JLPT N3 Grammar
The level where Japanese stops being about building sentences and starts being about connecting them. Grouped by theme, because at N3 the patterns that look alike are the ones worth learning together.
The 112 points below are in study order, numbered 1 to 112. Work through them in sequence — each page has example sentences, audio and a quiz, and links straight on to the next step.
Start at step 1: わけだ | That's Why and No Wonder in Japanese1–4Sentence Basics & Writing
All Sentence basicsわけだ | That's Why and No Wonder in Japanese
That's why; no wonder; it follows that
わけではない | It Doesn't Mean That in Japanese
It doesn't mean that; not necessarily; it's not that ~
わけがない | There's No Way in Japanese
There's no way; impossible that; couldn't possibly
わけにはいかない | Can't Bring Yourself To in Japanese
Can't (for social or moral reasons); mustn't; can't afford to
5–9Conditionals & Connectives
All Conditionalsおかげで | Thanks To in Japanese
Thanks to; owing to (a good outcome)
せいで | Because Of and Blame in Japanese
Because of; owing to (a bad outcome); it's ~'s fault
こそ | Emphasis and Precisely in Japanese
Precisely; exactly; it is ~ that; this time for sure
なぜなら | Because and The Reason Is in Japanese
Because; the reason is; this is due to
以上は | Now That and Since in Japanese
Now that; since; given that ~, naturally
10–21Japanese Contrast & Concession
All Contrastくせに | Even Though, With Blame in Japanese
Even though; despite (with criticism or contempt)
にもかかわらず | Despite and In Spite Of in Japanese
Despite; in spite of; nevertheless
ながらも | Although and While Still in Japanese
Although; even while; but nevertheless
ものの | Although and But in Japanese
Although; but; and yet
といっても | Although I Say in Japanese
Although I say; but it's not much; even so
からといって | Just Because Doesn't Mean in Japanese
Just because ~ doesn't mean; simply because
割に | Considering and For a ~ in Japanese
Considering; for a ~; despite being
どころか | Far From and Let Alone in Japanese
Far from; let alone; not only ~ but actually
たとえ〜ても | Even If in Japanese
Even if; no matter how; whatever happens
たところで | Even If It's Pointless in Japanese
Even if; no use doing; it won't help to
というのに | Even Though in Japanese
Even though; despite the fact that; and yet
一方で | On the Other Hand in Japanese
On the other hand; while; at the same time
22–46Japanese Connectives & Relational Patterns
All Connectivesに対して | Toward and In Contrast in Japanese
Toward; against; in contrast to; per
にとって | For and From the Standpoint Of in Japanese
For; to; from the standpoint of
について | About and Concerning in Japanese
About; concerning; regarding
によると | According To in Japanese
According to; based on (a source)
によって | By, Depending On, and Due To in Japanese
By; depending on; due to; by means of
にしたがって・につれて | As and In Proportion To in Japanese
As ~ progresses; in proportion to; in accordance with
にしても | Even If and Even So in Japanese
Even if; even though; whether ~ or
にしては | For a ~ and Considering in Japanese
For a ~; considering that; given that
に反して | Contrary To in Japanese
Contrary to; against; in opposition to
に比べて | Compared To in Japanese
Compared to; in comparison with
にかわって | Instead Of and On Behalf Of in Japanese
Instead of; on behalf of; in place of
において | In and At, Formal in Japanese
In; at; on; regarding (formal)
に慣れる | To Get Used To in Japanese
To get used to; to become accustomed to
として | As and In the Role Of in Japanese
As; in the capacity of; in the role of
ところが | However and But Then in Japanese
However; but then; and yet
ところで | By the Way in Japanese
By the way; incidentally; changing the subject
上で | After and Upon Doing in Japanese
After doing; upon; in the course of
上に | On Top Of That and Besides in Japanese
On top of that; besides; in addition to
と共に | Together With and As in Japanese
Together with; along with; as ~ changes
を中心に | Centred On and Mainly in Japanese
Centred on; mainly; with ~ at the centre
をはじめ | Starting With and Including in Japanese
Starting with; including; ~ and others
を込めて | With Feeling Put Into It in Japanese
With; putting (feeling) into; filled with
を通じて | Through and Throughout in Japanese
Through; via; throughout (a period)
は別として | Aside From and Leaving Aside in Japanese
Aside from; leaving aside; setting ~ apart
の下で | Under and Under the Guidance Of in Japanese
Under; under the guidance of; under conditions of
47–56Japanese Time & Sequence
All Time & sequenceうちに | While and Before It Changes in Japanese
While; during; before it changes
たびに | Every Time in Japanese
Every time; whenever; each time
たとたん | The Moment That in Japanese
The moment; just as; no sooner than
際に | On the Occasion Of in Japanese
When; on the occasion of; at the time of
最中に | Right in the Middle Of in Japanese
Right in the middle of; while ~ is at its peak
途中で | On the Way and Partway Through in Japanese
On the way; partway through; midway
てはじめて | Only After Doing in Japanese
Only after; not until; it was only when
てからでないと | Not Unless You Do First in Japanese
Unless you do ~ first; not until ~ is done
ごとに | Every and At Intervals Of in Japanese
