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Vocabulary by category

19 areas across 152 word lists and 6105 words. Each category can be practised as a whole — across its lists and across the levels.

Why a roof over the lists

The vocabulary page shows 152 cards. That is not an overview but a shelf: whoever stands in front of it is not looking for a list but for an area — moving house, starting a job, seeing a doctor, talking about a film.

And the answer to an area is rarely one list. Moving house takes several lists that sit at opposite ends of the alphabet and side by side in the category.

What a category is, and what it is not

  • An area of life, not a level. Every category runs across the levels, and that is the point: the same area at A2 and at C1 is one area in two resolutions. Practise the category and you get both — on two separate list pages you would never see the connection.
  • No second grading. The level of a word does not change here, and the quiz still uses the level you have set. The band on each card shows how the words are spread across the levels.
  • Exactly one per list. Two memberships would be easier to hand out and would make every number on this page useless: going through all 19 would mean practising more words than there are. The build stops if a list is in two categories or in none.
  • A decision, not a measurement. Which category a borderline list belongs to is a choice. It is reasoned — every category page says what holds its lists together — and it is open to challenge.

The largest is “The scaffolding” with 964 words, the smallest “The economy, industry and finance” with 121. Both numbers are calculated and nowhere typed by hand.

The 19 categories

The scaffoldingThe words without which no sentence stands.24 lists  ·  964 wordsPoliteness, favours and mannersThe set phrases, the direction of a favour and the rules nobody writes down.six lists  ·  240 wordsPeople and feelingsFamily, friendship, character and feeling — at more than one resolution.nine lists  ·  361 wordsHome and daily lifeThe rooms, the chores, the clothes and the flat itself.ten lists  ·  404 wordsFood and drinkThe table, the kitchen, the restaurant and the field the food came from.six lists  ·  242 wordsShopping, money and servicesThe till, the department store, the bank and the bill.seven lists  ·  280 wordsGetting around and going awayThe station, the street, the trip and the city around it.ten lists  ·  401 wordsThe body and healthFrom where it hurts to what the doctor writes down.seven lists  ·  281 wordsNature, weather and the landThe seasons, the forecast, the landscape and what to do when the ground shakes.ten lists  ·  401 wordsFree time, plans and sportHobbies, invitations, matches and the results.seven lists  ·  281 wordsTradition, culture and beliefThe calendar of the year, the shrine and the temple, and the arts.five lists  ·  204 wordsSchool, university and researchThe classroom, the lecture hall, the exam and the paper.five lists  ·  204 wordsWork and careersThe job, the office, the career and the e-mail.nine lists  ·  356 wordsThe economy, industry and financeGrowth, the factory, the share price and the yen.three lists  ·  121 wordsThe state, the law and the ward officeThe counter, the form, the court and parliament.six lists  ·  240 wordsSociety, the news and historyWhat the news reports, what people argue about, and what came before.six lists  ·  241 wordsTechnology, science and energyThe phone, the machine, the laboratory and the power station.eight lists  ·  321 wordsThinking and arguingReasons, results, opinions — and the words that carry an essay.seven lists  ·  281 wordsHow Japanese builds its wordsSound words, kanji compounds, compound verbs, idioms and loanwords.seven lists  ·  282 words

Practise a category as a whole

Every category page has a quiz drawn from all its lists. If you would rather have the full choice — level, mode, length — you will also find the categories in the “Area” field of the practice page, each as the first entry of its group.