JLPT N5 Reading: How to Answer Short Passages, Longer Texts and Information Search
How reading works on the JLPT N5, what each question type asks, how to manage the 40 minutes shared with grammar, and the words that give answers away.
Reading is the last part of the 40-minute Grammar・Reading section of the JLPT N5, which is why many people run out of time on it. This guide explains the three reading question types, how to split your time with grammar, and the small words that usually decide the answer.
- How reading fits into the test
- Managing the 40 minutes
- Short passages: notes, memos, emails
- Mid-size passages: essays and diaries
- Information retrieval: notices and timetables
- Text grammar: reading for the blank
- The words that give the answer away
- How to practise
- Common mistakes
How reading fits into the test
N5 has three test sections: Vocabulary (20 minutes), Grammar・Reading (40 minutes) and Listening (30 minutes) (JLPT test sections). Reading has no time limit of its own: it shares the 40 minutes with the grammar questions and comes at the end.
For scoring, reading is combined with vocabulary and grammar into one scoring section worth 0 to 120, with a sectional minimum of 38 (JLPT scoring). Losing the reading questions because you ran out of time hurts the same score as missing vocabulary.
The three reading question types:
| Official name | What you read | Practise it |
|---|---|---|
| Comprehension (Short passages) | A short note, memo or email, with one question | Short reading |
| Comprehension (Mid-size passages) | A slightly longer essay or diary, with questions about it | Mid-length reading |
| Information retrieval | A notice, timetable, menu or poster, with one question | Information search |
The text grammar question also gives you a passage, but it tests grammar; there is a section on it below.
Managing the 40 minutes
The grammar questions come first and are quick: one sentence each. The passages come last and take longer. The most common way to lose reading points is to spend too long on grammar and reach the passages with five minutes left.
- Aim to finish the grammar questions in about 20 minutes, leaving about 20 for the passages. Check the clock when you finish grammar.
- Do not get stuck. If a grammar question does not click in a minute, mark your best guess and come back at the end if there is time.
- The information retrieval question can be quick if you go straight to the conditions. If time is short, try it before finishing a long passage.
- Mark an answer for every question. A blank is always wrong.
The mock tests time the Grammar・Reading section at 40 minutes, so you can practise this split before the real day.
Short passages: notes, memos, emails
A short text, often a note left for someone, a message from a teacher, or a short email, with one question. The question usually asks what someone should do, buy or bring, or when or where something is.
The trap: the plan changes. Notes often give a plan and then change it, or add an exception. The last instruction is the one that counts.
みなさんへ
あしたのクラスは九時からでしたが、十時からになりました。日本語の本とノートをもってきてください。
山下Question: あしたのクラスは何時からですか。(Ashita no kurasu wa nanji kara desu ka. What time does tomorrow’s class start?)
九時 is mentioned first, but the plan changed (〜になりました, it has become): the answer is ten o’clock.
The tip: read the question first and underline the question word in your head. Then read the note once, all the way to the end, before you look at the options.
Mid-size passages: essays and diaries
A longer text, usually a short essay or a diary entry about a holiday, a weekend or someone’s family, with more than one question.
- The questions follow the order of the text. The answer to the first question is usually in the first half.
- Reasons come before から and ので. If a question asks どうして, find the sentence with から, ので or だから, and the reason is in front of it.
- Check every part of an option. Wrong options often take a real phrase from the text but attach it to the wrong person or the wrong day. If the text says it rained on Saturday, an option saying “it rained on Sunday” is wrong, even though it uses the same words.
- Watch the tense. Diaries mix what happened (〜ました) with plans (〜たいです, 〜つもりです). A question about next year wants the plan.
Information retrieval: notices and timetables
A notice, timetable, menu, price list or poster, often in a table, and one question about a person with several conditions: “Tom is a student. He wants to use the pool on a weekday after 5 p.m. How much does he pay?”
The method:
- Read the question and list the conditions: student, weekday, after 5 p.m.
