JLPT N2 – Complete grammar list

This page gathers a list of the main grammar structures in order to be able to pass the JLPT N2.

The most difficult with grammar, in comparison with the vocabulary or the kanji for instance, is to not only understand but also to be able to re-use the studied forms.

This is why you can click on any grammar form you would like to study more and a new tab will open automatically. From an other study page, the pronunciation, meaning and explanation of each grammar structure are provided. Example sentences are also available on each study page in order to be able to practice with real examples.

番号 N°	文法形式 Grammar form	読み方 Pronunciation	意味 Meaning
1	一気に	ikki ni	in one go; in one gulp; in one breath; without stopping; without pausing; without resting; in one sitting; at a stretch; all at once
2	っこない	kkonai	no chance of; no way that; certainly not; will never happen
3	次第で	shidai de	depending on
4	それなら	sore nara	if that’s the case …; if so …; that being the case …
5	少しも〇〇ない	sukoshi mo-nai	anything of; not one bit (with negative sentence)
6	やがて	yagate	before long; soon
7	どころではない	dokoro dewa nai	not the time for; not the place for; far from; anything but; … is out of the question; … isn’t the word for it
8	得る「える/うる」	eru/uru	to get; to earn; to acquire; to procure; to gain; to secure; to attain; to obtain; to win
9	上	jou	from (if we refer to) (e.g. : from my experience), -ly (e.g. : historical-ly)
10	もう少しで	mou sukoshi de	almost; nearly; close to
11	をもとに	o moto ni	based on; built on; made from
12	ろくに〇〇ない	roku ni-nai	(not) well; (not) enough; (im)properly; (in)sufficiently; (un)satisfactorily
13	少なくとも	sukunaku tomo	at least
14	てはならない	tewa naranai	Such situation must not occur
15	から見ると	kara miru to	from (e.g. time, place, numerical quantity); since
16	といった	to itta	such … as; or some such
17	かと思うと	ka to omou to, ka to omottara	no sooner than; as soon as; immediately after
18	に応える	ni kotaete	to respond; to answer; to meet (e.g. demands, expectations)
19	以来	irai, te irai	since; henceforth
20	当然	touzen, te touzen da, mo touzen da	natural; as a matter of course; justified; deserved; reasonable
21	ばかりか	bakari ka	not only
22	か〇〇ないかのうちに	ka-nai ka no uchi ni	to start doing something on our own before anyone could realize it already started
23	甲斐がある	kai ga aru	to be effective; to be fruitful; to be worthwhile; to be worth; to be rewarded; to pay off
24	に限らず	ni kagirazu	not limited to; not just …
25	おまけに	omake ni	to make matters worse; besides; what’s more; in addition; on top of that
26	〇〇てはいられない	tewa irarenai	Ones cannot keep on doing something infinitely
27	上は	ue wa	now that; since; as long as; provided that
28	ばかり（だ）	bakari da	nothing but
29	ばかりに	bakari ni	(simply) because; on account of
30	なくて済む	nakute sumu	To end without needing something
31	につけ	ni tsuke	vegetables or fish boiled in soy sauce
32	恐らく	osoraku	perhaps; likely; probably; I dare say
33	幸いなことに	saiwai na koto ni	fortunately; luckily; thankfully
34	どころか	dokoro ka	far from; anything but; not at all
35	くせして	kuse shite	and yet; though; when; in spite of
36	まい	mai	“I” will never do something again
37	にて	nite	at; in; close to で in a polite form
38	恐れがある	osore ga aru	to be in danger of; to be liable to
39	末に	sue ni	finally; after; following
40	に限る	ni kagiru	to restrict; to limit; to confine
41	にせよ	ni seyo, ni seyo / ni shiro	granted that; even if; even though
42	を問わず	o towazu	regardless of; irrespective of; without distinction of; no matter (how, what, when, etc.)
43	あげく	ageku	after (a long process); at the end of
44	再び	futatabi	again; once more; a second time
45	以外	igai	with the exception of; excepting
46	からといって	kara to itte	just because; even if; even though
47	に過ぎない	ni suginai	no more than; just; only; mere; goes no further than
48	まだしも	madashimo, nara madashimo	rather; better
49	にしても	ni shitemo, ni shitemo-ni shitemo	even if; even though
50	を契機に	o keiki ni	opportunity; chance