JLPT N5 Japanese Verbs (Top 30)
The 30 highest-frequency verbs at JLPT N5, sorted by class (ichidan, godan, irregular).
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Why this list
Japanese verbs come in two regular classes plus two irregulars. Once you can recognize whether a verb is ichidan or godan from the dictionary form, conjugation becomes mechanical.
Memorize these 30 first. Conjugate each into the polite -masu form (-imasu / -ます), then the past -mashita, then the -te form. By the time you can do all three for these 30 verbs, the next 70 N5 verbs will fall into the same patterns.
The 30 words
| Kanji | Kana | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 見る | みる | miru | to see, to watch(ichidan) |
| 食べる | たべる | taberu | to eat(ichidan) |
| 起きる | おきる | okiru | to wake up(ichidan) |
| 寝る | ねる | neru | to sleep(ichidan) |
| 出る | でる | deru | to go out, to leave(ichidan) |
| 教える | おしえる | oshieru | to teach(ichidan) |
| 覚える | おぼえる | oboeru | to remember(ichidan) |
| 閉める | しめる | shimeru | to close(ichidan) |
| 行く | いく | iku | to go(godan) |
| 帰る | かえる | kaeru | to return home(godan (irregular -iru/-eru)) |
| 話す | はなす | hanasu | to speak(godan) |
| 聞く | きく | kiku | to listen, to ask(godan) |
| 読む | よむ | yomu | to read(godan) |
| 書く | かく | kaku | to write(godan) |
| 飲む | のむ | nomu | to drink(godan) |
| 買う | かう | kau | to buy(godan) |
| 作る | つくる | tsukuru | to make(godan) |
| 持つ | もつ | motsu | to hold, to have(godan) |
| 立つ | たつ | tatsu | to stand(godan) |
| 座る | すわる | suwaru | to sit(godan) |
| 歩く | あるく | aruku | to walk(godan) |
| 走る | はしる | hashiru | to run(godan (irregular -iru/-eru)) |
| 待つ | まつ | matsu | to wait(godan) |
| 会う | あう | au | to meet(godan) |
| わかる | わかる | wakaru | to understand(godan) |
| ある | ある | aru | to exist (inanimate)(godan) |
| いる | いる | iru | to exist (animate)(ichidan) |
| する | する | suru | to do(irregular) |
| 勉強する | べんきょうする | benkyō suru | to study(irregular (compound)) |
| 来る | くる | kuru | to come(irregular) |
Common questions
How do I conjugate Japanese verbs?+
For ichidan: drop the る, add -masu (食べる → 食べます). For godan: change the final mora to its -i row equivalent, add -masu (飲む → 飲みます). For irregulars: memorize (する → します, 来る → きます).
Are 帰る and 走る ichidan or godan?+
Godan, even though they end in -eru/-iru. They're famous exceptions every learner has to memorize. The rest of the -eru/-iru-ending verbs follow the standard ichidan rule.
What's the difference between ある and いる?+
Both mean 'to exist' but ある is for inanimate things (本がある, there's a book) and いる is for animate things (猫がいる, there's a cat). Use them by what's existing, not where it is.
Related
These 30 words are part of this site's themed N5 editorial selection. Inku's mobile app expands that into a 551-card N5 bundle with bundled pronunciation audio and FSRS spaced review. Download Inku.
