TL;DR. The JLPT N5 syllabus lists about 100 verbs. Master these and you'll recognise every verb the exam tests, and hold a basic conversation about daily life. Each entry below shows dictionary form, verb group (godan / ichidan / irregular), meaning, and one N5-only-vocabulary example sentence with a natural English translation. Every verb links straight into the verb conjugator so you can see all 13 forms in one click.
How to use this list
Filter by category (movement, daily activities, communication, etc.) using the buttons below, or use the search box for a specific verb — search works in kanji, kana, English, or romaji (type iku and you'll find 行く). The verb-group badges tell you how each verb conjugates:
- Godan — the largest group. Stem changes across the kana chart when you conjugate.
- Ichidan — the easy group. Drop る, add endings.
- Godan exc. — looks like ichidan (ends in -iru or -eru) but actually conjugates as godan. There are only a few: 帰る, 走る, 入る, 切る, 知る. Learn them as exceptions once and never worry again.
- Irregular — the two exceptions to the rules: する (do) and 来る (come), plus every "noun + する" compound like 勉強する (study).
| Verb | Group | Meaning | Example — English translation |
|---|
How this list was chosen
These are the 100 verbs that overlap between three reference sources: the official JLPT N5 vocabulary syllabus published by the Japan Foundation, the verb inventory used across Minna no Nihongo I and II, and the beginner curriculum of Genki I. Any verb that appears in at least two of the three is included; ones that only appear in one source are excluded so you're studying the highest-utility words first. This is closer to a practical intersection than a strict corpus study — a genuine frequency-ranked corpus of spoken Japanese would swap in a few different verbs (like いる vs. おる), but for exam preparation the three-source overlap is what actually pays off.
Three verb-specific traps to know
- 「〜が」 verbs. Some verbs take が for the thing being acted on, not を. The classics are 好きです (like), 嫌いです (dislike), 上手です (be good at), 分かる (understand), できる (can do), and ある / いる (exist). The full pattern is explained in the は vs が deep dive.
- Godan exceptions. 帰る, 走る, 入る, 知る, 切る all end in -iru or -eru and look like ichidan verbs, but they conjugate as godan. If you say kaerimasu and get it right, you're already handling one of the five exceptions.
- Give / receive triad. あげる (give to someone else), くれる (give to me), もらう (receive) form a set that beginners get wrong for months. The rule: from the speaker's point of view, use くれる only when something moves toward you or your in-group.
Next steps
- Verb conjugator — plug any verb from this list in and see all 13 forms.
- Complete verb conjugation guide — the underlying rules for godan, ichidan and irregular verbs.
- JLPT N5 roadmap — where verb study fits in the 12-week plan.
- Vocabulary test — drill these verbs with the Leitner-box spaced-repetition scheduling.
- Full N5 vocabulary list — the ~800-word context these verbs live in.
Frequently asked questions
How many verbs do I need to know for JLPT N5?
Around 100. The syllabus lists ~800 words total; verbs account for roughly one-eighth of them.
Which verb group should I learn first?
Ichidan — they're the easiest to conjugate (drop る, add ending). Then move to godan. Irregulars (する, 来る) get absorbed through exposure without deliberate study.
Do I need to write these kanji by hand?
No. JLPT is 100 % multiple choice; you never write a character. But recognising the kanji version of these verbs is valuable because real Japanese uses kanji everywhere, and the exam progressively removes furigana at higher levels.