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ALL LEVELS・N1–N5

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4,238words (N1–N5 total)

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Filtered by N1・N3・N4・N5 · 3,161words Clear filters
N1 暴落 ぼうらく
Refers to a sharp and large drop in stock prices, commodity prices, or market prices within a short period. It is a formal word used in expressions like 「株価が暴落する (stock prices crash)」「不動産価格の暴落 (a crash in real estate prices)」, appearing frequently in economic and financial contexts, with the antonym 「暴騰」. Unlike a mere 「値下がり (price decline)」, this word expresses a sudden, large-scale collapse of market prices, and is often discussed in connection with market turmoil or economic crises.

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N4 法律 ほうりつ
law. Rules decided by a country that must be followed.

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N1 飽和 ほうわ
Refers to a state of being so full that there is no more room to accept anything. Used in expressions like 「市場が飽和する (the market becomes saturated)」「飽和状態 (saturated state)」「飽和点に達する (to reach the saturation point)」. Originally a chemistry term denoting a state in which a liquid has dissolved a substance to its maximum, the meaning has shifted to metaphorically express situations such as markets, demand, capacity, or information volume having reached their limit. It is a formal word used frequently in economic and social contexts.

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N5 ほか ほか
Something different from that. Example: 「ほかの人」 (a different person). The kanji 「他」 is also used, but usually written in hiragana.

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N1 墓穴 ぼけつ
Refers to a hole for burying the dead. However, in modern Japanese it is almost always used as the idiom 「墓穴を掘る (to dig one's own grave)」, expressing the idea of bringing oneself into a tight spot through one's own careless words or actions. Used in expressions like 「不用意な発言で墓穴を掘る (to dig one's own grave with a careless remark)」「弁解しようとして墓穴を掘った (one ended up digging one's own grave while trying to make excuses)」. The contexts in which it is used in its literal sense are limited, and the metaphorical usage overwhelmingly dominates in everyday conversation and news reports.

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N3 保険 ほけん
insurance. A system in which people contribute money in preparation for illness or accidents, and receive payment when in trouble. Example: 「保険に入る」 (to take out insurance).

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N4 ほし
star. A shining point seen in the night sky.

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N3 募集 ぼしゅう
To widely gather people or works. Example: 「アルバイトを募集する」 (to recruit part-time workers).

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N1 保身 ほしん
Refers to trying to protect one's own position, standing, and personal safety while evading responsibility and danger. Used in expressions like 「保身を図る (to seek to protect oneself)」「保身に走る (to resort to self-preservation)」「保身的な態度 (a self-protective attitude)」. It is a formal word used frequently in critical contexts pointing to an attitude of evading one's organizational responsibilities and seeking only to secure one's own safe position. It appears often in discussions of political and corporate scandals.

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N3 干す ほす
To expose something to sunlight or wind to remove moisture. Example: 「洗濯物を干す」 (to hang out laundry to dry).

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N1 母性 ぼせい
Refers to qualities one has as a mother, or the instinctive tendency to cherish and protect one's child. Used in expressions like 「母性愛 (maternal love)」「母性本能 (maternal instinct)」「母性が芽生える (maternal feelings begin to grow)」. It is also a word used in psychological and sociological contexts, but in recent years there has been criticism of the view that takes this as something unique to women, and usage is shifting. Its conceptual counterpart is 「父性」.

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N5 細い ほそい
A state where the width of a round thing is small. The antonym is 「太い」 (thick).

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N3 保存 ほぞん
To keep something in its current state. Example: 「食品を保存する」 (to preserve food). Also used for computer data, as in 「ファイルを保存する」 (to save a file).

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N1 母胎 ぼたい
Refers to inside the mother's body, the womb. From there, by extension, it is used metaphorically for the organization or foundation that gives birth to something. It is a formal word used both in the physical sense, as in 「母胎から離れる (to leave the mother's body)」, and in the metaphorical sense, as in 「文化の母胎 (the matrix of culture)」「会社の母胎となった研究所 (the research institute that served as the matrix of the company)」. In the metaphorical sense, it often refers to the organization or environment that was the origin and starting point of what is now a developed form.

