N4Chapter 23

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.
N4 context

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.

Anime pixel-art illustration of an N4 vocabulary word bank connecting family, workplace, and emotion themes.

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.

Family Terms家族
10 relations

  • Grandfather

    My family (humble)

    祖父（そふ）

    sofu

    Someone else's (polite)

    おじいさん

    ojiisan

  • Grandmother

    My family (humble)

    祖母（そぼ）

    sobo

    Someone else's (polite)

    おばあさん

    obaasan

  • Father

    My family (humble)

    父（ちち）

    chichi

    Someone else's (polite)

    お父さん（おとうさん）

    otousan

  • Mother

    My family (humble)

    母（はは）

    haha

    Someone else's (polite)

    お母さん（おかあさん）

    okaasan

  • Older brother

    My family (humble)

    兄（あに）

    ani

    Someone else's (polite)

    お兄さん（おにいさん）

    oniisan

  • Older sister

    My family (humble)

    姉（あね）

    ane

    Someone else's (polite)

    お姉さん（おねえさん）

    oneesan

  • Younger brother

    My family (humble)

    弟（おとうと）

    otouto

    Someone else's (polite)

    弟さん（おとうとさん）

    otoutosan

  • Younger sister

    My family (humble)

    妹（いもうと）

    imouto

    Someone else's (polite)

    妹さん（いもうとさん）

    imoutosan

  • Wife

    My family (humble)

    妻 / 家内（つま / かない）

    tsuma / kanai

    Someone else's (polite)

    奥さん（おくさん）

    okusan

  • Husband

    My family (humble)

    夫 / 主人（おっと / しゅじん）

    otto / shujin

    Someone else's (polite)

    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.

お姉さんはどこに住んでいますか。

oneesan wa doko ni sunde imasu ka.

Where does your older sister live?

Cultural Insight: Family Hierarchy & Address

In Japan, the way you address family members depends heavily on birth order. It is very common to call older siblings “Oniisan” (older brother) or “Oneesan” (older sister) instead of their names, even within the family. However, you rarely address younger siblings by a title; you just use their name followed by “-kun” or “-chan.”

When speaking to outsiders, you always use the humble terms (Chichi, Haha, etc.) for your own family, regardless of their age or status, because you are lowering your family’s status to show respect to the listener.

2. Workplace & Society (職場と社会)

When working or interacting in Japanese society, you will frequently hear these nouns and verbs.

Vocabulary語彙
8 terms

  • 社長

    Noun

    しゃちょう

    shachou

    Company President

  • 部長

    Noun

    ぶちょう

    buchou

    Department Manager

  • 課長

    Noun

    かちょう

    kachou

    Section Manager

  • 社員

    Noun

    しゃいん

    shain

    Company Employee

  • 会議

    Noun

    かいぎ

    kaigi

    Meeting

  • 出張

    Noun

    しゅっちょう

    shucchou

    Business Trip

  • 残業

    Noun

    ざんぎょう

    zangyou

    Overtime Work

  • 給料

    Noun

    きゅうりょう

    kyuuryou

    Salary

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.

Vocabulary語彙
8 terms

  • 嬉しい

    I-adj

    うれしい

    ureshii

    Happy, glad

  • 悲しい

    I-adj

    かなしい

    kanashii

    Sad

  • 寂しい

    I-adj

    さびしい

    sabishii

    Lonely

  • 怖い

    I-adj

    こわい

    kowai

    Scary, frightened

  • 恥ずかしい

    I-adj

    はずかしい

    hazukashii

    Embarrassing, shy

  • 優しい

    I-adj

    やさしい

    yasashii

    Kind, gentle

  • 厳しい

    I-adj

    きびしい

    kibishii

    Strict, severe

  • 真面目な

    Na-adj

    まじめな

    majime na

    Serious, earnest

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 Dialogues

Dialogue 1: Catching Up at Work (職場で)

Catching Up at Work会話
Tanaka

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?

Suzuki

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.

Tanaka

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?

Suzuki

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.

Tanaka

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.

Dialogue 2: Talking About Family (家族の話)

Talking About Family会話
Abe

佐藤さん、兄弟がいますか。

Satou-san, kyoudai ga imasu ka.

Sato, do you have any siblings?

Sato

はい、姉と弟がいます。

Hai, ane to otouto ga imasu.

Yes, I have an older sister and a younger brother.

Abe

お姉さんは何をしていますか。

Oneesan wa nani o shite imasu ka.

What does your older sister do?

Sato

姉は会社員です。とても真面目な人ですよ。

Ane wa kaishain desu. Totemo majimena hito desu yo.

My sister is a company employee. She is very serious (earnest).

Abe

そうですか。私の弟はまだ学生なので、よく試験で忙しいです。

Sou desu ka. Watashi no otouto wa mada gakusei nanode, yoku shiken de isogashii desu.

I see. My brother is still a student, so he is often busy with exams.

Chapter Summary

Key takeawaysまとめ
  • 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.
  • 5The way you address family members reflects Japanese social hierarchy and respect levels.

Knowledge Check

Test your understanding of the N4 vocabulary introduced in this chapter!

Practice quiz
1 / 15

Which word should you use to talk about YOUR OWN mother to a stranger?

Applied review

Use what you learned

Focus: Family and workplace vocabulary. Try the task before revealing the model.

Guided practice練習

Produce the Japanese sentence, then compare it with the model answer.

  1. 1.Politely ask about someone else’s mother.

Reading practice読解

Family and workplace vocabulary in context

N4 mini-reading

Target: 2 minutes
私の父は会社員で、母は病院で働いています。姉は大学生です。
  1. Which family member is a university student?