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ALL LEVELS・N1–N5
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4,238words (N1–N5 total)
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N1
浮かれる
うかれる
A state of being so elated by joy or pleasure that one loses composure and becomes frivolous. Used as in 「祭りに浮かれる」 or 「成功に浮かれる」 in contexts where one is carried away by temporary excitement. Often carries a negative nuance.
AI-generated translation
N3
浮く
うく
To stay at the surface of water or in the air without sinking. Example: 「油が水に浮く」 (oil floats on water). Also used to mean not fitting in with one's surroundings, as in 「一人だけ浮いている」 (only that one person stands out/doesn't fit in), or to mean money being left over, as in 「費用が浮く」 (to save on costs).
AI-generated translation
N1
受け流す
うけながす
To deflect lightly an opponent's aggressive remarks, sarcasm, or provocations without engaging head-on. Used as in 「冗談で受け流す」 or 「軽く受け流す」, expressing a way of responding that avoids confrontation and keeps things calm.
AI-generated translation
N1
受け持つ
うけもつ
Taking on work or a sphere of responsibility as one's own role and handling it with responsibility. Used as in 「クラスを受け持つ」 or 「窓口を受け持つ」 in scenes of being assigned and put in charge of duties or tasks.
AI-generated translation
N3
動かす
うごかす
To change the position or state of something. Example: 「机を動かす」 (to move a desk), 「機械を動かす」 (to operate a machine). Also used to mean affecting someone's feelings, as in 「心を動かす」 (to move someone emotionally). 「動かす」 is used when someone makes something move, and 「動く」 when the thing itself moves: 「机を動かす」 versus 「机が動く」.
AI-generated translation
N3
失う
うしなう
To lose something one had. Example: 「職を失う」 (to lose one's job), 「自信を失う」 (to lose confidence), 「家族を失う」 (to lose a family member). More formal than 「なくす」, and often used for important things.
AI-generated translation
N5
後ろ
うしろ
The outer side of something, not the front. Example: 「家の後ろ」 (behind the house). The antonym is 「前」 (front).
AI-generated translation
N5
薄い
うすい
A state where thickness is small. Example: 「薄い本」 (a thin book). Also used to mean a weak taste or color, as in 「薄いお茶」 (weak tea), 「色が薄い」 (a light color). The antonyms are 「厚い」 (thick) or 「こい」 (strong/deep).
AI-generated translation
N1
薄々
うすうす
A state of not knowing clearly but somehow sensing. Used as in 「薄々感づいていた」 or 「薄々気づいていた」, expressing a situation where one is not fully certain but has some sense of it. An adverb that frequently co-occurs with verbs like to notice, to feel, or to know.
AI-generated translation
N1
うずうず
うずうず
A state in which one cannot sit still due to a strong urge to do something, with the feeling rising from within. Used as in 「早く試したくてうずうずする」. An adverb expressing an impulse one cannot restrain, mostly used in the form 「〜する」.
AI-generated translation
N1
薄気味悪い
うすきみわるい
A state of vaguely feeling anxiety or fear without a clear reason. Used as in 「薄気味悪い笑い方」 or 「薄気味悪い静けさ」. An adjective expressing a vaguely uncomfortable and eerie atmosphere, not a clear threat.
AI-generated translation
N1
渦巻く
うずまく
A state in which water or smoke forms swirls and rotates, or emotions and debates intensely intermingle and rise. Used as in 「怒りが渦巻く」 or 「議論が渦巻く」, for both physical rotation and abstract turmoil.
AI-generated translation
N1
薄ら寒い
うすらさむい
A state where it is not clearly cold, but somehow the skin feels a slight chill. Used as in 「薄ら寒い朝」 or 「薄ら寒い話」. Not only expresses temperature but is also used metaphorically for eerie, chilling topics.
AI-generated translation
N1
薄れる
うすれる
A state in which color, emotion, or memory gradually grows weaker and fainter. Used as in 「記憶が薄れる」 or 「関心が薄れる」. Expresses a state in which sensations or impressions diminish in intensity over time.
AI-generated translation
N5
歌
うた
song. Something sung aloud with a melody.
AI-generated translation
N5
歌う
うたう
sing. To voice a song aloud. Example: 「歌を歌う」 (to sing a song).
AI-generated translation
N3
疑う
うたがう
To think something is suspicious, questioning whether it is true. Example: 「話を疑う」 (to doubt a story), 「目を疑う」 (to not believe one's eyes/be unable to believe it). The antonym is 「信じる」 (to believe).
