N4 Vocabulary (Expanding Your Word Bank)
Learning Objectives
- Learn vocabulary for family members and relatives.
- Understand essential terms for school and the workplace.
- Master vocabulary for expressing emotions and describing people.
- Practice using these words in common N4 contexts.
As you advance to N4, grammar alone isn’t enough; you need the words to fuel those sentence structures! This chapter organizes essential N4 vocabulary thematically. By grouping words into categories like family, work, and emotions, you can memorize them more naturally through association.
1. Family & Relatives (家族と親戚)
In Japanese, there are two sets of words for family members: humble words (used when talking about your own family) and polite words (used when talking about someone else’s family). At N4, you need to know both sets.
| Meaning | My Family (Humble) | Someone Else’s (Polite) |
|---|---|---|
| Grandfather | 祖父 (そふ, sofu) | おじいさん (ojiisan) |
| Grandmother | 祖母 (そぼ, sobo) | おばあさん (obaasan) |
| Father | 父 (ちち, chichi) | お父さん (otousan) |
| Mother | 母 (はは, haha) | お母さん (okaasan) |
| Older Brother | 兄 (あに, ani) | お兄さん (oniisan) |
| Older Sister | 姉 (あね, ane) | お姉さん (oneesan) |
| Younger Brother | 弟 (おとうと, otouto) | 弟さん (otoutosan) |
| Younger Sister | 妹 (いもうと, imouto) | 妹さん (imoutosan) |
| Wife | 妻 (つま, tsuma) / 家内 (かない, kanai) | 奥さん (おくさん, okusan) |
| Husband | 夫 (おっと, otto) / 主人 (しゅじん, shujin) | ご主人 (ごしゅじん, goshujin) |
私の父はエンジニアですが、田中さんのお父さんは医者です。
watashi no chichi wa enjinia desu ga, Tanaka-san no otousan wa isha desu.
My father is an engineer, but Mr. Tanaka's father is a doctor.
週末は妻と一緒に買い物に行きます。
shuumatsu wa tsuma to issho ni kaimono ni ikimasu.
On weekends, I go shopping with my wife.
2. Workplace & Society (職場と社会)
When working or interacting in Japanese society, you will frequently hear these nouns and verbs.
| Word | Romaji | Meaning | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 社長 | shachou | Company President | Noun |
| 部長 | buchou | Department Manager | Noun |
| 課長 | kachou | Section Manager | Noun |
| 社員 | shain | Company Employee | Noun |
| 会議 | kaigi | Meeting | Noun |
| 出張 | shucchou | Business Trip | Noun |
| 残業 | zangyou | Overtime Work | Noun |
| 給料 | kyuuryou | Salary | Noun |
明日の会議は午後三時から始まります。
ashita no kaigi wa gogo san-ji kara hajimarimasu.
Tomorrow's meeting starts from 3:00 PM.
来週、新しいプロジェクトのためにアメリカへ出張します。
raishuu, atarashii purojekuto no tame ni amerika e shucchou shimasu.
Next week, I will go on a business trip to America for the new project.
最近、残業が多くて、とても疲れています。
saikin, zangyou ga ookute, totemo tsukarete imasu.
Lately, I've had a lot of overtime work, so I am very tired.
3. Emotions & Description (感情と様子)
Expressing precisely how you feel or describing someone’s character is vital for deep communication.
| Word | Romaji | Meaning | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 嬉しい | ureshii | Happy, glad | I-adj |
| 悲しい | kanashii | Sad | I-adj |
| 寂しい | sabishii | Lonely | I-adj |
| 怖い | kowai | Scary, frightened | I-adj |
| 恥ずかしい | hazukashii | Embarrassing, shy | I-adj |
| 優しい | yasashii | Kind, gentle | I-adj |
| 厳しい | kibishii | Strict, severe | I-adj |
| 真面目な | majime na | Serious, earnest | Na-adj |
[!TIP] In Japanese, you cannot directly assert another person’s emotions using i-adjectives like
悲しい(sad) or嬉しい(happy). You must use phrases that indicate appearance, such as悲しそうです(seems sad), which we will learn later in N4 grammar, or quote them.
テストに合格して、とても嬉しいです。
tesuto ni goukaku shite, totemo ureshii desu.
I passed the test, so I am very happy.
友達が転校してしまって、今は寂しいです。
tomodachi ga tenkou shite shimatte, ima wa sabishii desu.
My friend transferred schools, so now I am lonely.
山田先生は優しいですが、時には厳しいです。
Yamada-sensei wa yasashii desu ga, toki ni wa kibishii desu.
Professor Yamada is kind, but sometimes strict.
Contextual Dialogue
Let’s see how business and family vocabulary blend into a natural conversation.
鈴木さん、少し疲れているようですね。昨日は残業が多かったですか。
Suzuki-san, sukoshi tsukarete iru you desu ne. Kinou wa zangyou ga ookatta desu ka.
Suzuki, you look tired. Did you have a lot of overtime yesterday?
はい、課長との会議の準備をしていました。
Hai, kachou to no kaigi no junbi o shite imashita.
Yes, I was preparing for a meeting with the section manager.
それは大変でしたね。ところで、奥さんはお元気ですか。
Sore wa taihen deshita ne. Tokorode, okusan wa ogenki desu ka.
That must have been tough. By the way, how is your wife?
妻は元気です。でも、息子が病気になってしまって、少し心配です。
Tsuma wa genki desu. Demo, musuko ga byouki ni natte shimatte, sukoshi shinpai desu.
My wife is fine. But our son is sick, so I am a bit worried (sad).
それは大変ですね。今日は早く帰って、家族といてください。
Sore wa taihen desu ne. Kyou wa hayaku kaette, kazoku to ite kudasai.
Oh no... Please go home early today to be with your family.
Chapter Summary
- 1In Japanese, you use humble words (e.g., 父, 妻) for your own family, and polite words (e.g., お父さん, 奥さん) for other people's families.
- 2Corporate hierarchy relies on specific vocabulary: 社長 (President), 部長 (Dept. Manager), 課長 (Section Manager).
- 3Actions like 会議 (meeting), 出張 (business trip), and 残業 (overtime) are essential for discussing work life.
- 4Words like 嬉しい (happy) and 寂しい (lonely) express your internal feelings vividly.
Knowledge Check
Test your understanding of the N4 vocabulary introduced in this chapter!
Quiz
Which word should you use to talk about YOUR OWN mother to a stranger?