Learn JLPT N5 Vocabulary by Playing a Game

The best JLPT N5 vocabulary app is the one that fits how you like to study and that you will actually open every day. This guide compares free and paid picks side by side, shows roughly how many words N5 really needs, and gives you a simple daily routine you can start today.

There is no single right way to study vocabulary. Some people love flashcards, some learn best by listening, and some need to write each word by hand. Below you will find options for each style, plus a free printable starter list to get you moving.

What to look for in a JLPT N5 vocabulary app

A good N5 app does a few quiet things well. You do not need every feature, but the ones below make beginner study much smoother.

• Native audio on every word, so you learn the sound and the meaning together. The listening section rewards this.
• Spaced repetition, often called smart reviews, which brings each word back right before you would forget it. This is the single biggest time saver for memory.
• A clear beginner path scoped to N5, so you are not lost in advanced words you do not need yet.
• Example sentences, which show how a word behaves in real Japanese rather than in isolation.
• Offline access, helpful for studying on a commute or a flight.
• A free tier generous enough to test the app before you pay anything.

Pick two or three of these that matter most to you. The “best” app is personal, and trying one for a week tells you more than any review.

How many words you need for JLPT N5

Most study guides point to roughly 700 to 800 core words for JLPT N5, with some estimates stretching toward 1,000. The official test no longer publishes a fixed list, so treat these numbers as a target range, not a hard rule.

These words cover everyday life: greetings, numbers, time, days and months, family, food, colors, directions, and common verbs and adjectives. Alongside them, N5 involves around 100 kanji characters, so it helps to study words and their kanji together.

Here is the encouraging part. If you learn about 10 new words a day and keep up your reviews, the N5 vocabulary range is very reachable in two to three months. Small and steady wins here.

JLPT N5 vocabulary app comparison table

Below is a side-by-side look at common ways people study N5 vocabulary. Features change over time, so confirm current details in each app before you decide. This table is a starting map, not a verdict.

Option	Price	Free tier	Native audio	Spaced repetition	Flashcards	Handwriting	Offline
Anki (with a shared N5 deck)	Free on most platforms; paid on iOS	Yes, fully free on desktop and Android	Depends on the deck	Yes, core feature	Yes	No	Yes
General spaced repetition flashcard apps	Free to freemium	Often yes	Varies by app	Yes	Yes	Rarely	Often
Audio-first vocabulary apps	Freemium	Limited	Yes, a strength	Sometimes	Sometimes	No	Varies
All-in-one Japanese learning apps	Freemium to subscription	Usually limited	Often	Often	Often	Sometimes	Varies
Kana Conbini	Free to start, no subscription	Yes	Yes, on every word	Yes, smart reviews	Recognition game plus reviews	Yes, full stroke-order mode	Yes, after content downloads

Use this to shortlist two options that match your study style, then test them.

Best free JLPT N5 vocabulary apps

It helps to separate truly free apps from freemium ones, because searchers often want options that cost nothing.

Truly free or free-on-most-platforms:

• Anki is free on desktop, Android, and the web. Pair it with a community-made N5 deck and you have a powerful, no-cost setup.
• Renshuu is free on iPhone, Android, and the web, with a generous free tier, native audio, and ready-made JLPT N5 study paths.
• Quizlet hosts many free user-made N5 flashcard sets you can study with cards and quick quizzes.
• Many community word lists and decks are free to download and import into a flashcard app.

Free to start (freemium):

• Most all-in-one Japanese apps give you a free tier with daily limits, then offer paid upgrades for unlimited use or extra features.
• Kana Conbini is free to start with no subscription on iPhone and Android. Conbini Run, its read-and-recognize store game, lets you practice N5 words with native voice and smart reviews at no cost, and a one-time pack later removes the daily handwriting energy limit if you want it.
• This model lets you learn for free while you decide whether the paid features are worth it for you.

If your only goal is free vocabulary drilling, a free spaced repetition app plus a shared N5 deck is hard to beat. If you want audio, examples, and a guided path bundled together, a free-to-start app may feel friendlier. To see how a free-to-start option blends all three, look at the convenience-store reading game.

