Japanese Grammar List – Level 5 (JLPT N1 / CEFR C1)
You will be able to express yourself with greater precision, understand subtle nuances, and follow sophisticated Japanese in a wide range of situations. This is useful for having nuanced conversations, understanding Japanese media, and communicating confidently in formal and everyday settings. (JLPT N1/CEFR C1 level)
- Lesson 1 – Perspectives, Positions & Context / 視点・立場・状況の提示
- Lesson 2 – Causes, Grounds & Criteria / 原因・理由・根拠・基準
- Lesson 3 – Immediacy, Timing & Simultaneous Actions / 時間・契機・同時進行
- Lesson 4 – Conditions, Concession & Counterfactuals / 条件・逆接・譲歩
- Lesson 5 – Limitation, Exclusion & Addition / 限定・排除・添加
- Lesson 6 – Strong Emotions, Extreme Degrees & Evaluation / 強い感情・極端な程度・評価の表現
- Lesson 7 – Obligation, Inevitability & Non-necessity / 義務・当然・不可避・不必要
- Lesson 8 – Inference, Assertion & Simile / 推量・断定・比喩
- Lesson 9 – States, Manner & Outcomes / 状態・様態・結果
- Lesson 10 – Literary Expressions & Written Language / 文語的表現・書き言葉
- Lesson 11 – Speaker Attitude & Set Sentence Endings / 話者の態度・慣用的な文末表現
- Lesson 12 – Advanced Keigo & Formal Discourse / 敬語・改まった談話
Lesson 1 – Perspectives, Positions & Context / 視点・立場・状況の提示
You learn how to express different perspectives and positions, describe special circumstances, and introduce topics from a particular point of view.
| Grammar | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ～にあって／～にあっては | in (a special situation); being in |
| ～ともあろう | someone of all people (who should know better) |
| ～にして | being ~; only ~ could; and at the same time |
| ～なりに／～なりの | in one’s own way; as befits |
| ～ならでは（の） | unique to; only ~ could achieve |
| ～をよそに | ignoring; without regard for |
| ～をものともせず（に） | undaunted by |
| ～に至っては | as for ~ (the most extreme case) |
| ～からして | judging from; even ~ (let alone the rest) |
| ～ときたら | as for ~ (with exasperation) |
| ～はいざ知らず／～ならいざ知らず | I don’t know about ~, but |
Lesson 2 – Causes, Grounds & Criteria / 原因・理由・根拠・基準
You learn how to explain causes and reasons, establish the basis for judgments, and describe standards, conditions, and circumstances that support an action or decision.
| Grammar | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ～とあって | because of the special circumstance that |
| ～ばこそ | precisely because (emphatic, positive) |
| ～手前 | given that (social appearances demand it) |
| ～上は | now that; once you have |
| ～とあれば | if it is the case that (then of course) |
| ～ではあるまいし | it’s not as if ~, so |
| ～に即して／～に即した | in line with (facts, reality) |
| ～に則って／～に則った | in accordance with (rules, tradition) |
| ～に照らして | in light of |
| ～をふまえて | on the basis of; taking ~ into account |
| ～をもって | by means of; as of (a date) |
| ～と相まって | coupled with; combined with |
| ～を皮切りに（して） | starting with; beginning from |
| ～のもとで／～のもとに | under (a condition, supervision) |
Lesson 3 – Immediacy, Timing & Simultaneous Actions / 時間・契機・同時進行
You learn how to describe events that happen immediately, actions that occur at nearly the same time, and situations involving specific points or periods of time.
| Grammar | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ～や／～や否や | as soon as; no sooner than |
| ～が早いか | the instant that (immediately, deliberately) |
| ～なり | right after ~ing (something unexpected) |
| ～そばから | no sooner than ~, (again and again) |
| ～を限りに | as of ~ (and no longer) |
| ～を最後に | with ~ as the last time |
| ～かたわら | while mainly doing ~, also |
| ～かたがた | while also; for the additional purpose of |
| ～がてら | while ~ing; on the way to |
| ～つ～つ | alternately ~ing and ~ing |
| ～に至るまで | all the way up to; down to |
| ～てからでないと／～てからでなければ | unless you do ~ first |
Lesson 4 – Conditions, Concession & Counterfactuals / 条件・逆接・譲歩
You learn how to express strong conditions, hypothetical situations, concessions, and outcomes that would follow from particular circumstances.
