80 essential N2 words covering abstract concepts, formal discourse structures, and the analytical vocabulary found in newspapers, academic writing, and business Japanese.
Showing 68 of 68 words
| Word | Reading | Romaji | Meaning | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 把握 | はあく | haaku | grasp, understand fully | noun |
| 概念 | がいねん | gainen | concept, notion | noun |
| 抽象 | ちゅうしょう | chuushou | abstraction | noun |
| 具体 | ぐたい | gutai | concreteness | noun |
| 観点 | かんてん | kanten | viewpoint, perspective | noun |
| 立場 | たちば | tachiba | standpoint, position | noun |
| 基準 | きじゅん | kijun | standard, criterion | noun |
| 規則 | きそく | kisoku | rule, regulation | noun |
| 制度 | せいど | seido | system, institution | noun |
| 仕組み | しくみ | shikumi | structure, mechanism | noun |
| 手段 | しゅだん | shudan | means, method | noun |
| 措置 | そち | sochi | measure, step (action taken) | noun |
| 対策 | たいさく | taisaku | countermeasure | noun |
| 課題 | かだい | kadai | issue, task, assignment | noun |
| 背景 | はいけい | haikei | background, context | noun |
| 前提 | ぜんてい | zentei | premise, prerequisite | noun |
| 根拠 | こんきょ | konkyo | basis, grounds | noun |
| 証拠 | しょうこ | shouko | evidence, proof | noun |
| 矛盾 | むじゅん | mujun | contradiction | noun |
| 主張 | しゅちょう | shuchou | claim, assertion | noun |
| 批判 | ひはん | hihan | criticism | noun |
| 評価 | ひょうか | hyouka | evaluation, assessment | noun |
| 判断 | はんだん | handan | judgment, decision | noun |
| 検討 | けんとう | kentou | examination, consideration | noun |
| 分析 | ぶんせき | bunseki | analysis | noun |
| 調査 | ちょうさ | chousa | investigation, survey | noun |
| 統計 | とうけい | toukei | statistics | noun |
| 傾向 | けいこう | keikou | tendency, trend | noun |
| 割合 | わりあい | wariai | proportion, ratio | noun |
| 程度 | ていど | teido | degree, extent | noun |
| 限界 | げんかい | genkai | limit, boundary | noun |
| 余裕 | よゆう | yoyuu | margin, leeway, composure | noun |
| 義務 | ぎむ | gimu | duty, obligation | noun |
| 権利 | けんり | kenri | right, entitlement | noun |
| 責任 | せきにん | sekinin | responsibility | noun |
| 役割 | やくわり | yakuwari | role, function | noun |
| 目標 | もくひょう | mokuhyou | goal, target | noun |
| 成果 | せいか | seika | result, achievement | noun |
| 実績 | じっせき | jisseki | track record, achievement | noun |
| 能力 | のうりょく | nouryoku | ability, capacity | noun |
| 才能 | さいのう | sainou | talent | noun |
| 努力 | どりょく | doryoku | effort, endeavour | noun |
| 工夫 | くふう | kufuu | ingenuity, devise a way | noun |
| 整理 | せいり | seiri | organising, tidying | noun |
| 整備 | せいび | seibi | maintenance, upkeep | noun |
| 維持 | いじ | iji | maintenance, preservation | noun |
| 促進 | そくしん | sokushin | promotion, facilitation | noun |
| 抑制 | よくせい | yokusei | suppression, restraint | noun |
| 克服 | こくふく | kokufuku | overcoming, conquering | noun |
| 実現 | じつげん | jitsugen | realisation, materialisation | noun |
| 適切な | てきせつな | tekisetsu na | appropriate, suitable | adj-na |
| 合理的な | ごうりてきな | gouriteki na | rational, reasonable | adj-na |
| 効率的な | こうりつてきな | kouritsu-teki na | efficient | adj-na |
| 積極的な | せっきょくてきな | sekkyokuteki na | proactive, positive | adj-na |
| 消極的な | しょうきょくてきな | shoukyokuteki na | passive, negative | adj-na |
| 把握する | はあくする | haaku suru | to grasp, comprehend | verb |
| 促す | うながす | unagasu | to urge, prompt | verb |
| 妨げる | さまたげる | samatageru | to hinder, obstruct | verb |
| 克服する | こくふくする | kokufuku suru | to overcome | verb |
| 維持する | いじする | iji suru | to maintain | verb |
| 評価する | ひょうかする | hyouka suru | to evaluate | verb |
| むしろ | むしろ | mushiro | rather, instead | adv |
| かえって | かえって | kaette | on the contrary, rather | adv |
| 一方 | いっぽう | ippou | on the other hand, meanwhile | conj |
| さらに | さらに | sarani | furthermore, even more | conj |
| ただし | ただし | tadashi | however, provided that | conj |
| なお | なお | nao | furthermore, in addition (formal) | conj |
| すなわち | すなわち | sunawachi | namely, that is to say | conj |
N2 vocabulary is dominated by two-kanji compound nouns (漢語, kango) with abstract or formal meanings. Words like 基準 (standard), 傾向 (tendency), and 割合 (proportion) appear constantly in JLPT reading passages, news articles, and academic texts.
The formal conjunctions in this list — すなわち (namely), ただし (however), なお (furthermore) — are essential for understanding argumentative and expository writing. These words rarely appear in casual speech, so textbook-only learners often encounter them for the first time in the JLPT exam.
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