Top 100 JLPT N5 Vocabulary Words with Bengali Meanings

When I took my JLPT N5 mock test in 2020, I failed the vocabulary section. Not because I didn't study — I had memorized 200 words. But I memorized them wrong. I learned りんご as "apple" in English, then mentally translated to Bengali. That extra translation step made me slow. During the exam, I couldn't recall words fast enough.

That's when I changed my approach. I started creating a direct Japanese-to-Bengali mental link. りんগো → আপেল. No English middleman. This guide contains the 100 most essential JLPT N5 words with direct Bengali meanings — the same list I teach in NihonSync's vocabulary module.

These 100 words appear in approximately 70% of all JLPT N5 exam questions. Master them, and you've already won half the battle.

How to Use This List: Don't try to memorize all 100 in one day. I recommend 10 words per day for 10 days. Write each word 5 times, say it aloud, and create a sentence. NihonSync's SRS flashcards use this exact list — download the app for spaced repetition practice.

Category 1: People & Pronouns (人と代名詞)

👤 Category 1: People & Pronouns

#	Japanese	Reading	Bengali Meaning	Memory Tip
1	わたし	watashi	আমি	The most common "I" — polite and safe
2	あなた	anata	তুমি/আপনি	"You" — but avoid overusing with strangers
3	かれ	kare	সে (পুরুষ)	He — sounds like "car" he drives
4	かのじょ	kanojo	সে (নারী)	She — "ka-no-jo" = that girl
5	ともだち	tomodachi	বন্ধু	Tomo = together, dachi = stand
6	せんせい	sensei	শিক্ষক/শিক্ষিকা	Not just teachers — doctors too!
7	がくせい	gakusei	ছাত্র/ছাত্রী	Gaku = study, sei = person
8	かぞく	kazoku	পরিবার	Ka = house, zoku = tribe
9	ひと	hito	মানুষ	Simple and essential
10	おとこのひと	otoko no hito	পুরুষ মানুষ	Man = male + person

Category 2: Places & Directions (স্থান ও দিক)

📍 Category 2: Places & Directions

#	Japanese	Reading	Bengali Meaning	Memory Tip
11	いえ	ie	বাড়ি	Your ie/home is where you "eat"
12	うち	uchi	ঘর/নিজের বাড়ি	More personal than ie — "my home"
13	がっこう	gakkou	স্কুল	Gaku = study, kou = high place
14	だいがく	daigaku	বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়	Dai = big, gaku = study = university
15	えき	eki	স্টেশন	Train eki/station
16	みせ	mise	দোকান	Where you "mise" (show) products
17	びょういん	byouin	হাসপাতাল	Byou = sick, in = building
18	ほんや	honya	বইয়ের দোকান	Hon = book, ya = shop
19	こうえん	kouen	পার্ক	Kou = public, en = garden
20	レストラン	resutoran	রেস্তোরাঁ	Direct from English "restaurant"

Category 3: Food & Drink (খাবার ও পানীয়)

🍜 Category 3: Food & Drink

#	Japanese	Reading	Bengali Meaning	Memory Tip
21	みず	mizu	পানি	Crystal clear mizu
22	おちゃ	ocha	চা	The "o" prefix makes it polite
23	ごはん	gohan	ভাত/খাবার	Can mean rice OR meal in general
24	パン	pan	রুটি/পাউরুটি	From Portuguese "pão"
25	にく	niku	মাংস	Beef, chicken, pork — all niku
26	さかな	sakana	মাছ	Sushi is made from sakana
27	やさい	yasai	সবজি	Ya = eight, sai = vegetables (many kinds)
28	くだもの	kudamono	ফল	Kuda = tree, mono = thing
29	りんご	ringo	আপেল	Ringo Starr ate apples!
30	みかん	mikan	কমলা/মандарিন	Winter fruit in Japan

Category 4: Time & Numbers (সময় ও সংখ্যা)

⏰ Category 4: Time & Numbers

#	Japanese	Reading	Bengali Meaning	Memory Tip
31	いま	ima	এখন	Right ima/now
32	きょう	kyou	আজ	Kyou = today, close to "ky" sound
33	あした	ashita	আগামীকাল	Ashita = tomorrow, starts with "a"
34	きのう	kinou	গতকাল	Ki = previous, nou = day
35	とき	toki	সময়	Toki = time, like "tick-tock"
36	あさ	asa	সকাল	Asa = morning, fresh start
37	ひる	hiru	দুপুর	Hiru = noon, sun is high
38	ばん	ban	রাত	Ban = evening/night
39	いち	ichi	এক	Number 1 — starts with "i"
40	に	ni	দুই	Also means "at/to" — context matters

