JLPT N4 Particles: Full List, Practice and Test

2026/07/14

This guide covers the JLPT N4 particles from every angle you need: why they matter for the exam, the essential particles for JLPT N4 in one complete list, and a practice test.

Work through it in order, or jump straight to the exercises if you already know your list.

Are Japanese Particles Essential for the JLPT N4?

Japanese particles are essential for the JLPT N4 because they carry the information that English carries through word order.

English fixes the roles by position: “birds eat fish” can only mean one thing. 

Japanese lets the words move, and marks each one with a particle instead, so the particle is what tells you who acts and who is acted upon.

• 私は魚を食べます。 → “I eat a fish.”
• 私を魚は食べます。 → “A fish eats me.”

That is why the essential particles for JLPT N4 decide more than your grammar score. They also determine whether you can decode a reading passage or follow a spoken dialogue.

Still choosing your level? Start with our N3 or N4 decision guide.

How to Understand Japanese Particle Usage at N4 Level

Understanding Japanese particle usage at N4 level means giving up one habit: attaching an English translation to each particle. 

A particle does not carry a meaning. It assigns a role to the noun in front of it, and the verb decides which role that is. 

に looks like three different particles until you see what they share:

• 日本に行きます。 → I go to Japan. に marks a destination.
• 十一時に寝ます。 → I go to bed at eleven. に marks a point in time.
• 弟に犬をあげます。 → I give my brother a dog. に marks a recipient.

In each case に marks the target the verb reaches. So ask what role the noun plays for the verb, not what the particle means.

JLPT N4 exam rarely asks what a particle means, it asks you to choose between two that look alike, above all は and が, which our wa vs ga guide covers in full.

How to Master Japanese Particles for the N4 Level

To master Japanese particles for the N4 level, replace memorisation with exposure and repetition. Four habits do the work:

• Store particles inside phrases : A particle learned on a flashcard by itself will not survive the exam. Learned as part of a full expression, it becomes automatic.
• Drill in pairs : You will never be asked what a particle means. You will be asked to choose between two. Practise them head-to-head, in the same sitting.
• Read the whole sentence before you answer : The correct particle depends on the verb at the end. Candidates lose points by choosing on instinct after three words.
• Listen daily : Particles are swallowed in natural speech, and listening carries a section minimum you cannot skip. Reading alone will not train your ear for them.

Particles also sit inside almost every grammar pattern on the exam, so it is far more efficient to study them alongside the full JLPT N4 grammar list than to treat them as a separate topic. 

JLPT N4 Particle List: All the Particles You Need to Learn

Here is the complete JLPT N4 particle list, in the two layers the exam assumes. 

Layer 1 is tested indirectly: it appears in every sentence without ever being the question. Layer 2 is what the grammar section targets directly.

Layer 1 : The N5 particles you must still know cold

Particle	Function	Example
は	Marks the topic: what the sentence is about. Sets the frame, does not emphasise.	私は学生です。I am a student.
が	Marks the subject as new or contrastive information. Answers “which one?”	猫がいます。There is a cat.
を	Marks the direct object: the thing the verb acts on.	本を読みます。I read a book.
に	Marks a target: a destination, a point in time, or a recipient.	学校に行きます。I go to school.
で	Marks where an action takes place, or the means used to do it.	家で勉強します。I study at home.
へ	Marks direction. Emphasises heading towards, more than arriving.	日本へ行きます。I head to Japan.
から	Marks a starting point in time or place.	東京から来ました。I came from Tokyo.
まで	Marks an end point in time or place. Often paired with から.	五時まで働きます。I work until five.
と	Joins nouns in a complete list, or marks the person you act with.	友達と話します。I talk with a friend.
や	Joins nouns in a partial list: these and others unnamed.	りんごやバナナを買いました。I bought apples, bananas and so on.
の	Links two nouns: possession or description. Works like “‘s” or “of”.	私の本です。It is my book.
も	Replaces は or が to mean “also, too”.	私も行きます。I will go too.
か	Turns a statement into a question, or means “or” between nouns.	これは何ですか。What is this?
ね	Sentence-final. Asks the listener to agree: “right?”	今日は土曜日ですね。Today is Saturday, right?
よ	Sentence-final. Signals new information the listener may not have.	今日は土曜日ですよ。Today’s Saturday, you know.