Every; each; at intervals of
ぶりに | After an Interval Of in Japanese
After an interval of; for the first time in
57–61Japanese Certainty & Inference
All Certaintyに違いない | Must Be and I'm Certain in Japanese
Must be; I'm sure that; there's no doubt
に決まっている | Obviously and Bound To Be in Japanese
Bound to be; obviously; of course it is
とは限らない | Not Necessarily in Japanese
Not necessarily; not always; it isn't always the case
そうにない | Unlikely To in Japanese
Unlikely to; shows no sign of; doesn't look like it will
ような気がする | I Have a Feeling in Japanese
I have a feeling that; it seems to me; somehow I think
62–66Japanese Appearance & Tendency
All Appearanceっぽい | -ish and Tends To in Japanese
-ish; -like; tends to; has a touch of
がち | Tends To and Prone To in Japanese
Tends to; prone to; often does (unwanted)
だらけ | Covered In and Full Of in Japanese
Covered in; full of; riddled with
っぱなし | Leaving It Undone in Japanese
Leaving something as it is; keep ~ing without stopping
ふりをする | To Pretend in Japanese
To pretend; to act as if; to feign
67–74Japanese Degree, Quantity & Limit
All Degree & quantityばかり | Nothing But and Just in Japanese
Nothing but; only; just; about
さえ | Even in Japanese
Even; not even; let alone
さえ〜ば | If Only and All You Need Is in Japanese
If only; as long as; all you need to do is
ば〜ほど | The More, the More
The more ~, the more ~
も〜ば〜も | Both and As Well As in Japanese
Both ~ and ~; not only ~ but also
だけでなく | Not Only, But Also
Not only ~ but also ~
しか〜ない | Only, with a Negative
Only ~, nothing but ~ (and it isn't enough)
のみ | Only, Formal in Japanese
Only; nothing but; solely
75–80Japanese Compound Verbs & Aspect
All Compound verbs切る・切れない | Do Completely and Can't Finish in Japanese
Do completely; finish entirely; can't finish
込む・合う・直す | Compound Verb Suffixes in Japanese
Into; mutually; again — verb-stem suffixes
かける | Half-Done and About To in Japanese
Half-done; partway; on the verge of
一方だ | Keeps Getting More in Japanese
Keeps ~ing; continues to; more and more
そうになる | Almost Happened in Japanese
Almost; nearly; was about to
て済む | Getting Away With in Japanese
It's enough to; you can get away with; it ends with just
81–86Japanese Obligation, Advice & Necessity
All Obligationべきだ | Should and Ought To in Japanese
Should; ought to; must (morally)
ことはない | No Need To in Japanese
There's no need to; it's not necessary to; never happens
ないことはない | It's Not That You Can't in Japanese
It's not impossible; it's not that ~ isn't; it can be done, in a way
ずにはいられない | Can't Help Doing in Japanese
Can't help doing; can't stop oneself from
ないと | Have To, Casually in Japanese
Have to; must; if you don't, (it'll be bad)
ものだ | That's How It Is in Japanese
That's how it is; used to; should; how ~ it is!
87–91Conditionals & Connectives
All Conditionalsばいい・たらいい | Should and It'd Be Good If in Japanese
Should; can just; it would be good if
ばよかった | Should Have and I Wish I Had in Japanese
Should have; I wish I had; if only I'd
ば〜のに | If Only, Counterfactual in Japanese
If only ~ then; it would have been ~ if
とすれば・としたら | Supposing and If We Assume in Japanese
Supposing; if we assume; in that case
もしかしたら | Maybe and Possibly in Japanese
Maybe; possibly; it might just be that
92–97Japanese Quoting, Explaining & Restating
All Quotingということだ | It Means That and I Hear That in Japanese
It means that; in other words; I hear that
と言えば・というと | Speaking Of in Japanese
Speaking of; that reminds me; when it comes to
というより | Rather Than in Japanese
Rather than; more like; it's not so much ~ as
なんて・なんか | Such a Thing As in Japanese
Such a thing as; things like; (dismissive or surprised)
ことから | From the Fact That in Japanese
From the fact that; because of; which is why it's called
とおりに | Just As and Exactly How in Japanese
Just as; exactly as; in the way that
98–101Japanese Difficulty & Negation
All Difficultyがたい | Hard To and Almost Impossible To in Japanese
Hard to; almost impossible to; difficult to bring oneself to
ようがない | There's No Way To in Japanese
There's no way to; it can't be done; nothing can be done
ずに | Without Doing in Japanese
Without doing; instead of doing
決して・めったに・なかなか | Adverbs That Need a Negative in Japanese
Never; rarely; not easily; not particularly
102–104Advanced Japanese Verb Forms
All Advanced verb forms105–112Japanese Set Expressions & Fixed Patterns
All Set expressionsてしょうがない | Unbearably and Can't Stand It in Japanese
Unbearably; extremely; can't stand how ~ it is
ても構わない | I Don't Mind If in Japanese
I don't mind if; it's fine to; no objection
ている場合じゃない | This Is No Time For in Japanese
This is no time to be ~ing; you can't afford to be doing this
ことになっている | The Rule Is in Japanese
It is arranged that; the rule is; it's scheduled to
代わりに | Instead Of and In Exchange For in Japanese
Instead of; in place of; in exchange for
から〜にかけて | From ~ Through in Japanese
From ~ to; through; over the span of
向け・向き | Aimed At and Suited To in Japanese
Aimed at; intended for; suited to; facing
次第 | As Soon As and Depending On in Japanese
As soon as; depending on; it's up to
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