Curious about some vocabulary choices in the N5 deck

Bunpro
#1

I’m getting back into Japanese after previously reaching around an N4 level, and I decided to start by reviewing the N5 vocabulary deck before moving back up through N4 and then N3.

While going through the N5 deck, I’ve noticed quite a few words that feel surprisingly specific or low-priority for this level. The medical vocabulary especially stood out to me, with words such as 手術, 内科, 外科, 産婦人科, 点滴, 発疹, etc.

There are also some words that seem extremely uncommon according to Bunpro’s own frequency data. For example, I came across 字引 and 自発, which appear very far down some of the frequency lists.

I understand that JLPT vocabulary levels are not based on an official exhaustive word list, and I also understand the value of making a deck broader rather than too narrow. Still, some of these choices feel unusual for an N5 learner, especially when compared with much more common everyday vocabulary.

I’m curious whether other users had the same impression when going through the N5 deck.

More importantly, does anyone know what the logic behind these vocabulary choices is? Were the decks built from older JLPT lists, textbooks, past exam material, frequency data, or some combination of sources? I’d be interested to understand the reasoning behind including very specialized or very low-frequency words at such an early level.

2 Likes
#2

Hello and welcome to the forums, and thanks for the constructive feedback! I hope you’ve been enjoying Bunpro so far and are finding it helpful in your Japanese studies.

I can absolutely understand why some of these words feel a bit unusual for N5. I wasn’t on the team when the original JLPT vocabulary decks were created, but if I recall correctly, we consulted a variety of existing N5 resources when putting together our own lists. Some popular beginner resources also include fairly specific or situational vocabulary alongside more fundamental words, so that may help explain why certain words ended up being included at N5.

However, because these decks are intended to be useful as JLPT preparation resources, the team agrees that they should more closely prioritize vocabulary that is appropriate and useful for learners at each respective JLPT level.

We’ve actually been working on a fairly substantial overhaul of our JLPT vocabulary decks with that in mind, and I think they are a significant improvement. I’m REALLY excited for everyone to get their hands on them! They’re tied into a somewhat larger project, though, so unfortunately I don’t have a release date that I can share just yet. :shushing_face:

In the meantime, Bunpro is set up so that if you come across a word that you don’t feel is worth adding to your reviews yet, you can skip it or bookmark it and come back to it later.

Thanks again for taking the time to write this up! We really try to build Bunpro around the needs of actual Japanese learners, so thoughtful feedback like this is a huge help.