やばい · YABAI  ·  可愛い · KAWAII  ·  仲間 · NAKAMA  ·  侘び寂び · WABI-SABI  ·  生き甲斐 · IKIGAI  ·  木漏れ日 · KOMOREBI  ·  頑張る · GANBARU  ·  乙女 · OTOME  ·  刹那 · SETSUNA  ·    やばい · YABAI  ·  可愛い · KAWAII  ·  仲間 · NAKAMA  ·  侘び寂び · WABI-SABI  ·  生き甲斐 · IKIGAI  ·  木漏れ日 · KOMOREBI  ·  頑張る · GANBARU  ·  乙女 · OTOME  ·  刹那 · SETSUNA  · 
Japanese Dictionary for English Speakers

Every Word Has a Story.

Discover Japanese through anime, manga, and real culture. Not just definitions — context, nuance, and the why behind every word.

1162+
WORDS & PHRASES
N5 – N1
ALL JLPT LEVELS
Free
ALWAYS
Word of the Day · 今日の単語
青い
AOI · あおい
blue / green
JLPT N5 Everyday Japanese
Browse by Category

What are you looking for?

JLPT Vocabulary
N5 to N1 — essential words for the official Japanese proficiency test.
297 words →
Everyday Japanese
Words for daily life, food, and the rhythms of Japanese culture.
884 words →
Pop Culture & Slang
Words from anime, manga, social media, and modern youth culture.
172 words →
Untranslatable & Unique
Concepts with no English equivalent — names, kanji, and loanwords.
177 words →
Study by Level

Study by JLPT Level

JLPT is Japan's official Japanese proficiency test — N5 is the entry level, N1 is near-native.

Beginner
N5
800 words
Start here
Elementary
N4
1,500 words
Building up
Intermediate
N3
3,750 words
Getting there
Upper-Int
N2
6,000 words
Advanced level
Advanced
N1
10,000 words
Near-native
Recently Added

Latest Words

teepurekoodaa
tape recorder
N5
sengetsu
last month
N5
rajikase
radio-cassette player; boombox
N5
kekkou
fairly; considerably; quite; splendid; nice
N5
bukkumaaku
bookmark (web browser feature)
Common
zendaimimon
unprecedented; unheard-of; something that has never happened before
Common
yakusoku
promise; appointment; agreement; commitment
N4
yaburu
to tear; to rip; to break (a promise/record/barrier); to violate
N3
toranpu
playing cards (a deck of Western playing cards)
N3
sofa
sofa; couch
N3
shinsetsu
kind; kindness; considerate; helpful
N5
rainen
next year
N5
Why NihongoWords is Different
Words without context
are just noise.
Every entry includes cultural context, usage examples, and the nuances that textbooks leave out. Because understanding a language means understanding its people.