Here in this post I am including the top vocabulary for the N3 Japanese Exam. To pass N3 you will need approximately 650 kanji and 3500 words.
Do not get intimidated, 3500 word essay is like 15 pages long. totally doable!
Below I have compiled a list of the most common vocabulary words for Japanese N3 JLPT examination.
In order for us to read Japanese text it is essential to understand what you are reading. Vocabulary and kanji are the basis of understanding the main texts in Japanese. Most texts will have kanji within them. Being able to identify such kanji is essential to become successful at Japanese reading.
Japanese N3 Vocabulary List
| Kanji | Hiragana | English |
| あっ | Ah!,Oh! | |
| 愛 | あい | love |
| 挨拶 | あいさつ | greeting,salutation |
| 愛情 | あいじょう | love,affection |
| 合図 | あいず | sign,signal |
| アイスクリーム | ice cream | |
| 愛する | あいする | to love |
| 相手 | あいて | companion,partner,company |
| あいにく | unfortunately,Sorry, but…. | |
| アイロン | (electric) iron | |
| アウト | out | |
| 明かり | あかり | lamplight,light (in general),brightness |
| 空き | あき | room,time to spare,emptiness |
| 明らか | あきらか | obvious,evident,clear |
| 諦める | あきらめる | to give up,to abandon |
| 飽きる | あきる | to get tired of,to lose interest in,to have enough |
| 握手 | あくしゅ | handshake |
| 悪魔 | あくま | devil,demon,evil spirit |
| 明ける | あける | to dawn,to become daylight |
| あした | tomorrow | |
| 預ける | あずける | to give into custody,to entrust,to deposit |
| 汗 | あせ | sweat,perspiration |
| 与える | あたえる | to give,to present,to award |
| 暖かい | あたたか(い) | warm,mild |
| 辺り | あたり | vicinity,nearby |
| 当たる | あたる | to be hit,to be successful,to be equivalent to |
| あちこち | here and there | |
| 扱う | あつかう | to handle,to deal with,to treat |
| 集まり | あつまり | gathering,meeting,assembly,collection |
| 当てる | あてる | to hit,to apply a patch |
| 跡 | あと | (1) trace,tracks,mark,sign,(2) remains,ruins,(3) scar |
| あと | (1) trace,tracks,(2) remains,ruins,(3) scar | |
| 穴 | あな | hole |
| 浴びる | あびる | to bathe,to bask in the sun,to shower |
| 油 | あぶら | oil |
| 余り | あまり | not very (used as adverb),not much |
| 誤り | あやまり | error |
| 粗 | あら | defect,flaw,blemish,weak point |
| 嵐 | あらし | storm,tempest |
| 新た | あらた | new,fresh,novel |
| あらゆる | all,every | |
| 表す | あらわす | to express,to show,to reveal |
| 現す | あらわす | to show,to indicate,to display |
| 現れ | あらわれ | embodiment,materialization |
| 現れる | あらわれる | (1) to appear,to come in sight,to become visible,(2) to express oneself |
| ありがとう | (conj,exp,int) Thank you | |
| 有る | ある | to be,to have |
| 或 | ある | a certain…,some… |
| あるいは | or,possibly | |
| アルバム | album | |
| 泡 | あわ | bubble,foam,froth,head on beer |
| 合わせる | あわせる | to join together,to be opposite,to face,to unite |
| 哀れ | あわれ | helpless,pity,sorrow,grief |
| 案 | あん | plan,suffix meaning draft |
| 暗記 | あんき | memorization,learning by heart |
| 安定 | あんてい | stability,equilibrium |
| 案内 | あんない | information,guidance,leading |
| あんなに | to that extent,to that degree | |
| あんまり | not very,not much,remainder,rest | |
| 胃 | い | stomach |
| いい | good | |
| よい | good,nice,pleasant,ok | |
| いえ | いえ | TODO same as いいえ? |
| 委員 | いいん | committee member |
| 言う | ゆう | to say |
| 意外 | いがい | unexpected,surprising |
| 行き | いき | going |
| 行き | ゆき | going |
| 息 | いき | breath,tone |
