List of NA adjectives for JLPT N5 you must remember

2025/08/26

Learning JLPT N5 NA adjectives might seem straightforward, but many students have difficulties with how to distinguish them. These descriptive words are more complex than they first appear, following grammar rules that differ significantly from English adjectives. 

This comprehensive list of NA adjectives for the JLPT N5 breaks down everything you need to know, from identification techniques to conjugation patterns, giving you the tools to pass the exam successfully. 

Why learning NA adjectives is important for JLPT N5 preparation

Japanese NA adjectives play an important role in JLPT N5, appearing in all three exam sections: Vocabulary, Grammar & Reading, and Listening. 

In the Grammar & Reading section, you’ll encounter JLPT N5 NA adjectives in conjugation questions and sentence completion tasks, while they frequently appear in everyday conversations during the Listening section. To pass the N5, you need 80 out of 180 total points, and NA adjectives directly impact your score in major sections.

How Many Na Adjectives Does JLPT N5 Require?

While the test makers don’t release official vocabulary lists, about 35-40 common JLPT N5 NA adjectives appear most frequently on the test out of the roughly 800 required vocabulary words.

Learning additional NA adjectives beyond these core 35-40 can help strengthen your Japanese foundation, but if efficiency is your goal, focusing on the most frequently used ones is the smartest approach.

How to use Japanese NA adjectives correctly

Japanese NA adjectives are descriptive words that behave differently from regular adjectives. They cannot change form on their own, they need helper words (auxiliary verbs) to express tense or polarity. Their connection also changes depending on where they appear in the sentence.

Before a noun → add な

When a NA adjective directly modifies a noun, attach な between them:

静か + な + 場所 → 静かな場所 (quiet place)
親切 + な + 人 → 親切な人 (kind person)

At the end of a sentence → use だ

When the NA adjective ends the sentence, use だ (or its variations):

Present: この場所は静かだ (This place is quiet)
Negative: この場所は静かじゃない (This place is not quiet)
Past: この場所は静かだった (This place was quiet)
Past negative: この場所は静かじゃなかった (This place was not quiet)

Tips to Remember

If とても (very) sounds natural before a word, it’s probably a NA adjective. Never combine な and だ together, they serve different functions.

How to tell if an adjective is I or NA

Several methods can help you identify whether a word is an I adjective or a NA adjective.

1.The とても test

Put とても (very) before the word. If it sounds natural, it’s an adjective, since adjectives describe qualities that can be intensified:

とても静か ✓ (very quiet) : makes sense
とても犬 ✗ (very dog) : nonsense

Once you confirm it’s an adjective, move to the next step to determine its type.

2.The negative form test

How a word becomes negative reveals its type:

I adjectives: change their ending directly
高い → 高くない (expensive → not expensive)

NA adjectives: add じゃない
静か → 静かじゃない (quiet → not quiet)

Try both and see which one sounds right.

3.The writing pattern test

Spelling often provides strong hints:

• Katakana words → usually NA adjectives (ハンサム, クール)
• Kanji with added hiragana い → often I adjectives (新しい, 古い)
• Complex kanji where い is built into the character → usually na-adjectives (綺麗, 有名)
  

4.Remember the exceptions

A few NA adjectives end in い, which can trick learners:

• きれい (beautiful)
• 嫌い (dislike)
• 有名 (famous)

Memorizing these prevents future confusion.

Do NA adjectives always need DESU?

When the NA adjective ends the sentence as the main statement about something, add だ (casual) or です (polite).

→この部屋は静かだ/です (This room is quiet). 

NA adjectives behave like nouns grammatically, they can’t end sentences without help from だ or です.

Complete list of NA adjectives for JLPT N5

This complete list of NA adjectives for the JLPT N5 makes up the core vocabulary you need to master.

