N5 · UNIT 2 FREE

Things & Places

Point at and identify things, say whose they are, ask what something costs, and count to 10,000.

About this unit

With introductions handled, you now grab hold of the physical world: this, that, and that-over-there. By the end you can point at anything in a shop, ask what it is and whose it is, and count all the way to 10,000 yen to pay for it.

語彙 · Vocabulary 41 words · 10 kanji

1

Read the words

Read straight down the list once, out loud if you can. Don't grind them here, the Anki deck at the bottom does the memorizing. Right now you only want the shapes and sounds to feel familiar.

WordReadingMeaning
this one (near me)
that one (near you)
that one (over there)
which one
this ~ (near me)
that ~ (near you)
that ~ (over there)
which ~
book
dictionary
magazine
newspaper
notebook
pen
bag
watch; clock
umbrella
wallet
money
key
desk
chair
toilet; restroom
shop; store
department store
convenience store
here
there (near you)
over there
where
top; above
bottom; below
inside; middle
what
how much
yen
hundred
thousand
ten thousand
expensive; high (set phrase for now)
please give me ~
2

Learn the kanji

The 10 kanji for this unit. Tap any card to flip between its meaning and its readings, and say the reading aloud as it flips.

hundred
thousand
ten thousand
yen; circle
what
person
book; origin
up; above
down; below
middle; inside
3

Read it in context

Everything above, working together. Read the conversation top to bottom, out loud. Every line is built only from words and kanji you have already met, so resist the English, tap a word only if you are truly stuck.

Show English

Maria visits a small shop near campus. She needs an umbrella, and gets a lesson in pointing at things.

マリア
Excuse me, how much is this?
みせの人
That's 300 yen.
マリア
Then how much is that umbrella over there?
みせの人
That one is 1,000 yen. It's a Japanese umbrella.
マリア
And this bag?
みせの人
That one is 10,000 yen.
マリア
Expensive! Then I'll take that umbrella, please.
Notice: Maria says これ for the thing near HER, and the shopkeeper answers それ, the same object changes its word depending on who's speaking. Also: ～をください (“please give me ～”) is a set phrase for now; を gets its full introduction in Unit 3.
Stop, learn the vocabulary before the grammar

These units are short on purpose. The grammar only clicks when the words are already automatic, so front-load the deck here, and let spaced repetition do the memorizing while the lesson does the teaching.

  1. Import this unit's deck. Generate it with npm run content:deck, then import n5-unit2-deck.apkg into Anki or Migaku. (SRS connection status lives on your dashboard.)
  2. Learn all 41 words as new cards. Get through the whole deck in a sitting or two, you're aiming for recognition, not mastery yet.
  3. Review daily until every card reaches a 3–5 day interval. When the whole deck has settled at that spacing, the words are holding on their own and won't fight you during the grammar.
  4. Then come back. You'll read the patterns instead of decoding the words, and that's when a "small" unit actually soaks in.
Anki open with AnkiConnect? I can confirm the deck for you.

Tick the box above once the deck is soaking in, then the grammar unlocks.

文法 · Grammar 4 patterns

Take one pattern at a time. Read the rule, then read each example out loud until the shape feels obvious. The words should already be automatic from your deck, so all you are learning here is how they lock together.

Quick suggestion: write these patterns down by hand as you read them. It is the one habit that textbook learners and self-taught immersion learners both swear by, and a notebook is the cheapest memory upgrade there is. Not required, just recommended.
"this one / that one (near you) / that one (over there) / which one", Japanese splits "that" by distance from BOTH speakers.
This is a book.
How much is that (near you)?
That (over there) is a Japanese clock.
Note: これ = near me · それ = near you · あれ = far from both of us · どれ = which one. English merges それ and あれ into one word, that's why they feel slippery at first.
The same three-way system, but these must attach directly to a noun.
This bag is 10,000 yen.
Who is that person over there?
Note: これ stands alone; この needs a noun. このかばん ○ / これかばん ✗, mixing them up is the classic Unit 2 mistake.
の links two nouns: possession (わたしの本 "my book") or attribute (にほんのかさ "a Japanese umbrella").
That's my umbrella.
This is a Japanese-language book.
Note: Owner comes first, thing second, the reverse of English “of.” When the noun is obvious, drop it: わたしのです, “it's mine.”
Asking prices, and the building blocks for every number to 99,999.
How much is this umbrella?
It's 9,000 yen.
Note: Sound changes to memorize now: 三百＝さんびゃく、六百＝ろっぴゃく、八百＝はっぴゃく、三千＝さんぜん、八千＝はっせん。And 10,000 is 一万, Japanese counts in units of ten thousand, not thousand.

文化 · Culture note

A short read on the world these words live in. Nothing to drill here, just the context that makes the grammar feel like something people actually say.

The Konbini & Cash Country

Your first hundred transactions in Japan will probably happen at a コンビニ (convenience store). 7-Eleven, FamilyMart, and Lawson are open 24/7, sell real food, accept package deliveries, and have ATMs that take foreign cards. これをください plus pointing gets you anything in the store.

Japan still loves cash. Bills come in 千円, 五千円, and 一万円; coins run from ¥1 to ¥500, that ¥500 coin is worth about $3.50, so empty your pockets before laundry day. Cards and IC-card taps work in cities, but small shops and ramen counters are often cash-only.

At the register, money goes on the small tray (not hand-to-hand), and your change comes back with both hands and a bow. Nobody counts change in front of the cashier, it's always right.

Try it: Prices are shown two ways: 税込 (tax included) and 税抜 (tax excluded). If a ¥300 onigiri rings up as ¥324, that's the 8% food tax, not a scam.

練習 · Worksheet 8 exercises

Type each missing word in hiragana, then check your answers.

Check your answers to continue, it doesn't matter how many you miss.

Unit Quiz JLPT FORMAT

Pass mark 80% · instant explanations · passing unlocks the next unit