· 5 lists · 204 words
Tradition, culture and belief
The calendar of the year, the shrine and the temple, and the arts.
What holds these lists together
Japanese keeps apart two places English might call by one name: a shrine, 神社, belongs to Shinto, and a temple, お寺, to Buddhism, and most people visit both without seeing a contradiction. The calendar ties much of this vocabulary to particular days, from お正月 to the summer festivals, so many of its words are heard only once a year and are worth learning before the day rather than on it. The arts lists add the words for talking about a novel, a poem or a play, where the writing itself — which word is in kanji and which in kana — is part of the effect.
The five lists
Spread across the levels
The category runs across the levels — it is an area, not a difficulty. If you practise it, you can also choose a level at the top of the practice page and then get only the part that sits there.
| Level | Words | Share |
|---|---|---|
| N5 | 1 | 0 % |
| N4 | 37 | 18 % |
| N3 | 87 | 43 % |
| N2 | 79 | 39 % |
Practise this category
Multiple choice and gaps, across all five lists and all 204 words. Whatever you get wrong comes back tomorrow.