Key N3 vocabulary covering abstract concepts, formal discourse connectors, and the complex verbs that define intermediate Japanese.
Showing 61 of 61 words
| Word | Reading | Romaji | Meaning | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 政治 | せいじ | seiji | politics | noun |
| 経済 | けいざい | keizai | economy | noun |
| 社会 | しゃかい | shakai | society | noun |
| 文化 | ぶんか | bunka | culture | noun |
| 技術 | ぎじゅつ | gijutsu | technology, skill | noun |
| 環境 | かんきょう | kankyou | environment | noun |
| 問題 | もんだい | mondai | problem, issue | noun |
| 解決 | かいけつ | kaiketsu | resolution, solution | noun |
| 目的 | もくてき | mokuteki | purpose, goal | noun |
| 結果 | けっか | kekka | result, outcome | noun |
| 原因 | げんいん | genin | cause, reason | noun |
| 影響 | えいきょう | eikyou | influence, effect | noun |
| 関係 | かんけい | kankei | relationship, connection | noun |
| 状況 | じょうきょう | joukyou | situation, circumstances | noun |
| 情報 | じょうほう | jouhou | information | noun |
| 報告 | ほうこく | houkoku | report | noun |
| 連絡 | れんらく | renraku | contact, communication | noun |
| 確認 | かくにん | kakunin | confirmation, check | noun |
| 準備 | じゅんび | junbi | preparation | noun |
| 方法 | ほうほう | houhou | method, way | noun |
| 意見 | いけん | iken | opinion | noun |
| 理由 | りゆう | riyuu | reason, cause | noun |
| 説明 | せつめい | setsumei | explanation | noun |
| 比較 | ひかく | hikaku | comparison | noun |
| 変化 | へんか | henka | change | noun |
| 増加 | ぞうか | zouka | increase | noun |
| 減少 | げんしょう | genshou | decrease | noun |
| 発展 | はってん | hatten | development, growth | noun |
| 可能 | かのう | kanou | possible, feasible | adj-na |
| 必要 | ひつよう | hitsuyou | necessary | adj-na |
| 重要 | じゅうよう | juuyou | important | adj-na |
| 複雑 | ふくざつ | fukuzatsu | complex, complicated | adj-na |
| 簡単 | かんたん | kantan | simple, easy | adj-na |
| 正確 | せいかく | seikaku | accurate, precise | adj-na |
| 適切 | てきせつ | tekisetsu | appropriate, suitable | adj-na |
| 一般的 | いっぱんてき | ippanteki | general, common | adj-na |
| 具体的 | ぐたいてき | gutaiteki | concrete, specific | adj-na |
| 実際 | じっさい | jissai | actually, in reality | adv |
| 特に | とくに | tokuni | especially, particularly | adv |
| また | また | mata | also, again, moreover | conj |
| しかし | しかし | shikashi | however, but | conj |
| そのため | そのため | sono tame | therefore, for that reason | conj |
| つまり | つまり | tsumari | in other words, that is to say | conj |
| たとえば | たとえば | tatoeba | for example | conj |
| 考える | かんがえる | kangaeru | to think, consider | verb |
| 感じる | かんじる | kanjiru | to feel, sense | verb |
| 決める | きめる | kimeru | to decide | verb |
| 続ける | つづける | tsuzukeru | to continue | verb |
| 変える | かえる | kaeru | to change (something) | verb |
| 増える | ふえる | fueru | to increase (intransitive) | verb |
| 減る | へる | heru | to decrease | verb |
| 求める | もとめる | motomeru | to seek, demand | verb |
| 認める | みとめる | mitomeru | to recognise, admit | verb |
| 守る | まもる | mamoru | to protect, keep | verb |
| 断る | ことわる | kotowaru | to refuse, decline | verb |
| 諦める | あきらめる | akirameru | to give up | verb |
| 頑張る | がんばる | ganbaru | to do one's best, persevere | verb |
| 喜ぶ | よろこぶ | yorokobu | to be happy, rejoice | verb |
| 悩む | なやむ | nayamu | to worry, be troubled | verb |
| 驚く | おどろく | odoroku | to be surprised | verb |
| 気づく | きづく | kizuku | to notice, realise | verb |
N3 vocabulary shifts from concrete objects and simple actions (N5/N4) toward abstract concepts, nuanced verbs, and the kind of connective language found in newspaper articles, formal writing, and business communication.
The discourse connectors in this list — しかし (however), そのため (therefore), つまり (in other words), たとえば (for example) — are essential for understanding and producing coherent multi-sentence text. Mastering these words will dramatically improve your reading comprehension test scores.
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