| 勢い | いきおい | force,vigor,energy,spirit |
| 生き物 | いきもの | living thing,animal |
| 幾つ | いくつ | how many?,how old? |
| 幾ら | いくら | how much?,how many? |
| いけない | must not do,bad,wrong,not good | |
| 医師 | いし | doctor,physician |
| 意思 | いし | intention,purpose |
| 意志 | いし | will,volition |
| 維持 | いじ | maintenance,preservation |
| 意識 | いしき | consciousness,senses |
| 異常 | いじょう | strangeness,abnormality,disorder |
| 椅子 | いす | chair |
| 泉 | いずみ | spring,fountain |
| いずれ | where,which,who | |
| 以前 | いぜん | ago,since,before,previous |
| 板 | いた | board,plank |
| 偉大 | いだい | greatness |
| 抱く | いだく | (sl) to embrace,to hug,to harbour,to entertain |
| いたずら | tease,prank,trick,practical joke | |
| いただきます | expression of gratitude before meals | |
| 頂く | いただく | to receive,to take food or drink (hum) |
| 痛み | いたみ | pain,ache,sore,grief,distress |
| 至る | いたる | to come,to arrive |
| いち | market,fair | |
| 位置 | いち | place,situation,position,location |
| 一時 | いちじ | moment,time |
| 一度に | いちどに | all at once |
| 市場 | いちば | (the) market (as a concept) |
| 一番 | いちばん | best,first,number one |
| いつか | sometime,someday,one day | |
| 一家 | いっか | a house,a home,a family,a household |
| 一種 | いっしゅ | a species,a kind,a variety |
| 一瞬 | いっしゅん | a moment,an instant |
| 一生 | いっしょう | whole life,a lifetime,all through life |
| 一層 | いっそう | much more,still more,all the more |
| 一体 | いったい | (1) one object,one body,(2) what on earth?,really?,(3) generally |
| 一致 | いっち | (1) coincidence,agreement,(2) conformity |
| いつでも | (at) any time,always,at all times,never (neg) | |
| 一般 | いっぱん | general,liberal,universal,ordinary,average |
| 一方 | いっぽう | (1) on the other hand,(2) meanwhile,(3) only,simple,in turn |
| いつまでも | forever,for good,eternally,as long as one likes,indefinitely | |
| いつも | いつも | always,usually,every time,never (with neg. verb) |
| 移動 | いどう | removal,migration,movement |
| 従兄弟 | いとこ | cousin (male) |
| 稲 | いね | rice-plant |
| 居眠り | いねむり | dozing,nodding off |
| 命 | いのち | command,decree,life,destiny |
| 違反 | いはん | violation (of law),transgression,infringement,breach |
| 衣服 | いふく | clothes |
| 居間 | いま | living room (western style) |
| 今に | いまに | before long,even now |
| 今にも | いまにも | at any time,soon |
| 否 | いや | no,the noes |
| 以来 | いらい | since,henceforth |
| 依頼 | いらい | (1) request,commission,dispatch,(2) dependence,trust |
| いらいら | getting nervous,irritation | |
| いらっしゃい | welcome | |
| 医療 | いりょう | medical care,medical treatment |
| 岩 | いわ | rock,crag |
| 祝い | いわい | celebration,festival |
| 祝う | いわう | to congratulate,to celebrate |
| 言わば | いわば | so to speak |
| いわゆる | the so-called,so to speak | |
| インク | ink | |
| 印刷 | いんさつ | printing |
| 印象 | いんしょう | impression |
| 引退 | いんたい | retire |
| 引用 | いんよう | quotation,citation |
| ウイスキー | whisky | |
| 上 | うわ | upper,outer,surface |
| 魚 | うお | fish |
| うがい | gargle,rinse mouth | |
| 伺う | うかがう | (hon) to visit,to ask,to inquire |
| 受け取る | うけとる | to receive,to get,to accept,to take |
| 動かす | うごかす | to move,to shift |
| 兎 | うさぎ | rabbit,hare,cony |
| 牛 | うし | cattle,cow |
| 失う | うしなう | to lose,to part with |
| 後 | うしろ | afterwards,since then,in the future |
| 嘘 | うそ | lie,falsehood,incorrect fact,inappropriate |
| 疑う | うたがう | to doubt,to distrust,to be suspicious of,to suspect |
| 内 | うち | inside |
