, and 「然」 is a suffix expressing "the appearance of ~." Basically used adverbially in the 「〜と」 form, as in 「漫然と過ごす」, 「漫然と眺める」, 「漫然と聞く」. It expresses a state of scattered awareness lacking concentration or sense of purpose, mostly used in critical or reflective contexts. A bookish, hard word, appearing more frequently in writing and argument than in everyday conversation.
AI-generated translation
N2, N3
満足
まんぞく
satisfaction. A state where one's wishes are fulfilled and the heart is content. Example: 「結果に満足する」 (to be satisfied with the result). The antonym is 「不満」 (dissatisfaction).
AI-generated translation
N1
漫談
まんだん
A genre of light storytelling performed for an audience, taking the events of the day and everyday life as material and weaving in humor. It is one of the yose variety arts; the basic form is a single performer addressing the audience and freely unfolding their talk. 「漫」 means "as the mood takes one," and 「談」 means a talk; together the word denotes a relaxed, free-form story. Used as in 「漫談を披露する」「漫談家」「政治漫談」. It is a traditional speech art alongside rakugo and kōdan; its distinguishing feature is that it does not center on a specific narrative but rather on topical material and light banter.
AI-generated translation
N2, N5
磨く
みがく
To rub something to make it clean. Example: 「歯を磨く」 (to brush one's teeth).
AI-generated translation
N3
味方
みかた
ally. A person who stands on one's own side and helps. Example: 「味方につける」 (to win someone over as an ally). The antonym is 「敵」 (enemy).
AI-generated translation
N2
見込み
みこみ
A prediction of how things will turn out in the future, or a possibility one can expect.
AI-generated translation
N2
未熟
みじゅく
A fruit or the like not being fully ripe; also, one's skill or experience not being sufficient.
AI-generated translation
N1
水気
みずけ
The moisture contained in something. Its objects are wide-ranging: the moisture in vegetables and fruit, the droplets left on washed dishes or hair, the dampness felt in humid air or soil, and so on. Used as in 「水気を切る」, 「水気を拭き取る」, 「水気を含んだ髪」. In cooking it frequently appears as an instruction for a cooking step, as in 「茹でた野菜の水気を切る」. Close in meaning to 「水分」, but whereas 「水分」 refers to water in a quantitative or compositional sense, 「水気」 tends to be used in more sensory, practical contexts, such as water left on the surface or a moist feel.
AI-generated translation
N3, N5
見せる
みせる
To make it so a person can see something. Example: 「写真を見せる」 (to show a photo).
AI-generated translation
N1
未曽有
みぞう
Something so rare that it has never happened before. A word expressing 「未だ曽て有らず」 (never yet having existed) in classical Chinese word order, meaning literally "without precedent in the past." A hard word expressing an extremely grave and unprecedented situation, as in 「未曽有の災害」, 「未曽有の危機」, 「未曽有の大事件」. Used in journalism, historical writing, and public settings, rarely used in everyday conversation. Also written 「未曾有」. The reading is 「みぞう」, with the 「ゆう」 not lengthened.
AI-generated translation
N1
見損なう
みそこなう
To misjudge the value of a person or thing. 「損なう」 originally means "to fail to bring something off well," so the original sense is "to fail at seeing correctly." It is most often used in contexts such as 「あの人を見損なった」「君を見損なったよ」 to express disappointment when someone whom one had trusted or thought well of betrays that expectation through their words or actions. It can also mean "to miss seeing something," as in 「映画の最後を見損なう」, though this usage is comparatively rare in modern Japanese.
AI-generated translation
N2
密接
みっせつ
Having a deep connection, a relationship so close that it cannot be separated.
AI-generated translation
Vocabulary data on this site is based on the JMdict/EDICT project (© Electronic Dictionary Research and Development Group, CC BY-SA 4.0). JLPT level classification is our own assessment using AI (Claude) and is not an official JLPT standard.