JLPT N5 kanji list, grouped by theme

The JLPT has not published an official kanji list since the 2010 revision. The lists in textbooks and apps are based on the old specification and are close to each other: about 100 kanji for N5.

The list

Group	Kanji
Numbers and money	一 二 三 四 五 六 七 八 九 十 百 千 万 円
Days of the week	日 月 火 水 木 金 土
People	人 子 女 男 父 母 友
Position	上 下 左 右 中 外 前 後
Time	年 時 分 半 今 午 毎 週
Verbs	見 行 来 出 入 食 飲 話 読 書 聞 言 休 買
Adjectives	大 小 高 安 新 古 長 白
Places	国 学 校 店 駅 道 社
Nature and weather	山 川 田 天 気 雨 花
Body	口 目 耳 手 足
Everyday words	名 何 先 生 語 本 電 車

That’s 103. Some lists have a few more or a few less.

Why grouping helps

Learning 日月火水木金土 together means you learn the days of the week (月曜日, 火曜日…) and five basic nature kanji at once. 上下 and 左右 come in pairs. Groups give you a reason to review.

A month plan

• Week 1: numbers, days, people.
• Week 2: position, time, body.
• Week 3: verbs.
• Week 4: adjectives, places, nature, everyday words, plus reviewing all of it.

Picture stories for N5

Many N5 kanji are pictographs, which makes them easy to picture: 山 looks like three peaks, 川 like flowing water, 口 like an open mouth, 木 like a tree with roots. Kanji Mnemonics has a picture for each one, and Lesson 1 is free.

Next: N4 and N3. Overview of all levels: JLPT levels.