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N1 没収 ぼっしゅう
Refers to the act of forcibly taking away someone's property by authority based on law or regulation. Used in expressions like 「財産を没収する (to confiscate property)」「違反者から免許を没収する (to revoke a violator's license)」「カードを没収される (to have one's card confiscated)」. Unlike private 「取り上げ (taking away)」, its distinctive feature is that it accompanies the exercise of public authority, and it is a formal word used in legal, sports, and customs contexts.

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N3 ほっと ほっと
A state of feeling relieved as tension eases. Example: 「無事と聞いてほっとした」 (felt relieved to hear they were safe).

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N1 没落 ぼつらく
Refers to a family, nation, or organization that once flourished losing its status, wealth, and power, and falling into decline. It is a formal word used in expressions like 「名家が没落する (a noble family falls into ruin)」「没落貴族 (the fallen aristocracy)」. Rather than a temporary downturn, it expresses a decisive decline involving the loss of social standing, and often implies an irreversible change. It is frequently used in historical writings and literary works.

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N3 歩道 ほどう
sidewalk. A path for pedestrians to walk on. Example: 「横断歩道」 (crosswalk). The word with the opposite meaning is 「車道」 (the roadway for vehicles).

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N4 ほとんど ほとんど
Not all, but very close to it. Example: 「しゅくだいはほとんどおわった」 (the homework is almost finished). When used together with 「〜ない」, it expresses that the amount or the number of times is very small. Examples: 「お金がほとんどない」 (to have almost no money), 「ほとんど話さない」 (to hardly speak).

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N3 ほね
bone. The hard part that supports the body. 「骨が折れる」 means "to break a bone" (injury), but also idiomatically means something is a lot of trouble.

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N4 褒める ほめる
To find something good in someone and say so.

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N3 掘る ほる
dig. To make a hole in the ground. To take something out from inside the earth. Example: 「穴を掘る」 (to dig a hole), 「いもを掘る」 (to dig up potatoes).

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N5 ほん
book. Something with letters or pictures on it, made to be read. It is also used as a word for counting long, thin things such as pencils and bottles. いっぽん・にほん・さんぼん・よんほん・ごほん・ろっぽん・ななほん・はっぽん・きゅうほん・じゅっぽん, and 「なんぼん」. For 1, 6, 8 and 10 it becomes 「ぽん」, and for 3 and 「なん」 it becomes 「ぼん」.

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N1 本意 ほんい
Refers to the true intention or feeling that one desires from the bottom of one's heart. It is a formal word used in expressions like 「本意ではない (it is not my true intention)」「本意を遂げる (to fulfill one's true wish)」. It expresses the genuine inner wish, not the surface words or the result of compromise. It is often used in the form 「本意ではないが (although it is not my true intention)」 as a preface when accepting a conclusion that differs from one's wishes. There is a tendency for 「本心」 to point to the emotional side and 「本意」 to point to the volitional, intentional side.

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N1 翻意 ほんい
Refers to changing a thought or decision that one has once made. Used in expressions like 「翻意を促す (to urge someone to reconsider)」「翻意する (to change one's mind)」. It is a formal word used primarily in contexts where one tries to persuade a person who has announced resignation, retirement, withdrawal, or cancellation to retract that decision. It is hardly used in everyday conversation and is biased toward the style of news reports and official statements.

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N3 本気 ほんき
A serious attitude, not a joke. Example: 「本気で怒る」 (to get seriously angry).

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N5 本棚 ほんだな
A shelf for storing books.

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N5 本当 ほんとう
Being true, not a lie. Example: 「本当ですか」 (is that true?).

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N3 本人 ほんにん
The person themselves. Example: 「本人に確認する」 (to confirm with the person themselves).

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N1 本末転倒 ほんまつてんとう
Refers to mistaking the essential parts of a matter for trivial ones. It is a four-character idiom that critically describes a state in which means have been substituted for ends, or in which priorities of importance have been reversed. Used in expressions like 「本末転倒な議論 (an argument that puts the cart before the horse)」「健康のためのダイエットで体を壊しては本末転倒だ (ruining one's health on a diet for one's health is putting the cart before the horse)」. 「本」 means the root or essence, 「末」 means the branches or tip, and the word expresses that this relationship has been 「転倒 (inverted)」.