AI-generated translation
N1
うだつ
うだつ
「うだつ」 originally referred to small pillars or short roof structures attached to both ends of a house's roof. Since only wealthy families could afford to build impressive ones, the idiom 「うだつが上がらない」 is used to describe someone who never advances in status or life and remains undistinguished. A somewhat old-fashioned idiom, often used to mock a man's circumstances.
AI-generated translation
N1
打たれ強い
うたれづよい
Having the strength to recover without breaking down despite criticism, failures, or mental blows. Used as in 「打たれ強い性格」. Originally a boxing term, the meaning shifted to express mental endurance.
AI-generated translation
N5
家
うち
home. One's own house or one's own family. Used in phrases such as 「うちの父」 or 「うちに帰る」 to refer to the place one belongs to. The same 「家」, read as 「いえ」, refers to the building itself. In compounds it is also read 「や」, as in 「やちん」 (rent) and 「わがや」 (one's own home), 「か」, as in 「かぞく」 (family) and 「かてい」 (household), or 「け」, as in 「けらい」 (retainer) and 「やまだけ」 (the Yamada family).
AI-generated translation
N1
打ち勝つ
うちかつ
To overcome difficult circumstances, strong enemies, or one's own weaknesses without giving in. Used as in 「病に打ち勝つ」 or 「誘惑に打ち勝つ」. A formal expression that means not merely winning but conquering a difficult target.
AI-generated translation
N1
打ち砕く
うちくだく
Breaking a hard object into small pieces with great force, or completely shattering hopes and plans. Used as in 「岩を打ち砕く」 or 「夢を打ち砕く」, for both physical destruction and the shattering of hopes.
AI-generated translation
N1
打ち出す
うちだす
Clearly showing and publicly announcing a new policy, idea, or strategy. Used as in 「新方針を打ち出す」 or 「独自色を打ち出す」 in scenes of forcefully asserting outward what one has held inside.
AI-generated translation
N1
打ち解ける
うちとける
The state in which initial wariness and reserve disappear, allowing one to talk intimately and at ease with the other person. Used as in 「初対面でもすぐ打ち解ける」. Expresses a state in which formal distance shrinks and one can open one's heart to interact.
AI-generated translation
N1
打ち所
うちどころ
The place where the body has been struck, or a point that deserves criticism. 「打ち所が悪い」 means striking a fatal part when falling, while 「非の打ち所がない」 means there is not a single flaw. Both are established as fixed idiomatic expressions.
AI-generated translation
N1
打ちのめす
うちのめす
To strike down an opponent so forcefully that they cannot get up, defeating them thoroughly. Used as in 「相手を打ちのめす」 or 「失敗に打ちのめされる」, applying to both physical blows and mental shocks.
AI-generated translation
N1
打ち破る
うちやぶる
Smashing through walls, restrictions, or bad situations that have stood in the way until now, with strong force and momentum. Used as in 「固定観念を打ち破る」 or 「記録を打ち破る」 in scenes of overcoming something to bring about a new development.
AI-generated translation
N3
宇宙
うちゅう
universe. The expanse of all stars and space, including the earth. Example: 「宇宙飛行士」 (astronaut), 「宇宙旅行」 (space travel).
AI-generated translation
N1
有頂天
うちょうてん
A state of being so overjoyed that one forgets oneself. Used as in 「優勝して有頂天になる」, expressing a state of being so elated by great success or good fortune that one loses composure. Also used in contexts that foreshadow a subsequent failure.
AI-generated translation
N1
打ち寄せる
うちよせる
Waves and similar things surging vigorously toward the shore, or emotions and information arriving in continuous succession. Used as in 「波が打ち寄せる」 or 「声援が打ち寄せる」, in both physical and abstract senses.
AI-generated translation
N1
内輪
うちわ
A very limited circle of people, such as family and close friends. Used as in 「内輪で祝う」 or 「内輪の話」, referring to intimate relationships that exclude outsiders. Also has the meaning of estimating amounts or numbers conservatively.
AI-generated translation
N3
撃つ
うつ
shoot. To fire a bullet using a gun, etc. Example: 「鳥を撃つ」 (to shoot a bird). The homophone 「打つ」 refers to the action of hitting, as in 「くぎを打つ」 (to hammer a nail), and 「討つ」 means to defeat an enemy; all three are written differently.
AI-generated translation
N1, N2
訴える
うったえる
To make a formal appeal to a court for judgment; to sue. From this, it is also used for strongly conveying pain or dissatisfaction (痛みを訴える "complain of pain"), resorting to a means (武力に訴える "resort to force"), and appealing strongly to someone's emotions (心に訴える "appeal to the heart").