| 宇宙 | うちゅう | universe,cosmos,space |
| 撃つ | うつ | to attack,to defeat,to destroy |
| 移す | うつす | to remove,to transfer,to infect |
| 訴える | うったえる | to sue (a person),to resort to,to appeal to |
| うなる | to groan,to moan | |
| 奪う | うばう | to snatch away |
| 馬 | うま | (1) horse,(2) promoted bishop (shogi) |
| うまい | うまい | delicious |
| 生まれ | うまれ | birth,birth-place |
| 梅 | うめ | plum,plum-tree,lowest (of a three-tier ranking system) |
| 裏切る | うらぎる | to betray,to turn traitor to,to double-cross |
| うるさい | noisy,loud,fussy | |
| 嬉しい | うれしい | happy,glad,pleasant |
| 売れる | うれる | to be sold |
| 噂 | うわさ | rumour,report,gossip,common talk |
| うん | （感） | fortune,luck |
| 運 | うん | fortune,luck |
| 運転 | うんてん | operation,motion,driving |
| 運動 | うんどう | motion,exercise |
| 柄 | え | handle,grip |
| 永遠 | えいえん | eternity,perpetuity,immortality,permanence |
| 永久 | えいきゅう | eternity,perpetuity,immortality |
| 影響 | えいきょう | influence,effect |
| 営業 | えいぎょう | business,trade,management |
| 衛星 | えいせい | satellite |
| 栄養 | えいよう | nutrition,nourishment |
| 笑顔 | えがお | smiling face |
| 描く | えがく | to draw,to paint,to sketch,to depict,to describe |
| 餌 | えさ | feed,bait |
| エネルギー | (n) energy (de: Energie) | |
| 得る | える | to get,to gain,to win |
| 得る | うる | to get,to gain,to win |
| 円 | えん | circle,money |
| 延期 | えんき | postponement,adjournment |
| 演技 | えんぎ | acting,performance |
| 援助 | えんじょ | assistance,aid,support |
| エンジン | engine | |
| 演説 | えんぜつ | speech,address |
| 演奏 | えんそう | musical performance |
| 遠慮 | えんりょ | diffidence,restraint,reserve |
| 御 | お | honourable |
| 老い | おい | old age,old person,the old,the aged |
| 追い付く | おいつく | to overtake,to catch up (with) |
| 王 | おう | king,ruler,sovereign,monarch |
| 追う | おう | to chase,to run after |
| 王様 | おうさま | king |
| 王子 | おうじ | prince |
| 応じる | おうじる | to respond,to satisfy,to accept,to comply with,to apply for |
| 横断 | おうだん | crossing |
| 終える | おえる | to finish |
| 大いに | おおいに | very,much,greatly |
| 覆う | おおう | to cover,to hide,to conceal,to wrap,to disguise |
| オーバー | (1) overcoat,(2) over | |
| 大家 | おおや | rich family,distinguished family |
| 丘 | おか | hill,height,knoll,rising ground |
| 沖 | おき | open sea |
| 奥 | おく | interior,inner part |
| 贈る | おくる | to send,to give to,to award to,to confer on |
| 起こる | おこる | to occur,to happen |
| 幼い | おさない | very young,childish |
| 収める | おさめる | to obtain,to reap,to pay,to supply,to accept |
| おじいさん | grandfather,male senior-citizen | |
| おしゃべり | chattering,talk,idle talk | |
| 汚染 | おせん | pollution,contamination |
| おそらく | perhaps | |
| 恐れる | おそれる | to fear,to be afraid of |
| 恐ろしい | おそろしい | terrible,dreadful |
| お互い | おたがい | mutual,reciprocal,each other |
| 穏やか | おだやか | calm,gentle,quiet |
| 男の人 | おとこのひと | man |
| 劣る | おとる | to fall behind,to be inferior to |
| お腹 | おなか | stomach |
| 鬼 | おに | ogre,demon,it (i.e., in a game of tag) |
| 帯 | おび | band (e.g. conduction, valence) |
| お昼 | おひる | lunch,noon |
| オフィス | office | |
| 溺れる | おぼれる | to be drowned,to indulge in |
| おまえ | (fam) you (sing),presence (of a high personage) | |
| おめでとう | Congratulations!,an auspicious occasion! | |
| お目に掛かる | おめにかかる | |
| 思い出 | おもいで | memories,recollections,reminiscence |
| 主に | おもに | mainly,primarily |
| 思わず | おもわず | unintentional,spontaneous |
| おや | parents | |
| 泳ぎ | およぎ | swimming |