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N1 本望 ほんもう
Refers to the feeling of satisfaction that comes when a long-cherished wish is fulfilled. Used in expressions like 「本望を遂げる (to achieve one's heart's desire)」「これで本望だ (this is enough to satisfy me)」. It is a formal word expressing the sense of fulfillment when a long-held wish or a determined goal is achieved, and is often used for great wishes worth even risking one's life for. There is also an idiomatic expression like 「死んでも本望 (it would be worth dying for)」, indicating a resolve that accepts even sacrifice.

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N3 本物 ほんもの
The real thing, not a fake. Example: 「本物のダイヤ」 (a real diamond). The antonym is 「にせ物」 (a fake).

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N4 翻訳 ほんやく
To convert the language of one country into the language of another.

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N2, N3 ぼんやり ぼんやり
A state in which the shape of something, a memory, or the like is not clear. 「遠くの山がぼんやり見える」 (the distant mountains look hazy). It also describes a state of thinking about nothing, with one's attention directed nowhere in particular. 「授業中にぼんやりする」 (to space out during class), 「ぼんやりしていて駅を乗り過ごした」 (I was spacing out and missed my station).

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N1 凡庸 ぼんよう
Refers to something mediocre, lacking any distinguishing features, and unremarkable. Used in expressions like 「凡庸な作品 (a mediocre work)」「凡庸な人物 (a mediocre person)」. It is a formal na-adjective used by an evaluator to describe an object as having no notable qualities in terms of talent, personality, or quality. Compared to simply saying 「普通 (ordinary)」, this word carries a stronger negative, critical undertone, and is frequently used in critical or commentary-style writing. Its antonym is 「非凡 (extraordinary)」.

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N1 翻弄 ほんろう
Refers to being tossed about as if being toyed with by some other force, regardless of one's own will. As in 「波に翻弄される (to be tossed about by the waves)」「運命に翻弄される (to be played with by fate)」「相手の戦術に翻弄される (to be confounded by the opponent's tactics)」, it is normally used in the passive form. It is a written-language word expressing situations of being swayed by great irresistible forces, such as the power of nature, fate, the intentions of the strong, or emotions.

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N5 まい
counter for flat things. A word for counting thin, flat things such as paper, shirts, and plates. いちまい・にまい・さんまい…じゅうまい, 「なんまい」. The sound does not change with the number.

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N5 毎朝 まいあさ
every morning. Every day's morning.

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N3 迷子 まいご
A child who has lost their way or been separated from a parent and doesn't know where they are. Example: 「迷子になる」 (to get lost). The reading 「まいご」 is a special reading.

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N5 毎週 まいしゅう
every week. Every week.

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N5 毎月 まいつき
Every month. Also read 「まいげつ」.

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N5 毎年 まいとし
Every year. Also read 「まいねん」.

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N5 毎日 まいにち
every day. Every day.

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N5 毎晩 まいばん
Every night.

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N4 参る まいる
A humble way of saying 「行く」 (to go) or 「来る」 (to come).

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N5 まえ
before. Being earlier in place or time. The antonym is 「後ろ」 (behind) or 「後」 (after).

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N3 任せる まかせる
entrust. To have someone else do a job or make a decision. Example: 「仕事を任せる」 (to entrust a job to someone).

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N4, N5 曲がる まがる
turn. To no longer be straight. Also used when turning on a road. Example: 「右に曲がる」 (to turn right).

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N1 紛れる まぎれる
To become mixed in with other things and indistinguishable from them. The basic meaning is to blend into a crowd or darkness so as not to stand out, as in 「人混みに紛れる」(to get lost in a crowd) or 「闇に紛れる」(to slip away under cover of darkness). Extended use: 「気が紛れる」means that one's attention is drawn to something else, easing an unpleasant feeling or sadness. This second sense is close in nuance to distraction or relief, and frequently appears in contexts where worry or grief is alleviated through another activity.

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N3 巻く まく
To wrap or roll something around, turning it in a circular motion. Example: 「マフラーを巻く」 (to wrap a scarf around oneself), 「ねじを巻く」 (to wind a screw/spring).

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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.