Complete JLPT N5 Grammar Guide: Every Pattern You Need to Pass

This guide takes a different approach. Every grammar point below includes the structure, a real example sentence you could actually use in Japan, the most common mistake learners make with it, and how it connects to other patterns. By the end, you will have a complete mental map of N5 grammar — not just a pile of memorized rules.

Who this guide is for: absolute beginners through learners with 3–6 months of study who want a single, complete N5 grammar reference.

How to use it: read one section per day, write your own example sentence for each pattern, and come back to the cheat sheet at the bottom before your exam.

How JLPT N5 Grammar Is Organized

Before diving in, it helps to understand that N5 grammar falls into five big families:

If a test question confuses you, identifying which family it belongs to is usually the fastest way to eliminate wrong answers.

1. Sentence Skeletons: です and Its Forms

1.1 AはBです (A is B)

The most fundamental Japanese sentence. は marks the topic; です is the polite copula ("is/am/are").

私は学生です。
Watashi wa gakusei desu.
"I am a student."

これは日本の車です。
Kore wa Nihon no kuruma desu.
"This is a Japanese car."

Common mistake: Pronouncing the particle は as "ha." When は works as a particle, it is always pronounced wa. Learners who read romaji-heavy textbooks make this mistake for months.

1.2 じゃありません / ではありません (is not)

The negative of です. では is slightly more formal; じゃ is more conversational. Both appear on the N5.

田中さんは先生じゃありません。
Tanaka-san wa sensei ja arimasen.
"Mr. Tanaka is not a teacher."

Common mistake: Mixing up じゃありません (for nouns and な-adjectives) with くないです (for い-adjectives). 「高いじゃありません」 is wrong; it must be 「高くないです」.

1.3 でした / じゃありませんでした (was / was not)

Past tense of です.

昨日は雨でした。
Kinou wa ame deshita.
"Yesterday it was rainy."

テストは簡単じゃありませんでした。
Tesuto wa kantan ja arimasen deshita.
"The test was not easy."

1.4 か (question marker)

Add か to the end of any polite sentence to make it a question. No word-order change needed — far simpler than English.

山田さんは医者ですか。
Yamada-san wa isha desu ka.
"Is Mr. Yamada a doctor?"

Study tip: Japanese questions rarely use a written question mark in formal text. On the JLPT, expect 「ですか。」 with a period.

2. The Core Particles

Particles deserve their own deep dive — see our Japanese Particles Master Guide for full comparisons. Here is what the N5 demands.

2.1 は vs が — the eternal question

• は marks the topic: what the sentence is about.
• が marks the subject: who or what does the action, often introducing new information.

猫は外にいます。 — "(As for) the cat, it's outside." (We were already talking about the cat.)
猫がいます！ — "There's a cat!" (New information — look!)

Common mistake: Using は in question-word answers. If the question contains 誰が (who) or 何が (what), the answer must also use が:

誰が来ましたか。— 田中さんが来ました。
"Who came? — Mr. Tanaka came." (Never 田中さんは here.)

2.2 を — direct object marker

パンを食べます。 Pan o tabemasu. — "I eat bread."

Common mistake: Forgetting that motion verbs like 散歩する (to take a walk) use を for the space moved through: 公園を散歩します ("I walk through the park").

2.3 に — destination, time, existence

に has three N5 jobs:

1. Destination: 学校に行きます。 — "I go to school."
2. Specific time: 七時に起きます。 — "I get up at 7:00."
3. Location of existence (with います/あります): 部屋に猫がいます。 — "There is a cat in the room."

2.4 で — location of action, means

1. Where an action happens: 図書館で勉強します。 — "I study at the library."
2. By means of: バスで行きます。 — "I go by bus."

The classic に vs で trap: に marks where something exists; で marks where something happens.