| Grammar | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ～（よ）うと／～（よ）うが | no matter what/how |
| ～（よ）うが～まいが／～（よ）うと～まいと | whether or not |
| ～であれ／～であろうと | whatever; even if it is |
| ～ようものなら | if by any chance ~ (something terrible would follow) |
| ～たら最後／～たが最後 | once you do ~, that’s the end of it |
| ～ものを | if only ~ (but you didn’t) |
| ～とはいえ | even though; that said |
| ～といえども | even; although (formal) |
| ～にもかかわらず | despite the fact that |
| ～なくして（は）／～なしに（は） | without ~, (nothing is possible) |
| ～ないまでも | even if not ~, at least |
| ～としたところで／～にしたところで | even in the case of; even if |
Lesson 5 – Limitation, Exclusion & Addition / 限定・排除・添加
You learn how to express limitations and exclusions, emphasize exceptions, and add related information or alternatives.
| Grammar | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ～をおいて（～ない） | other than ~, there is no |
| ～はおろか | let alone; not to mention |
| ～すら | even (emphatic) |
| ～だに | even so much as (literary) |
| ～たりとも | not even a single |
| ～もさることながら | ~ is true, but even more so |
| ～に限ったことではない | is not limited to ~; not just this time |
| ～こそあれ／～こそすれ | there may be ~, but; only ~ and never |
| ～といわず～といわず | both ~ and ~; all over |
| ～ならまだしも | if it were ~ it’d be one thing, but |
| ～は言うまでもなく | needless to say |
| 〜といい〜といい | both ~ and ~; in terms of both ~ and ~ |
Lesson 6 – Strong Emotions, Extreme Degrees & Evaluation / 強い感情・極端な程度・評価の表現
You learn how to express intense emotions, extreme degrees, strong evaluations, and feelings that reach an exceptionally high level.
| Grammar | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ～極まる／～極まりない | extremely; utterly |
| ～の極み | the height of; the extreme of |
| ～の至り | the height of (mostly positive, formal) |
| ～限りだ | extremely (of one’s own feeling) |
| ～といったら（ありは）しない／～といったらない | indescribably; extremely |
| ～この上ない／～ことこの上ない | nothing could be more ~ |
| ～てやまない | ~ from the bottom of one’s heart |
| ～を禁じ得ない | cannot help feeling |
| ～ずにはおかない／～ないではおかない | inevitably makes one ~; will surely |
| ～に堪えない | cannot bear (a feeling); be filled with |
| ～に足る／～に足りない | worthy of / not worth |
| ～に堪える／～に堪えない | worth watching or reading / not worth |
| ～ずくめ／～まみれ | entirely full of / covered in |
| ～といっても過言ではない | it is no exaggeration to say |
Lesson 7 – Obligation, Inevitability & Non-necessity / 義務・当然・不可避・不必要
You learn how to express unavoidable actions, obligations, things that are naturally expected, and situations where something is unnecessary.
| Grammar | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ～ずにはすまない／～ないではすまない | cannot get away without ~ing |
| ～を余儀なくされる／～を余儀なくさせる | be forced to / compel someone to |
| ～を強いられる | be compelled to |
| ～てしかるべきだ | ought naturally to be |
| ～までもない／～までのこともない | there’s no need to go so far as to |
| ～には及ばない | there’s no need to; not a match for |
| ～まで（のこと）だ | all one has to do is; I’ll simply |
| ～べからず／～べからざる | must not (prohibition, signage) |
| ～まじき／～あるまじき | unbecoming; must never be done by |
Lesson 8 – Inference, Assertion & Simile / 推量・断定・比喩
You learn how to express guesses and judgments, make strong assertions, describe tendencies, and compare something to another thing using formal or literary expressions.
