Nouns, entertainment, and nature

Everyday noun vocabulary

Everyday noun vocabulary covers reading materials, communication tools, and clothing or equipment that are often used. At the N5 level, what is frequently tested is the reading of kanji, the choice of the correct kanji spelling, and pairs of verbs with specific nouns.

Kanji readings to remember:

• 新聞(しんぶん, newspaper) — read しんぶん. In this compound, 聞 is read ぶん (the initial sound ふん changes to ぶん because of rendaku). The form ぷん is not correct.
• 手紙(てがみ, letter) — read てがみ. The kanji 紙 is usually read かみ, but in the compound 手紙 its sound changes to がみ. So てかみ is not appropriate for this word.
• 電話(でんわ, telephone) — read でんわ, with 電 read でん and 話 read わ. The forms てんわ or でんは are not correct.
• 本(ほん, book) — the kanji for book is 本. Distinguish it from 木(き, tree) and 森(もり, forest), which look similar but have different meanings.

Verb pairs with nouns:

• 着る(きる, to wear) is used for clothing worn on the body, for example 「コート(coat)」 in the sentence コートを着る.
• はく is used for items worn on the feet, such as 「靴(くつ, shoes)」 and 「靴下(くつした, socks)」.
• かぶる is used for items worn on the head, such as 「帽子(ぼうし, hat)」.
• はめる is used for items worn on the hands, such as 「手袋(てぶくろ, gloves)」.
• さす is used for 「傘(かさ, umbrella)」, so 傘をさす is the correct expression.
• うちわ(hand fan) is used to fan oneself when the weather is hot.
• 財布(さいふ, wallet) is not clothing, so it is not used with the verb 着る.

Entertainment and music vocabulary

Entertainment and music vocabulary covers nouns related to leisure activities, such as listening to music, watching films, and playing musical instruments. Pay attention to the kanji readings and the verbs that usually accompany them.