Lesson L7N5Core N5 Vocabulary and Communication⏱ 15 min

Time and Schedule Vocabulary

This lesson covers the core vocabulary needed to talk about time and daily routines in Japanese. Students will learn how to express specific times (hours and minutes), days of the week, and common schedule-related phrases such as 'wake up', 'go to work', 'eat breakfast', and 'go to bed'. Practice includes reading digital and analog clocks, sequencing daily activities, and using time markers like 朝 (morning), 昼 (afternoon), and 夜 (evening).

🎯 Goal: Learn core N5 vocabulary for describing time and daily schedules.

Lesson Content

Learning Goal

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to recognize and use 20 core N5 vocabulary words related to time, daily life, and simple descriptions. You'll be ready to talk about your schedule and surroundings in basic Japanese.

Concept

These 20 words are everyday building blocks. They include nouns (people, objects, places), adjectives (likes/dislikes, size), and verbs (starting, putting on). Learning them together helps you describe who, what, where, and when in simple sentences.

Step-by-Step Breakdown

1. People & Family (4 words)

Japanese	Romaji	English
女	onna	woman
女の子	onna no ko	girl
妹	imouto	(someone's) younger sister
子供	kodomo	child

女 (onna) – A woman. Often used in compound words.
女の子 (onna no ko) – Literally "woman child" = girl.
妹 (imouto) – Your own younger sister. Use お妹さん (o-imouto-san) for someone else's sister.
子供 (kodomo) – A child (any gender).

2. School & Student Life (4 words)

Japanese	Romaji	English
学生	gakusei	student
学校の隣	gakkou no tonari	next to the school
宿題	shukudai	homework
字引	jibiki	dictionary

学生 (gakusei) – A student (university or school).
学校の隣 (gakkou no tonari) – "School's next" = next to the school. 隣 (tonari) means "next door/adjacent."
宿題 (shukudai) – Homework.
字引 (jibiki) – A dictionary (less common than 辞書 (jisho) but still used).

3. Places & Directions (3 words)

Japanese	Romaji	English
家の外	ie no soto	outside the house
家内	kanai	my wife
左	hidari	left

家の外 (ie no soto) – "House's outside" = outside the house.
家内 (kanai) – Literally "inside the house" – a humble way to say "my wife."
左 (hidari) – Left (direction). Opposite is 右 (migi) = right.

4. Verbs & Actions (2 words)

Japanese	Romaji	English
始まる	hajimaru	to begin, to start
履く	haku	to put on (shoes/pants)

始まる (hajimaru) – Intransitive verb: something starts by itself. (E.g., class starts.)
履く (haku) – Used for putting on footwear or lower-body clothing (shoes, socks, pants, skirt).

5. Adjectives & Descriptions (4 words)

Japanese	Romaji	English
好き	suki	liked; favorite
嫌い	kirai	unpleasant, not likable
広い	hiroi	wide, spacious
平仮名	hiragana	hiragana characters

好き (suki) and 嫌い (kirai) are na-adjectives. Use が to mark what you like/dislike: ___が好きです.
広い (hiroi) is an i-adjective meaning spacious.
平仮名 (hiragana) – The phonetic script you're learning!

6. Objects & Clothing (3 words)

Japanese	Romaji	English
封筒	fuutou	envelope
帽子	boushi	hat
始め	hajime	start, the beginning

封筒 (fuutou) – An envelope for letters.
帽子 (boushi) – A hat or cap.
始め (hajime) – The noun form of "beginning" (different from the verb 始まる).

Mini Examples

女の子は帽子が好きです。
Onna no ko wa boushi ga suki desu.
"The girl likes hats."
宿題は学校の隣で始まります。
Shukudai wa gakkou no tonari de hajimarimasu.
"Homework starts next to the school."
家内は字引を広い封筒に入れました。
Kanai wa jibiki o hiroi fuutou ni iremashita.
"My wife put the dictionary into a wide envelope."
子供は左の靴を履きました。
Kodomo wa hidari no kutsu o hakimashita.
"The child put on the left shoe."

Common Mistake

❌ Mixing up 始まる (hajimaru) and 始める (hajimeru)

始まる = something starts (intransitive): 授業が始まる (jugyou ga hajimaru) = "Class starts."
始める = someone starts something (transitive): 勉強を始める (benkyou o hajimeru) = "I start studying."

❌ Using 嫌い (kirai) too strongly

嫌い means "dislike" but can sound harsh. In polite conversation, use あまり好きじゃない (amari suki janai) = "not really like" for softer dislike.

Quick Practice

Fill in the blanks with the correct word from today's vocabulary.

あの___は私の妹です。
Ano ___ wa watashi no imouto desu.
"That ___ is my younger sister."
→ Answer: 女の子 (onna no ko)
教室はとても___です。
Kyoushitsu wa totemo ___ desu.
"The classroom is very ___."
→ Answer: 広い (hiroi)
私は___が___です。 (I like hats.)
Watashi wa ___ ga ___ desu.
→ Answer: 帽子 (boushi) / 好き (suki)

Summary and Next Step

You've learned 20 essential N5 words covering people, school, places, actions, and descriptions. Practice making simple sentences like:

子供は宿題が嫌いです。 (The child dislikes homework.)
学校の隣に字引があります。 (There is a dictionary next to the school.)

Next step: Use these words to describe your own daily schedule. For example: 朝、家の外で帽子を履きます。 (In the morning, I put on a hat outside the house.) Keep practicing with real objects around you!