JLPT N3 I-Adjectives vs NA-Adjectives: Summary Guide (Cheat Sheet Included)

2026/07/14

At N3, you need to know roughly 30 new i-adjectives and just over 50 new na-adjectives. 

This guide gives you the counts, how to distinguish i-adjectives and na-adjectives and the full JLPT N3 adjective list in PDF form.

What are the vocabulary requirements for JLPT N3?

For adjectives specifically, the working JLPT N3  requirement is about 80 words that are new at this level. 

Everything from N5 and N4 is still fair game on exam day, but it is not what will trip you up. 

If your foundation feels shaky, patch it with our N4 adjective list first. For the full picture of what N3 asks of you across verbs, nouns and adverbs, see our complete N3 vocabulary guide.

How many i-adjectives do you need for JLPT N3?

You need about 30 i-adjectives for JLPT N3.

I-adjectives are a closed class. Japanese does not create new ones, because foreign and technical words all enter the language as nouns, and nouns cannot become i-adjectives.

So by the time you clear N4, you already know most of the everyday i-adjectives that exist. What is left for N3 is the tail of the distribution. These words are not rare because they are advanced. They are rare because nothing common was left to teach you.

How many na-adjectives do you need for JLPT N3?

You need just over 50 na-adjectives for JLPT N3.

Na-adjectives are an open class, and Japanese keeps producing them. Most are Sino-Japanese compounds built from Chinese-derived kanji readings. 

A large share of N3 na-adjectives come in matched pairs built on the 不 prefix, so learning the positive form hands you the negative one almost for free. 

If you want to see how the class behaves at its simplest, the N5 na-adjective list is a fast refresher.

How to distinguish i-adjectives and na-adjectives for JLPT N3

To distinguish i-adjectives and na-adjectives at JLPT N3, run one of these two tests.

Test 1 : Put it in front of a noun.

• It demands な → na-adjective. きれいな花.
• It attaches bare → i-adjective. 高い山. (×高いな山 is impossible.)

Test 2 : Make it negative

• The final い drops to く → i-adjective. 高い → 高くない.
• The word keeps its shape and borrows じゃない → na-adjective. きれい → きれいじゃない. (×きれくない does not exist.)

List of i-adjectives to know for JLPT N3

Here is the list of i-adjectives for the JLPT N3, grouped in clusters. 

Difficulty and discomfort

Kanji	Reading	Meaning
苦しい	くるしい	painful, distressing
悔しい	くやしい	frustrating, regrettable
きつい	きつい	tight, tough, harsh
険しい	けわしい	steep, harsh
痒い	かゆい	itchy
貧しい	まずしい	poor, impoverished
仕方がない	しかたがない	it can’t be helped

Fear, suspicion and dislike

Kanji	Reading	Meaning
恐ろしい	おそろしい	terrifying
怪しい	あやしい	suspicious, dubious
憎い	にくい	hateful
醜い	みにくい	ugly
ずるい	ずるい	unfair, sly
激しい	はげしい	intense, violent

Noise and light

Kanji	Reading	Meaning
騒がしい	さわがしい	noisy
騒々しい	そうぞうしい	noisy, boisterous
薄暗い	うすぐらい	dim, gloomy
汗臭い	あせくさい	smelling of sweat

People and appearance

Kanji	Reading	Meaning
賢い	かしこい	smart, wise
幼い	おさない	very young, childish
可愛らしい	かわいらしい	lovely, adorable
格好いい	かっこいい	good-looking, cool
有難い	ありがたい	grateful, welcome
上手い	うまい	skilful, delicious

Texture, speed and degree

Kanji	Reading	Meaning
粗い	あらい	coarse, rough
緩い	ゆるい	loose, slack
鋭い	するどい	sharp, keen
鈍い	のろい	slow, sluggish
可笑しい	おかしい	odd, funny
ものすごい	ものすごい	tremendous, incredible
宜しい	よろしい	fine, all right (polite)

List of na-adjectives to know for JLPT N3

Here is the list of na-adjectives for the JLPT N3. 

Certainty and possibility

Kanji	Reading	Meaning
確実	かくじつ	certain, reliable
確か	たしか	certain, if I recall
明らか	あきらか	clear, obvious
明確	めいかく	clear-cut, definite
曖昧	あいまい	ambiguous
微妙	びみょう	subtle, delicate
可能	かのう	possible
不可能	ふかのう	impossible
意外	いがい	unexpected

Fortune and hardship

Kanji	Reading	Meaning
幸運	こううん	lucky
不運	ふうん	unlucky
幸福	こうふく	happy
不幸	ふこう	unhappy
有利	ゆうり	advantageous
不利	ふり	disadvantageous
貧乏	びんぼう	poor
贅沢	ぜいたく	luxurious, extravagant
高価	こうか	expensive
お得	おとく	good value

Character and attitude

Kanji	Reading	Meaning
真面目	まじめ	serious, earnest
真剣	しんけん	serious, in earnest
熱心	ねっしん	enthusiastic
冷静	れいせい	calm, level-headed
平気	へいき	unfazed, indifferent
利口	りこう	clever
乱暴	らんぼう	violent, rough
いい加減	いいかげん	irresponsible, half-hearted
適当	てきとう	suitable, or slapdash
お洒落	おしゃれ	stylish

Speed, force and scale

Kanji	Reading	Meaning
急速	きゅうそく	rapid
急激	きゅうげき	sudden, drastic
高速	こうそく	high-speed
強力	きょうりょく	powerful
盛ん	さかん	thriving, active
豊富	ほうふ	abundant
不足	ふそく	insufficient
完全	かんぜん	complete
一般	いっぱん	general, ordinary
主	おも	main, principal
様々	さまざま	various
同一	どういつ	identical

States and conditions

Kanji	Reading	Meaning
満足	まんぞく	satisfied
新鮮	しんせん	fresh
新た	あらた	new, fresh
平和	へいわ	peaceful
自由	じゆう	free
不自由	ふじゆう	restricted, inconvenient
退屈	たいくつ	boring
面倒	めんどう	troublesome
邪魔	じゃま	in the way
駄目	だめ	no good
滅茶苦茶	めちゃくちゃ	chaotic, absurd
真っ赤	まっか	bright red

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