AI-generated translation
N1
うつつ
うつつ
The state of being awake, or reality. Used as in 「夢とうつつの区別がつかない」 or 「うつつを抜かす」. The form 「うつつを抜かす」 in particular is a frequently appearing idiom meaning to be so absorbed in one thing that one neglects one's main duties.
AI-generated translation
N1
打って変わる
うってかわる
A condition or attitude suddenly changing into something entirely different from before. Used as in 「打って変わって穏やかになる」, mostly used adverbially in the 「〜て」 form, in contexts emphasizing the contrast between before and after.
AI-generated translation
N1
うってつけ
うってつけ
A state of fitting an objective or condition perfectly, as if it were custom-ordered. Used as in 「この仕事に彼はうってつけだ」. A formal word used when a person, place, or opportunity is optimally suited.
AI-generated translation
N1
虚ろ
うつろ
A state in which the inside is empty and one cannot sense any strength or emotion. Used as in 「虚ろな目」 or 「虚ろな表情」, expressing a state of being absentminded or having lost one's vigor. Used in scenes where the heart or expression is like an empty shell.
AI-generated translation
N1
疎い
うとい
Having little knowledge or information about a certain field. Used as in 「経済に疎い」 or 「芸能界に疎い」. Also used in the sense of relationships with others being distant and not close, as in 「疎い仲」.
AI-generated translation
N1
疎む
うとむ
Disliking the other party and trying to keep them at a distance. Used as in 「周囲から疎まれる」. Not clear hostility, but expresses the feeling of finding someone bothersome and wanting to keep one's distance. Used in somewhat formal writing.
AI-generated translation
N1
うなぎ登り
うなぎのぼり
An idiom derived from the image of an eel vigorously swimming upstream, used to describe prices, popularity, or reputation rising rapidly and continuously. Used in contexts of steady upward growth, as in 「売り上げがうなぎ登り」 and 「人気がうなぎ登り」.
AI-generated translation
N1
うなだれる
うなだれる
Drooping one's head forward weakly due to disappointment, dejection, or shame. Used as in 「しょんぼりとうなだれる」 or 「がっくりとうなだれる」 in scenes where mental dejection appears in one's posture.
AI-generated translation
N1
唸る
うなる
Emitting a low, prolonged voice. Expresses a moan emitted due to suffering, admiration, or discomfort. Used as in 「犬が唸る」, 「傷の痛みで唸る」, or 「見事さに思わず唸った」. Also used for low-resonating sounds of wind or machinery.
AI-generated translation
N1
自惚れ
うぬぼれ
Evaluating one's own ability or charm higher than it actually is and becoming self-satisfied. Used as in 「自惚れが強い」 or 「自惚れにすぎない」, referring to a state seen from others as overconfidence. A word with a somewhat negative implication.
AI-generated translation
N1
うねる
うねる
A state in which waves, roads, or bodies continue while bending and curving in large undulations. Used as in 「大波がうねる」 or 「山道がうねる」. Expresses a state not of static straight lines but of continuous motion describing curves and rises and falls.
AI-generated translation
N1
鵜呑み
うのみ
「鵜」 (cormorant) is a bird that catches fish in its beak and swallows them whole without chewing. From this image comes the idiom expressing the act of believing someone's words or information as-is without proper verification. Used in the form 「鵜呑みにする」, it negatively describes an attitude of accepting things without scrutiny. Frequently appears in journalism, political, and educational contexts.
AI-generated translation
N3
奪う
うばう
To forcibly take another person's belongings. Example: 「財布を奪う」 (to steal a wallet), 「自由を奪う」 (to take away someone's freedom). Also used to mean being strongly captivated, as in 「心を奪われる」 (to have one's heart captured).
AI-generated translation
N5
生まれる
うまれる
For a child to come out of its mother's body. To come into this world. Example: 「日本で生まれた」 (born in Japan).
AI-generated translation
N5
海
うみ
sea. A wide place full of salty water. Example: 「海でおよぐ」 (to swim in the sea).
AI-generated translation
N1
産みの苦しみ
うみのくるしみ
Originally referred to the pain of childbirth. By extension, it is an idiom expressing the mental and physical hardship experienced in the process of creating something new. Used metaphorically for difficulties in situations of creating something from scratch, such as creative work or launching a business, as in 「新商品開発の産みの苦しみ」.
AI-generated translation
N1
有無
うむ
Existence and nonexistence. Used in scenes asking whether something exists, as in 「有無を確かめる」 or 「経験の有無」. Also used in the form 「有無を言わせず」 with the meaning of forcefully proceeding with something without obtaining the other party's consent.
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.