| Grammar | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ～まい／～まいか | probably not; I won’t |
| ～ではあるまいか | isn’t it perhaps that |
| ～に難くない | it is not hard to imagine |
| ～きらいがある | tends to (undesirably) |
| ～に他ならない | is nothing other than |
| ～も同然だ／～も同様だ | as good as; practically |
| ～とばかり（に） | as if to say |
| ～んばかり（に） | as if about to; almost |
| ～（か）のごとく／～ごとき／～ごとし | as if; like (literary) |
| ～ともなると／～ともなれば | when it comes to being ~ |
| ～ないものでもない／～ないでもない | it’s not that it can’t be |
Lesson 9 – States, Manner & Outcomes / 状態・様態・結果
You learn how to describe states and ways of doing things, changes in condition, and situations that result from or continue after an action.
| Grammar | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ～ながらに（して）／～ながらの | while remaining; as it has always been |
| ～たなり（で） | left in the state of having ~ed |
| ～ままに | as ~ dictates; just as told |
| ～めく | show signs of; take on the air of |
| ～びる／～ぶる | become ~ish / put on airs of |
| ～に至る／～に至って | finally reach the point of |
| ～始末だ | end up in the sorry state of |
| ～果てる | completely; to exhaustion |
| ～こなす | do ~ skillfully; master |
| ～通しだ | keep ~ing without a break |
| ～ずじまいだ | ended up never ~ing |
Lesson 10 – Literary Expressions & Written Language / 文語的表現・書き言葉
You learn formal and literary expressions used mainly in written Japanese, including classical negative forms, formal conditions, purposes, reasons, and expressions found in formal texts.
| Grammar | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ～べく | in order to (literary) |
| ～んがため（に） | for the sole purpose of |
| ～たる | who is in the position of |
| ～ゆえ（に）／～ゆえの | because of; therefore |
| ～こととて | because (apologetic, formal) |
| ～ず／～ぬ／～ん | literary negative forms |
| ～ずして | without ~ing; other than by |
| ～いかん（で）／～いかんによっては | depending on |
| ～いかんによらず／～いかんにかかわらず／～いかんを問わず | regardless of |
| ～あっての | which exists only thanks to |
| ～をもってしても／～をもってすれば | even with / if you use |
| ～いわく | according to; ~ says |
Lesson 11 – Speaker Attitude & Set Sentence Endings / 話者の態度・慣用的な文末表現
You learn how to express the speaker’s strong feelings, refusal, surprise, dissatisfaction, preference, and other attitudes through fixed sentence-ending expressions.
| Grammar | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ～ものか／～もんか | I’ll never ~! as if I would |
| ～てたまるか | I won’t let ~ happen |
| ～っこない | there’s no way that (casual) |
| ～どころの話ではない／～どころの騒ぎではない | this is way beyond ~ |
| ～ないものか／～ないものだろうか | isn’t there some way to ~? |
| ～ばそれまでだ／～たらそれまでだ | if ~, then it’s all over |
| ～ことだし | since ~, (let’s) |
| ～とは | to think that ~! (surprise) |
| ～ときては | when it comes to ~ (and that’s the problem) |
| ～くらいなら～ほうがましだ | I’d rather ~ than ~ |
| ～ではないか | isn’t it ~? (strong assertion) |
| ～までのことだ | it simply means that; I’ll just ~ |
| ～のやら | I wonder what ~; I don’t know what ~ |
Lesson 12 – Advanced Keigo & Formal Discourse / 敬語・改まった談話
You learn advanced honorific and humble expressions, as well as formal expressions used in business communication, polite requests, and formal written or spoken discourse.
| Grammar | Meaning |
|---|---|
| お／ご～申し上げる | humbly do (most formal humble form) |
| ～いたす／～いたします | humble equivalent of する |
| ～てまいる／～ておる | humble equivalents of ～ていく・～ている |
| ～でいらっしゃる | honorific equivalent of ～だ・～です |
| ～かと存じます | I humbly believe that |
| ～ていただければ幸いです | I would be grateful if you could |
| ～のほど（よろしくお願いいたします） | (I ask for) your kind ~ |
| ～次第です | the circumstances are that; that’s how it came about |
| ならびに／および／かつ | and; as well as; and moreover (formal) |
| ひいては | and by extension; ultimately |
| しかしながら／とはいうものの | however; that being said |
| いずれにせよ／いずれにしても | in any case; either way |
Would you like to review the previous level? Please see: Japanese Grammar List – Level 2 (JLPT N2 / CEFR B2)