N4 · 40 words

Nature and animals

Mountains, rivers and forests, the animals in them and the plants that grow there.

Japanese marks no plural, so 犬(いぬ) is one dog or several, and the sentence decides. Animals are alive, so they take いる, not ある: 庭(にわ)に猫(ねこ)がいます. They are also counted with their own counters: small animals with 匹(ひき) as in 三匹(さんびき), birds with 羽(わ) as in 二羽(にわ).

The words

Verb (5)

飼うto keep (an animal)VerbN4

子供(こども)のころ、猫(ねこ)を二匹(にひき)飼(か)っていました。When I was a child we had two cats.

Sounds like 買(か)う, "to buy", but is a different word.

鳴くto cry, bark or sing (of an animal)VerbN4

外(そと)で犬(いぬ)が鳴(な)いています。A dog is barking outside.

For animals only; a person crying is 泣(な)く.

咲くto bloom; to come out (of flowers)VerbN4

桜(さくら)は三月(さんがつ)の終(お)わりごろに咲(さ)きます。The cherry blossom comes out around the end of March.

植えるto plantVerbN4

春(はる)に庭(にわ)にトマトを植(う)えました。In spring I planted tomatoes in the garden.

育てるto raise; to growVerbN4

ベランダで野菜(やさい)を育(そだ)てています。I am growing vegetables on the balcony.

This list belongs to Nature, weather and the land — ten lists and 401 words that can also be practised as a whole.

Practise this list

Multiple choice and gaps, drawn from exactly these 40 words. Whatever you get wrong comes back tomorrow.