Best apps for flashcards and spaced repetition

Flashcards are simple cards with a word on one side and the meaning on the other. Spaced repetition schedules those cards so you review each one right before you would forget it, which means less wasted time on words you already know.

Anki is the classic choice here. It is free on most platforms, deeply customizable, and supported by many free N5 decks. The trade-off is setup time, since you choose your own deck and settings.

If you prefer something ready to use out of the box, many guided apps include built-in spaced repetition with N5 words already loaded. You give up some control but save the setup work. Either path works; choose the one you will keep using. For a closer look at how spaced repetition schedules each card and how the main apps compare, see our guide to choosing a spaced repetition app for Japanese.

A simple habit makes any of these shine: do your due reviews first each day, then add new words. Reviews protect what you already learned.

Best apps for audio and pronunciation

The N5 listening section tests words by sound, so learning the audio from day one pays off twice. When you hear a word as you read it, you train recognition and listening at the same time.

Look for apps with native Japanese voice on every word rather than computer voice only, and ideally audio on example sentences too. JapanesePod101 is one audio-first option, with thousands of podcast-style lessons and vocabulary lists recorded by native speakers. Here is how to use it well:

1. Read the word and look at the meaning.
2. Play the audio and say the word out loud.
3. Cover the meaning, hear the audio again, and recall the meaning from sound alone.

That last step, listening recall, is the part many learners skip, and it is exactly what the test rewards.

Apps that pair vocabulary with kanji and handwriting

Pure vocabulary lists often skip an angle that helps a lot at N5: the kanji inside the words. Studying a word gives its kanji a meaning and a context, and practicing that kanji by hand makes the same word easier to recognize later.

Most N5 words use a small set of common kanji, around 100 in total. Writing them in correct stroke order builds a physical memory that pure reading can miss. You do not have to choose between reading and writing; they support each other.

A few apps lean into this pairing. WaniKani teaches kanji and the vocabulary built from them through mnemonics and spaced repetition, with its first three levels free. If you want to add the writing itself, a write-by-hand app lets you trace each N5 character in stroke order with guides that fade as you improve.

If you want to see how stroke order works before you start, watch our animated stroke-order demo. It shows each stroke in the order a native writer would draw it.

How to build a JLPT N5 vocabulary study routine

A routine matters more than any single app. Here is a simple plan you can adjust to your time and pace.

1. Pick a daily word count you can repeat. Eight to twelve new words a day is plenty. A small batch you finish beats a big batch you abandon.
2. Review before you add. Open your app and clear your due reviews first, then learn the day’s new words. Reviews are where memory is built.
3. Group words by topic. Study small themed sets such as numbers, time, family, and food. Related words reinforce each other.
4. Add sound every time. Hear and say each word as you learn it, and practice recalling meaning from audio alone.
5. Write the kanji you meet. Trace the N5 kanji by hand in stroke order as words introduce them.
6. Test yourself before the exam. In the last week or two, switch from new words to recall drills, and spend your reviews on the words you still miss.

At ten words a day with daily reviews, the N5 range fits comfortably into two to three months. If you miss a day, just pick up where you left off. Consistency, not perfection, is the goal.

A free printable JLPT N5 vocabulary starter list

Sometimes paper helps the words sink in. We made a set of free, printable practice sheets so you can start writing N5 vocabulary and kana by hand today, no account needed.

Grab them from our free printable Japanese writing practice sheets. Print a page, fill it in during a quiet ten minutes, and pair it with your daily app reviews. For more beginner guides, visit the learn hub or head back to the home page to see how the app fits together.

How Kana Conbini can help

Kana Conbini is one friendly option among many, and it is built so you can start for free.

• It is free to start, with no subscription. You can learn real N5 vocabulary without paying anything up front, on iPhone and Android.
• Native voice on every word, so you build reading and listening together from day one.
• Smart reviews bring each word back right before you would forget it, keeping your daily study short.
• Two ways to practice: Conbini Run is a read-and-recognize store game, and Write Kanji is a handwriting mode where you trace characters in correct stroke order, with guides that fade as you improve.
• The full JLPT range, N5 to N1, with more than 10,000 vocabulary words available now, so the app grows with you well past N5.

There is no single right way to learn N5 vocabulary. Try a couple of options, keep the one you enjoy, and review a little every day.