Layer 2 : The particles introduced at N4

Particle	Function	Example
たら	“If” or “when”. The most flexible conditional: A happens, then B.	大学に入ったら、友達を作りたいです。When I get into university, I want to make friends.
ば	Conditional. More hypothetical and more written than たら.	早く行けば、間に合います。If you go early, you’ll make it.
なら	“If it’s the case that”. Reacts to something already said.	体調が悪いなら、家に帰ってください。If you’re unwell, go home.
と	Automatic result: whenever A happens, B always follows.	このスイッチを押すと、電気がつきます。If you press this switch, the light comes on.
ても	“Even if”, “even though”. The result holds regardless.	嫌いなら食べなくてもいいですよ。If you don’t like it, you don’t have to eat it.
のに	“Although”, “despite”. Carries surprise or frustration.	忙しいのに、給料は安いです。Even though the work is busy, the pay is low.
ので	“Because”. Soft, polite, presents the reason as objective.	今日は暇なので、買い物に行きます。Since I’m free today, I’ll go shopping.
から	“Because”. Direct and personal. Stronger than ので.	天気が悪いから、出かけません。The weather’s bad, so I’m not going out.
し	Stacks up reasons: “and what’s more”.	安いし、おいしいです。It’s cheap, and it’s tasty on top of that.
ながら	Two actions at once, by the same person.	音楽を聞きながら勉強します。I study while listening to music.
ばかり	“Only”, “nothing but”. Often implies criticism.	遊んでばかりいます。He does nothing but play.
たばかり	Something has only just happened.	さっき来たばかりです。I only just got here.
より	“Than”. Marks the standard you compare against.	兄より背が高いです。I’m taller than my brother.
しか	“Only”. Always followed by a negative verb.	ひらがなしか書けません。I can only write hiragana.
だけ	“Only”. Neutral, and takes a positive verb.	一人だけいます。There is only one person.
など	“Such as”, “things like”. Softens a list.	本などを買いました。I bought books and things.
とか〜とか	Lists casual examples. Conversational version of や.	コーヒーとかお茶とかが好きです。I like coffee, tea, that sort of thing.
でも	“Or something”. Suggests one option among many. With question words, means “any”.	お茶でも飲みましょうか。Shall we have some tea or something?
という	“Called”, “named”. Introduces a name or a definition.	田中という人が来ました。A person called Tanaka came.
って	Casual spoken version of という. Common in listening.	何って言いましたか。What did you say?
のは〜だ	Turns a clause into a noun and puts it in focus.	欲しいのは新しいスマホです。What I want is a new phone.
も	Beyond “also”: marks a quantity as surprisingly large.	三時間も待ちました。I waited a full three hours.
な	Sentence-final, blunt prohibition. Recognition only.	行くな。Don’t go.
かな / かしら	“I wonder”. かしら is the feminine variant.	先生はもう見たかな。I wonder if the teacher has seen it.

JLPT N4 Particles Practice: Exercises and Test

Time for JLPT N4 particles practice. Part 1 mirrors the gap-fill questions on the exam; Part 2 mirrors the sentence-building format. Do both without looking back at the list.

Part 1 : Fill in the blank

1. 今日は天気が悪い（　）、出かけるのをやめました。
2. 誕生日に友達（　）プレゼントをもらいました。
3. 音楽を聞き（　）、勉強します。
4. さっき来た（　）なのに、もう帰るんですか。
5. 私の家から会社まで、五分（　）かかりません。
6. あそこ（　）置いてある本を取ってください。
7. 私は兄（　）背が高いです。
8. あと一時間（　）仕事が終わります。
9. 明日、天気が良かっ（　）、散歩に出かけましょう。
10. お茶（　）飲みませんか。

Part 2 : Build the sentence

11. 電気が / と / このスイッチ / つきます / を / 押す
12. 話せません / 話せますが / 簡単な英語は / 難しい英語は
13. しか / 五分 / 会社まで / かかりません / 私の家から

Answer key

1. から : “the weather is bad, so I stopped”. ので would also be grammatical, but から is the natural choice for a personal decision. Watch the trap: this から has nothing to do with the N5 から meaning “from”.

2. から or に : both are correct with もらう. に marks the giver as a person; から works too and is slightly more neutral. What is wrong here is を, the reflex answer for many candidates.

3. ながら : two simultaneous actions by the same person. Note the form: the verb before ながら drops ます (聞きます → 聞き).

4. ばかり : 来たばかり means “only just arrived”. Do not confuse it with plain ばかり (“nothing but”), which attaches to the て-form.

5. しか : “only five minutes”. The giveaway is the negative verb かかりません. だけ would need a positive verb, so it cannot work here.

6. に : the book exists somewhere; it is not performing an action. で marks where an action happens (あそこで本を読みます), に marks where something sits. This に/で pair is one of the most common N4 traps.

7. より : the standard of comparison. Word order is the tell: the thing you compare against comes before より.

8. で : で marks the time within which something is completed: “the work finishes in one hour”. に would mark a point on the clock, which does not fit here.

9. たら : 良かったら, “if the weather is good”. ば is possible but stiffer; たら is the natural spoken choice for a specific future condition.

10. でも : “some tea or something”. This is a soft suggestion, not a real question. か would force a choice between two named options instead.

11. このスイッチを押すと、電気がつきます。  Press this switch and the light comes on. と gives an automatic, always-true result.

12. 簡単な英語は話せますが、難しい英語は話せません。  I can speak simple English, but not difficult English. Two は because the sentence is built on a contrast: が alone would lose it.

13. 私の家から会社までは五分しかかかりません。  It takes only five minutes from my house to the office. から and まで frame the span; しか forces the negative.

Learn JLT N4 Particles with Nihongo Online School 

Reading a particle list is not the same as producing the right particle under exam pressure. That gap closes fastest when a teacher catches the mistake at the moment you make it.

At Nihongo Online School, you study one-to-one with native Japanese teachers who target the exact particles you keep getting wrong, at a pace and schedule that fit around your work.