部屋にテレビがあります。 (existence → に)
部屋でテレビを見ます。 (action → で)

2.5 へ, と, から, まで, も, の

Common mistake with と: と only connects nouns. To connect verbs or whole clauses ("I ate and slept"), you need the て form: 食べて、寝ました。

3. Verbs: The Four Forms N5 Tests

Japanese verbs split into three groups. Knowing a verb's group tells you how to conjugate everything.

For full conjugation tables of every form through N3, see our Verb Conjugation Master Guide.

3.1 ます form (polite present/future)

毎朝コーヒーを飲みます。 — "I drink coffee every morning."

Four key endings:

Study tip: ます form covers both present and future. 明日行きます means "I will go tomorrow" — there is no separate future tense to learn.

3.2 て form — the workhorse

The て form is the single most useful conjugation in Japanese. The N5 tests it in these patterns:

• ～てください — please do: ちょっと待ってください。 ("Please wait a moment.")
• ～ています — ongoing action/state: 今、雨が降っています。 ("It's raining now.")
• ～てもいいですか — may I?: 写真を撮ってもいいですか。 ("May I take a photo?")
• ～てはいけません — must not: ここでタバコを吸ってはいけません。 ("You must not smoke here.")
• Connecting actions: 朝起きて、シャワーを浴びて、学校に行きます。 ("I get up, shower, and go to school.")

て form rules for Group 1 verbs:

Common mistake: ～ています for habitual states. 結婚しています means "I am married" (a state), not "I am in the middle of getting married." Verbs like 知っています (know), 住んでいます (live), 持っています (have) all describe states.

3.3 ない form (plain negative)

野菜を食べない。 — "(I) don't eat vegetables."

N5 patterns using ない:

• ～ないでください — please don't: ここに入らないでください。 ("Please don't enter here.")
• ～なければなりません — must: 宿題をしなければなりません。 ("I must do my homework.")
• ～なくてもいいです — don't have to: 明日来なくてもいいです。 ("You don't have to come tomorrow.")

Common mistake: ある → ない (not あらない). The verb ある is irregular in the negative.

3.4 た form (plain past)

The た form follows exactly the same sound changes as the て form (買って → 買った, 飲んで → 飲んだ). The N5 tests it mainly in:

• ～たことがあります — have done before: 日本に行ったことがあります。 ("I have been to Japan.")
• ～たり～たりします — do things like A and B: 週末は映画を見たり、買い物したりします。 ("On weekends I do things like watch movies and shop.")

4. Adjectives

4.1 い-adjectives

い-adjectives conjugate by themselves — です never changes.

Common mistake (#1 most common N5 error): 「高いでした」 is wrong. The adjective itself takes the past tense: 高かったです.

The いい exception: いい (good) conjugates from its old form よい: よくない, よかった, よくなかった.

4.2 な-adjectives

な-adjectives behave like nouns — です does the conjugating.

Common mistake: Forgetting な before nouns. きれい人 ✗ → きれいな人 ✓. Note that きれい and 有名 end in い but are な-adjectives — the JLPT loves testing exactly these two.

4.3 Connecting adjectives: ～くて / ～で

この部屋は広くて、明るいです。 — "This room is spacious and bright."
彼女はきれいで、親切です。 — "She is pretty and kind."

5. Essential N5 Expressions

5.1 ～たいです (want to do)

Attach たい to the ます-stem. It then conjugates like an い-adjective.

寿司が食べたいです。 — "I want to eat sushi."
昨日は何もしたくなかったです。 — "Yesterday I didn't want to do anything."

Common mistake: たい is for your own desires. For someone else's, N4 grammar (～たがっている) is needed — on the N5, a sentence like 田中さんは行きたいです in a wrong-answer choice is a trap.

5.2 ～ましょう / ～ませんか (let's / shall we?)

一緒に昼ご飯を食べませんか。 — "Won't you have lunch with me?"
ええ、食べましょう。 — "Yes, let's eat."

～ませんか is the softer invitation; ～ましょう is the agreement or proposal.