Category 5: Adjectives & Descriptions (বিশেষণ)

✨ Category 5: Adjectives & Descriptions

#	Japanese	Reading	Bengali Meaning	Memory Tip
41	おおきい	ookii	বড়	Big — the word itself feels big
42	ちいさい	chiisai	ছোট	Chii = tiny, sai = size
43	たかい	takai	উঁচু/দামি	Can mean tall OR expensive!
44	ひくい	hikui	নিচু	Opposite of takai
45	ながい	nagai	লম্বা	Naga = long (snakes are naga!)
46	みじかい	mijikai	ছোট (দৈর্ঘ্যে)	Short in length
47	あたらしい	atarashii	নতুন	Atara = new, shii = adjective ending
48	ふるい	furui	পুরনো	Furui = old, like "furry" old teddy
49	わかい	wakai	যুবা/তরুণ	Wakai = young, full of waku-waku energy
50	おいしい	oishii	সুস্বাদু	Oishii = delicious — say it with joy!

Category 6: Actions & Verbs (ক্রিয়া)

🏃 Category 6: Actions & Verbs

#	Japanese	Reading	Bengali Meaning	Memory Tip
51	たべる	taberu	খাওয়া	Tabe = eat, like "table" where we eat
52	のむ	nomu	পান করা	Nomu = drink, like "nom-nom"
53	みる	miru	দেখা	Miru = see, like "mirror"
54	きく	kiku	শোনা	Kiku = hear, also means "ask"
55	はなす	hanasu	বলা/কথা বলা	Hana = flower, su = verb — talk beautifully
56	よむ	yomu	পড়া	Yomu = read, yo = call out words
57	かく	kaku	লেখা	Kaku = write, ka = the first sound you write
58	いく	iku	যাওয়া	Iku = go, like "eek! I'm going!"
59	くる	kuru	আসা	Kuru = come, opposite of iku
60	かえる	kaeru	ফিরে আসা	Kaeru = return home, like "carry" yourself back

Category 7: Nature & Weather (প্রকৃতি ও আবহাওয়া)

🌤️ Category 7: Nature & Weather

#	Japanese	Reading	Bengali Meaning	Memory Tip
61	あめ	ame	বৃষ্টি	Ame = rain, also means candy!
62	ゆき	yuki	বরফ/তুষার	Yuki = snow, beautiful white yuki
63	かぜ	kaze	বাতাস	Kaze = wind, also means "cold" (illness)
64	ひ	hi	সূর্য/আগুন/দিন	Hi = sun/fire/day — context tells which
65	つき	tsuki	চাঁদ	Tsuki = moon, like "tsuki" = sticking in sky
66	ほし	hoshi	তারা	Hoshi = star, wish upon a hoshi
67	そら	sora	আকাশ	Sora = sky, also a popular name!
68	うみ	umi	সমুদ্র	Umi = sea, u = big, mi = water
69	やま	yama	পাহাড়	Yama = mountain, like Mt. Fuji
70	き	ki	গাছ	Ki = tree, simple and strong

Category 8: Daily Objects (দৈনন্দিন জিনিসপত্র)

🎒 Category 8: Daily Objects

#	Japanese	Reading	Bengali Meaning	Memory Tip
71	くるま	kuruma	গাড়ি	Kuruma = car, from "carriage"
72	じてんしゃ	jitensha	সাইকেল	Ji = self, ten = rotate, sha = vehicle
73	でんわ	denwa	টেলিফোন	Den = electric, wa = talk
74	ほん	hon	বই	Hon = book, simple
75	ざっし	zasshi	ম্যাগাজিন	Zatsu = miscellaneous, shi = paper
76	しんぶん	shinbun	সংবাদপত্র	Shin = new, bun = hear = newspaper
77	て	te	হাত	Te = hand, te-form is essential grammar
78	あし	ashi	পা	Ashi = foot/leg, also means "reed"
79	め	me	চোখ	Me = eye, looks like two eyes めめ
80	みみ	mimi	কান	Mimi = ear, sounds like "me-me" hearing

Category 9: Colors & Common Adjectives (রং ও বিশেষণ)

