How This Vocabulary Test Works
This test draws on the same word database that powers our vocabulary lists — around 8,000 entries covering every JLPT level from N5 to N1, plus the conversational A1–A2 track used by JFT-Basic students. Every word is shown with furigana above the kanji, so you can always read the question even before you've learned the characters — this is a vocabulary test, not a kanji-reading test. Pick a list and one of two question types: Word → Meaning (the recognition skill reading depends on) or Meaning → Word, the production direction that reveals whether a word is truly yours or just familiar. Wrong options always come from the same level, so you're discriminating between words the exam expects you to know side by side. If you want to test whether you can read kanji without furigana, the Kanji Test has a dedicated Kanji → Reading mode.
Recognition Is Not Recall
The most common vocabulary trap is mistaking recognition for knowledge: you see 昨日 in a list, nod, and move on — but in conversation the word never arrives. That's why the reverse direction matters. If you can pick 昨日 when you see "yesterday", the word is retrievable, not just recognisable. A practical loop: study a set from the N5 lists, run Word → Meaning until you clear 90%, then run the same set in reverse and watch your score drop — that gap is your real study list. Bookmark the words that keep escaping and drill your bookmarks separately, or press "Retry wrong answers" right after a test while the misses are fresh.
Modes, Progress and What Comes Next
All four engine modes are here: Practice with instant feedback showing each word's reading, Exam with results only at the end, a 60-second Speed Challenge on your chosen list, and a Daily Challenge of ten N5 words that's identical for every visitor each day. Lifetime progress and the Vocabulary Master badge track are saved in your browser, separate from your kanji and kana progress. Vocabulary compounds fastest when it's connected to grammar — each new word slots into patterns from the lesson notes — and to a steady rhythm: ten new words a day into a spaced-repetition system, verified weekly with an exam-mode run here.