5.3 ～があります / ～がいます (there is)

• あります for inanimate things: 机の上に本があります。
• います for living things: 庭に犬がいます。

Common mistake: Plants are alive but use あります. The rule is really can it move by itself — animals and people take います, everything else takes あります.

5.4 ～が好きです / 嫌いです / 上手です / 下手です

These all take が, not を:

私は音楽が好きです。 — "I like music."
弟はサッカーが上手です。 — "My younger brother is good at soccer."

5.5 ～から (because)

時間がないから、タクシーで行きます。 — "Because there's no time, I'll go by taxi."

The reason comes first, the result second — opposite of typical English order.

5.6 ～の前に / ～の後で (before / after)

食事の前に手を洗います。 — "I wash my hands before meals."
仕事の後で飲みに行きます。 — "I go drinking after work."

5.7 ～ながら (while doing)

音楽を聞きながら勉強します。 — "I study while listening to music."

The main action comes last: in this sentence, studying is the main activity.

5.8 もう / まだ (already / still, not yet)

もう昼ご飯を食べましたか。— いいえ、まだです。
"Have you eaten lunch yet? — No, not yet."

5.9 Comparisons: AはBより / AとBとどちらが

飛行機は電車より速いです。 — "Planes are faster than trains."
コーヒーと紅茶とどちらが好きですか。 — "Which do you like, coffee or tea?"

For more on より, see the Particles Master Guide.

N5 Grammar Cheat Sheet (Quick Reference)

How to Study N5 Grammar Effectively

1. Write, don't just read. For every pattern, write one sentence about your own life. Grammar about you sticks far better than textbook sentences about Tanaka-san.
2. Drill the て form until it's automatic. Roughly a third of N5 grammar questions involve the て form directly or indirectly. Use our N5 practice notes for drills.
3. Study particles in contrasting pairs. に vs で, は vs が, と vs や. The JLPT almost always tests particles by contrast.
4. Do timed mock tests. Knowing grammar and choosing the right answer in 30 seconds are different skills. Practice with the official JLPT sample questions.
5. Combine grammar with listening. Many patterns (ませんか, てください) are easiest to absorb by ear. Our N5 listening practice recycles all the grammar in this guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many grammar points are on the JLPT N5?

Approximately 80 grammar patterns. There is no official published list, but analysis of past exams shows the patterns in this guide cover what consistently appears.

How long does it take to learn all N5 grammar?

With 30–60 minutes of daily study, most learners can cover all N5 grammar in 6–8 weeks. Add another 2–4 weeks of practice tests to make it exam-ready.

Do I need to know kanji for N5 grammar questions?

The N5 uses about 100 basic kanji, always with simple vocabulary. Grammar questions are written so that kanji knowledge is rarely the obstacle — but learn the ~100 N5 kanji anyway, since they appear in every section.

What is the difference between は and が in one sentence?

は marks the topic (old, shared information); が marks the subject (new information or emphasis). If the question word is 誰 or 何, use が in both question and answer.

Is N5 grammar enough to have a conversation in Japanese?

You can handle survival situations: shopping, ordering food, asking directions, simple self-introductions. For natural conversation, you'll want N4 grammar — see our Complete N4 Grammar Guide.

Which N5 grammar point do learners fail most often?

Adjective conjugation — especially 高かったです vs the incorrect 高いでした — and the に vs で distinction. Both appear on virtually every N5 exam.

Summary and Next Steps

JLPT N5 grammar boils down to five families: the です skeleton, particles, four verb forms (ます, て, ない, た), two adjective types, and a set of everyday expressions. Master the て form early, drill particles in contrasting pairs, and always write your own example sentences.

Your next steps on NihongoDoya:

• Drill these patterns with our N5 study notes
• Build vocabulary alongside grammar with the N5 vocabulary list
• Train your ears with N5 listening practice
• Test yourself with a free mock exam
• Ready for the next level? Continue to the Complete JLPT N4 Grammar Guide

頑張ってください！ (Good luck with your studies!)