Learn Japanese Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield Learn Japanese facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. Which of the following items would be counted using the counter 台 (dai)? → Televisions
2. In the word 「大人」, what is the correct reading and meaning? → おとな (otona), meaning 'adult'
3. What is the typical word order in a basic Japanese sentence? → Subject-Object-Verb
4. One of the more popular and well-known street fashion trends in Japan is lolita. There are numerous varieties of Lolita clothing. Which of them is NOT one? → Cute
5. In the sentence 「速い車が通り過ぎた。」, what is the correct reading and meaning of the kanji 速い? → はやい (hayai), meaning 'fast/quick'
6. What is the katakana character for the sound 'ko'? → コ
7. How do you pronounce the number two? → Ni
8. What is the intransitive (自動詞) counterpart to the transitive (他動詞) verb 落とす (otosu - to drop something)? → 落ちる (ochiru)
9. Which particle pairs with から to express 'from... to...' in Japanese? → まで
10. Which of the following statements about te-form conjugation is correct? → Group 2 (ichidan) verbs are conjugated by dropping the final 'る' (ru) and adding 'て' (te).
11. Which hiragana character represents the sound 'ki'? → き
12. What does the particle は (wa) indicate in a Japanese sentence? → The topic of the sentence
13. What shade of makeup is required for those who dress in the Shironuri fashion? → White
14. A convenience store clerk is speaking to a customer. Which of the following phrases would they most likely use? → ありがとうございました。
15. What does 「〜てあげる」express when attached to a verb? → Doing something as a favor for someone else
16. Which writing system would you use to write a foreign person's name in Japanese? → Katakana
17. What does the Japanese kanji for 7 look like? → 七
18. What does the particle から (kara) mean in Japanese? → From/because
19. A student wants to say, "The car stopped." Which of the following sentences is grammatically correct and most natural? → 車が止まりました。(Kuruma ga tomarimashita.)
20. In the sentence 「猫___好きです。」 (I like cats), which particle correctly fills the blank to mark '猫' (cats) as the subject of the adjective '好き' (likeable)? → が (ga)
21. The weather yesterday was not good. Which of the following sentences correctly expresses this using the past negative form of いい (ii - good)? → 昨日の天気はよくなかったです。
22. Japanese translation of "Beautiful" → 美しい。
23. What does the hiragana word ほん (hon) mean in English? → book
24. 以下のメールを読んで、質問に答えてください。 件名：明日の会議の時間変更 山田さん お疲れ様です。田中です。 明日の会議ですが、時間を午後3時から午後4時に変更してください。 場所は同じ第一会議室です。 よろしくお願いします。 田中 このメールの主な目的は何ですか。 → 会議の時間を変更すること。
25. Which particle connects two nouns to show possession in Japanese? → の
26. What is the primary function of the particle で (de) in Japanese? → Marks the location of action or means
27. What is the honorific/respectful equivalent of くれる, used when a superior gives something to the speaker? → くださる
28. When is it appropriate to use the plain form (e.g., だ, 食べる) instead of the polite form (e.g., です, 食べます)? → When talking with a younger sibling or a close friend.
29. You want to say 'I will eat' in a casual conversation with a close friend. Which verb form is most appropriate? → 食べる (taberu)
30. Which of the following is the correct plain negative form for the na-adjective 静か (shizuka - quiet)? → 静かじゃない (shizuka janai)