JLPT N5 Opposite Words by Thematic Groups

2025年9月4日

Learning opposite words is an excellent strategy to quickly enrich your Japanese vocabulary. At the N5 level, these pairs of antonyms form a fundamental base that will allow you to nuance your expressions and better understand the contexts in which these words are used. Organizing these words by thematic groups further facilitates their memorization and practical use.

Size and Dimensions

Japanese Word	English	Opposite Japanese Word	English
大おおきい	big	小ちいさい	small
長ながい	long	短みじかい	short
太ふとい	thick/fat	細ほそい	thin/slim
高たかい	high/tall	低ひくい	low
重おもい	heavy	軽かるい	light

Colors

Japanese Word	English	Opposite Japanese Word	English
白しろい	white	黒くろい	black
赤あかい	red	青あおい	blue

Temperature and Physical Sensations

Japanese Word	English	Opposite Japanese Word	English
熱あつい	hot (to touch)	冷つめたい	cold (to touch)
暖あたたかい	warm (weather)	寒さむい	cold (weather)

Brightness and Visibility

Japanese Word	English	Opposite Japanese Word	English
明あかるい	bright/light	暗くらい	dark

Quantity and Intensity

Japanese Word	English	Opposite Japanese Word	English
多おおい	many/much	少すくない	few/little
強つよい	strong	弱よわい	weak

Quality and Evaluation

Japanese Word	English	Opposite Japanese Word	English
新あたらしい	new	古ふるい	old
高たかい	expensive	安やすい	cheap
良よい	good	悪わるい	bad
美味おいしい	delicious	まずい	tastes bad
面白おもしろい	interesting	つまらない	boring
簡単かんたん	easy	難むずかしい	difficult

State and Condition

Japanese Word	English	Opposite Japanese Word	English
元気げんき	healthy/energetic	病気びょうき	sick
静しずか	quiet	うるさい	noisy

Speed and Time

Japanese Word	English	Opposite Japanese Word	English
早はやい	fast/early	遅おそい	slow/late

Positions and Spatial Directions

Japanese Word	English	Opposite Japanese Word	English
上うえ	above/up	下した	below/down
前まえ	front	後うしろ	behind
右みぎ	right	左ひだり	left
中なか	inside	外そと	outside
近ちかい	near	遠とおい	far

Cardinal Points

Japanese Word	English	Opposite Japanese Word	English
東ひがし	east	西にし	west
北きた	north	南みなみ	south

Time and Moments

Japanese Word	English	Opposite Japanese Word	English
朝あさ	morning	夜よる	night
今日きょう	today	昨日きのう	yesterday
今日きょう	today	明日あした	tomorrow

Family Relations and Gender

Japanese Word	English	Opposite Japanese Word	English
男おとこ	man	女おんな	woman
父ちち	father	母はは	mother
兄あに	older brother	弟おとうと	younger brother
姉あね	older sister	妹いもうと	younger sister

Actions and Movements

Japanese Word	English	Opposite Japanese Word	English
出でる	go out	入はいる	enter
来くる	come	行いく	go
立たつ	stand up	座すわる	sit down
開あける	open	閉しめる	close
始はじまる	begin	終おわる	end
起おきる	wake up	寝ねる	sleep

Economic Actions and Exchange

Japanese Word	English	Opposite Japanese Word	English
買かう	buy	売うる	sell
あげる	give	もらう	receive

Cognitive Actions and Learning

Japanese Word	English	Opposite Japanese Word	English
教おしえる	teach	習ならう	learn
忘わすれる	forget	覚おぼえる	remember

This thematic organization of JLPT N5 opposite words will help you better structure your learning. Each group represents a specific conceptual domain, facilitating memorization through logical association and practical use in appropriate contexts.

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