🎨 Category 9: Colors & Common Adjectives

#	Japanese	Reading	Bengali Meaning	Memory Tip
81	あかい	akai	লাল	Aka = red, like "aka" in Bangladesh
82	あおい	aoi	নীল	Ao = blue, the sky is aoi
83	しろい	shiroi	সাদা	Shiro = white, like "shiro" in anime
84	くろい	kuroi	কালো	Kuro = black, like "kuro" ninja
85	むずかしい	muzukashii	কঠিন	Muzukashii = difficult, but you'll master it
86	やさしい	yasashii	সহজ/দয়ালু	Can mean easy OR kind — context!
87	たのしい	tanoshii	মজার	Tanoshii = fun, learning should be tanoshii
88	つまらない	tsumaranai	বিরক্তিকর	Tsuma = wife, ranai = not — just kidding!
89	さむい	samui	ঠান্ডা (আবহাওয়া)	Samui = cold weather, NOT cold objects
90	あつい	atsui	গরম	Atsui = hot, for weather AND objects

Category 10: Essential Grammar Words (গুরুত্বপূর্ণ ব্যাকরণিক শব্দ)

🔗 Category 10: Essential Grammar Words

#	Japanese	Reading	Bengali Meaning	Memory Tip
91	これ	kore	এটি (কাছের)	Ko = this (near speaker)
92	それ	sore	ওটি (কাছের)	So = that (near listener)
93	あれ	are	ওটি (দূরের)	A = that (far from both)
94	ここ	koko	এখানে	Ko = here, ko-ko = this place
95	そこ	soko	ওখানে	So = there, so-ko = that place
96	あそこ	asoko	ওদিকে	A = over there, a-so-ko = that place over there
97	だれ	dare	কে	Dare = who, dare to ask?
98	なに	nani	কী	Nani = what, famous anime exclamation!
99	どこ	doko	কোথায়	Do = where, doko desu ka?
100	いくら	ikura	কত	Ikura = how much, also salmon roe!

How I Memorized These 100 Words

In 2020, I printed these 100 words on flashcards and carried them everywhere. On the bus from Uttara to DU campus, I'd review 20 cards. While waiting for biriyani at Star Kabab, I'd test myself. Before sleeping, I'd go through the day's 10 new words.

The key was contextual learning. I didn't just memorize りんご = apple. I memorized りんごがすきです (I like apples). I memorized りんごをたべます (I eat an apple). By learning words in sentences, they stuck better.

Another technique: the Bengali connection. For every word, I tried to find a Bengali connection. みず (water) sounds like "meze" (not really, but I imagined water at a mezban). ほし (star) — I thought of "hoshi" as the stars I couldn't see in Dhaka's light pollution but imagined in Sylhet's clear sky.

NihonSync Feature: Our app has audio for all 100 words recorded by a native Japanese speaker. Hearing the correct pitch accent is crucial — あめ (rain) and あめ (candy) are the same spelling but different pitch! Download the app to hear the difference.

Practice Sentences Using These Words

Here are 10 sentences I wrote for my NihonSync students. Try to read them:

1. わたしはがくせいです。
আমি একজন ছাত্র। (I am a student.)

2. にほんはあついです。
জাপান গরম। (Japan is hot.)

3. りんごがすきです。
আমি আপেল পছন্দ করি। (I like apples.)

4. きょうはあめです。
আজ বৃষ্টি হচ্ছে। (Today it is raining.)

5. ともだちとえきにいきます。
আমি বন্ধুর সাথে স্টেশনে যাচ্ছি। (I go to the station with a friend.)

6. ほんをよみます。
আমি বই পড়ি। (I read a book.)

7. かぞくはだいがくにいます。
আমার পরিবার বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ে আছে। (My family is at the university.)

8. このみせはやすいです。
এই দোকানটি সস্তা। (This shop is cheap.)

9. なにがすきですか。
তুমি কী পছন্দ করো? (What do you like?)

10. あしたはがっこうにいきます。
আমি আগামীকাল স্কুলে যাব। (Tomorrow I will go to school.)

🔥 Continue Your Journey: Now that you have vocabulary, learn JLPT N5 Grammar: は vs が to build sentences. Then read How to Pass JLPT N5: Complete Study Plan to structure your exam prep.

Final Advice from Biki Sensei

These 100 words are your foundation. But vocabulary without grammar is just a pile of bricks. Vocabulary with grammar is a house. Start building today.

Print this list. Put it on your wall. Review 10 words every morning. In 10 days, you'll have 100 words in your brain. In 30 days, they'll be automatic.

And remember: every JLPT N5 passer started with these same 100 words. You're not behind. You're exactly where you need to be.

がんばって！

Biki Akram (ビキ先生)

Founder of NihonSync · Compiled this list from 5 years of JLPT teaching experience

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