- Find the row or column for each condition, one at a time. First the weekday rows, then the evening times, then the student price.
- Read the small print. Notes under the table often add a rule (“students show a card”, “children under six are free”) that changes the answer.
Do not read every word of the notice. You only need the rows and the notes that match the conditions. Learn the words that these texts use: 午前, 午後, 〜よう日, 〜円, 〜時から〜時まで, and the days of the week.
Text grammar: reading for the blank
Text grammar is a grammar question built on a short essay or letter with numbered blanks. Unlike sentence-level grammar, the answer depends on the sentences around the blank:
- Linking words: is the next sentence a contrast (でも), a result (だから) or the next step (それから)?
- この, その, あの: その usually points back to something just mentioned.
- Tense: a story about last week stays in the past.
Read the sentence before and the sentence after each blank before you choose. Text grammar practice uses the same format.
The words that give the answer away
At N5, many reading answers turn on a handful of small words. Learn to spot them:
| Word | Meaning | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| でも, しかし | But, however | What follows is often the real point |
| 〜けど, 〜が | But, although | Same, in the middle of a sentence |
| それから, そして | And then, and | The next step in a sequence |
| から, ので, だから | Because, so | Reasons: the answer to どうして |
| まだ | Still, not yet | まだあります: there is still some |
| もう | Already, no more | もうありません: there is none left |
| 〜なくてもいいです | Don’t have to | Crosses something off a list |
| 〜てください | Please do | The instruction the question asks about |
| 〜ないでください | Please don’t | Rules something out |
Negatives come at the end of a Japanese sentence. 行きます and 行きません look the same until the very end (ます or ません), so always read to the full stop.
How to practise
- Read kana fluently. N5 texts are written mostly in kana, with only N5 kanji. If you still sound out hiragana letter by letter, spend time on the kana pages first: reading speed starts there.
- Read every example sentence. Each word page and lesson has an example sentence written for N5 learners. Reading them as you learn words is daily reading practice.
- Do the lesson reading. Each of the 25 lessons ends with a short reading passage that uses only words and grammar from that lesson and the ones before it.
- Do exam-format sets. Once you are a few lessons in, do a short reading set most days, and add mid-length reading and information search once you have covered about half the lessons.
- Time yourself in the last two months. Take the mock tests with the 40-minute timer, and practise the 20/20 split between grammar and reading.
The practice sets and mocks need a free account: sign in with Google to use them and keep your scores on every device. For a full schedule, see the JLPT N5 study plan; for the listening section, see N5 listening tips.
Common mistakes
Common mistakes: Spending too long on the grammar questions and rushing the passages. Reading the passage before the question, then reading it again. Choosing an option because it repeats words from the text, without checking that the person, day and details all match. Stopping at the first instruction in a note when a later sentence changes it. Missing a negative at the end of a sentence. Reading every word of a timetable instead of only the rows that match the conditions. Leaving a question blank when time runs out.
Test details are from the official JLPT website (test sections, scoring).
Frequently asked questions
How much time do I have for N5 reading?
Reading has no separate time limit. It shares the 40-minute Language Knowledge (Grammar)・Reading section with the grammar questions, and the reading comes at the end. Work through the grammar questions briskly so you leave about half the time for the passages.
What kinds of texts are on the JLPT N5 reading section?
Three kinds: short passages such as notes, memos and emails; a slightly longer passage such as a short essay or diary; and an information text such as a notice, timetable, menu or poster, where you find one piece of information.
Is reading scored separately on the N5?
No. At N5, reading is scored together with vocabulary and grammar in one section worth 0 to 120 points, with a sectional minimum of 38. Listening is scored separately.
Should I read the question or the passage first?
Read the question first, then the passage. Knowing what you are looking for (a reason, a time, what someone will buy) lets you read with a purpose instead of trying to understand every word.
How do I get faster at reading Japanese for the N5?
Read kana fluently first, then learn words with their written forms and read every example sentence as you study. Do a short reading set most days once you are a few lessons in, and time yourself in the last two months.