Kanji	Hiragana	な form	English	Example	Translation
好き	すき	すきな	like, love	好きな音楽は何ですか	What kind of music do you like?
結構	けっこう	けっこうな	wonderful, enough	結構な値段ですね	That’s quite a price
有名	ゆうめい	ゆうめいな	famous	有名な歌手に会いました	I met a famous singer
綺麗	きれい	きれいな	pretty, beautiful	きれいな花を買いました	I bought beautiful flowers
丁寧	ていねい	ていねいな	polite	丁寧な説明をありがとう	Thank you for the polite explanation
嫌い	きらい	きらいな	dislike, hate	嫌いな食べ物はありますか	Is there any food you dislike?
静か	しずか	しずかな	quiet	静かな場所で勉強します	I study in a quiet place
暇	ひま	ひまな	free (time)	暇な時間に読書をします	I read books in my free time
賑やか	にぎやか	にぎやかな	lively, bustling	賑やかな街で買い物しました	I went shopping in the lively city
便利	べんり	べんりな	convenient, useful	便利な店が近くにあります	There’s a convenient store nearby
元気	げんき	げんきな	healthy, energetic	元気な子供たちが遊んでいます	Energetic children are playing
色々	いろいろ	いろいろな	various	色々な国の料理を食べました	I ate food from various countries
大丈夫	だいじょうぶ	だいじょうぶな	OK, alright	大丈夫な時間はいつですか	What time is convenient for you?
丈夫	じょうぶ	じょうぶな	strong, durable	丈夫な靴を買いました	I bought sturdy shoes
大変	たいへん	たいへんな	terrible, very difficult	大変な仕事をしています	I’m doing very difficult work
楽	らく	らくな	comfortable, easy	楽な服を着ています	I’m wearing comfortable clothes
大切	たいせつ	たいせつな	important, precious	大切な友達がいます	I have important friends
上手	じょうず	じょうずな	skillful, good at	上手な料理を作りますね	You make skillful cooking
下手	へた	へたな	unskillful, bad at	下手な絵を描きました	I drew a poor picture
危険	きけん	きけんな	dangerous	危険な場所には行きません	I don’t go to dangerous places
残念	ざんねん	ざんねんな	regrettable, disappointing	残念な結果になりました	It became a disappointing result
心配	しんぱい	しんぱいな	worry, concern	心配な顔をしていますね	You have a worried expression
自由	じゆう	じゆうな	free, unrestricted	自由な時間を楽しんでいます	I’m enjoying my free time
十分	じゅうぶん	じゅうぶんな	sufficient, enough	十分な準備ができました	I made sufficient preparations
大好き	だいすき	だいすきな	love very much	大好きな映画を見ました	I watched my favorite movie
適当	てきとう	てきとうな	appropriate, suitable	適当な服を選んでください	Please choose appropriate clothes
特別	とくべつ	とくべつな	special	特別な日にケーキを買いました	I bought cake for a special day
熱心	ねっしん	ねっしんな	eager, enthusiastic	熱心な学生がいます	There are enthusiastic students
必要	ひつよう	ひつような	necessary	必要な書類を持参してください	Please bring the necessary documents
真面目	まじめ	まじめな	serious, earnest	まじめな人と働いています	I work with serious people
真っ直ぐ	まっすぐ	まっすぐな	straight	真っ直ぐな道を歩きました	I walked on a straight road
無理	むり	むりな	unreasonable, impossible	無理な要求はしません	I don’t make unreasonable requests
立派	りっぱ	りっぱな	excellent, splendid	立派な建物を見学しました	I toured a splendid building
安心	あんしん	あんしんな	relief, peace of mind	安心な場所で休みました	I rested in a safe place
安全	あんぜん	あんぜんな	safe	安全な道を選びました	I chose a safe road
簡単	かんたん	かんたんな	simple, easy	簡単な質問に答えました	I answered simple questions
急	きゅう	きゅうな	sudden, urgent	急な用事ができました	Urgent business came up
健康	けんこう	けんこうな	healthy	健康な生活を送っています	I’m living a healthy life
高級	こうきゅう	こうきゅうな	high-class, luxury	高級なホテルに泊まりました	I stayed at a luxury hotel
失礼	しつれい	しつれいな	rude, impolite	失礼な態度は良くありません	Rude behavior is not good
地味	じみ	じみな	plain, subdued	地味な色の服を着ています	I’m wearing clothes in subdued colors
親切	しんせつ	しんせつな	kind	親切な人に助けてもらいました	A kind person helped me
苦手	にがて	にがてな	not good at, weak at	苦手な科目があります	I have subjects I’m not good at

Enhance your JLPT N5 preparation with Nihongo Online School

Mastering the core list of JLPT N5 NA adjectives is just one step toward passing the exam. To build a solid foundation, you’ll also need to learn essential grammar points like counters and particles, and grow your JLPT N5 vocabulary beyond these NA adjectives.

At Nihongo Online School, our intensive programs combine vocabulary, grammar, and practical usage in a clear, structured way, designed to help you succeed on the JLPT N5. With our learning system, you’ll practice NA adjectives along with other key skills, giving you the confidence and preparation you need for the exam.Discover our intensive JLPT courses at Nihongo Online School