This is the list of grammar rules you need to study for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test level N2.

Click on each grammar for more details. The link to download the printable PDF file of this list can be found at the end of this post.

The link to download JTest4You’s N2 grammar ebook (1,617 pages) can be found here.

あるいは (aruiwa): or, possibly

ばかり (bakari) – 2: about, approximately

ばかりだ (bakari da): continue to

ばかりに (bakari ni): because, on account of

ぶりに (buri ni): for the first time in

ちっとも～ない (chitto mo~nai): not at all, not in the least

だけあって (dake atte): …being the case, precisely because

だけでなく (dake de naku): not only… but also

だけましだ (dake mashi da): one should feel grateful for

だけに (dake ni): …being the case, precisely because

だけのことはある (dake no koto wa aru): no wonder, it’s not surprising that

だけは (dake wa): to do all that one can

だって (datte): because, but

(で)すら (de sura): even

ではないか (dewa nai ka): let’s do something, why don’t we

でしかない (de shika nai): merely, nothing but, no more than

どころではない (dokoro dewa nai): this is not the time for…

どうせ (douse): anyway, anyhow

どうやら (dou yara): it seems like, it appears that

える / うる (eru/uru): can, is possible

えない (enai): unable to, cannot

ふたたび (futatabi): again, once more

ふうに (fuu ni): in a way (this way/that way/what way)

げ (ge): [giving the appearance of]

ごとに (goto ni): each, every, at intervals of

逆に (gyaku ni): on the contrary

いよいよ (iyoiyo): at last, finally

反面 (hanmen): on the other hand

果たして (hatashite): sure enough, really

以上 (ijou): because, now that

以上に (ijou ni): more than, no less than

いきなり (ikinari): suddenly, all of a sudden

いわゆる (iwayuru): so-called, so to speak

上 (jou): from the standpoint of

か～ないかのうちに (ka~nai ka no uchi ni): right after, as soon as

かえって (kaette): on the contrary, rather, surprisingly

かいがある(kai ga aru): it’s worth one’s effort to do something

か何か (ka nanika): or something

かねない (kanenai): might happen, might do something

かねる (kaneru): unable to do something

かのよう (ka no you): as if, just like

から言うと (kara iu to): in terms of, from the point of view of

からこそ (kara koso): precisely because

から見ると (kara miru to): from the point of view of, by the look of

からには (kara niwa): now that, since, so long as

からして (kara shite): judging from, based on

からすると / からすれば (kara suru to/kara sureba): judging from, considering

からといって (kara to itte): just because

かと思ったら / かと思うと (ka to omottara/ka to omou to): then again, just when, no sooner than

限り (kagiri): as long as, while… is the case

気 (ki): feel like

っこない (kkonai): no chance of, … is definitely not possible

ことだから (koto dakara): it is exactly because

ことから (koto kara): from the fact that

ことなく (koto naku): without doing something even once

ことになっている (koto ni natte iru): to be expected to, to be scheduled to

ことにはならない (koto niwa naranai): just because… doesn’t mean…

ことは～が (koto wa~ga): although, but

まい (mai): won’t, intend not to

まったく～ない (mattaku~nai): not~at all

も～ば～も (mo~ba~mo): …and…

もかまわず (mo kamawazu): without worrying about

ものだから (mono dakara): because, the reason is

ものではない (mono dewa nai): shouldn’t do something, it’s impossible to do something

ものがある (mono ga aru): [sentence-ending expression of strong judgement]

ものか (mono ka): as if

ものなら (mono nara): if one can do something

ものの (mono no): but, although

もっとも (motto mo): but then, although

もう少しで (mou sukoshi de): almost, nearly

むしろ (mushiro): rather, instead

んだって (ndatte): I heard that

中を (naka o): in, on

なお (nao): furthermore, still, yet [used to add more information to the sentence]

ないではいられない (nai dewa irarenai): can’t help but feel, can’t help but do

ないことには～ない (nai koto niwa~nai): unless you do something

なくはない (naku wa nai): it’s not that…, can, may be

なにも～ない (nani mo~nai): no need to

ねばならない (neba naranai): have to, must

にあたり (ni atari): at the time, on the occasion of

に反して (ni han shite): against, contrary to

にほかならない (ni hoka naranai): nothing but, none other than

に限って (ni kagitte): only, particularly when

に限らず (ni kagirazu): not just, not only… but also

に限る (ni kagiru): nothing better than, there’s nothing like

にかかわる (ni kakawaru): to relate to, to have to do with

にかかわらず (ni kakawarazu): regardless of

に決まっている (ni kimatte iru): I’m sure that…

に越したことはない (ni koshita koto wa nai): it’s best that, there’s nothing better than

に応えて (ni kotaete): in response to

に加えて (ni kuwaete): in addition to

に基づいて (ni motozuite): based on

にもかかわらず (nimo kakawarazu): despite, in spite of, although

に向かって (ni mukatte): towards, to face, to head to

に応じて (ni oujite): depending on, in accordance with

に際して (ni sai shite): on the occasion of, at the time of

に先立ち (ni sakidachi): before, prior to

にしろ / にせよ (ni shiro/ni seyo): though, even if, whether… or

にしろ～にしろ (ni shiro~ni shiro): whether… or

に従って (ni shitagatte): as, therefore

にしたら (ni shitara): from the point of view of

にしても～にしても (ni shite mo~ni shite mo): regardless of whether

に相違ない (ni soui nai): without a doubt, certain, sure

に沿って (ni sotte): along with, in accordance with

に過ぎない (ni suginai): no more than, just, merely

にて (nite): in, at

に伴って (ni tomonatte): as, due to

につけ (ni tsuke): both… and…, every time something happens

につき (ni tsuki): due to, because, per, each

には (niwa): in order to, for

にわたって (ni watatte): throughout, over (a period of time)

のももっともだ (no mo mottomo da): no wonder, … is only natural

のも当然だ (no mo touzen da): it’s only natural that, no wonder

のもとで (no moto de): under

のみならず (nominarazu): not only, besides, as well

抜きで/抜きにして (nuki de/nuki ni shite): leaving out, cutting out

抜く (nuku): to do something to the end

お～願う (o~negau): could you please

を～として (o~to shite): as

をこめて (o komete): filled with

をきっかけに (o kikkake ni): with… as a start, as a result of

を契機に (o keiki ni): as a good opportunity to, as a result of

をめぐって (o megutte): concerning, in regard to

をもとに (o moto ni): based on, from

を除いて (o nozoite): except, with the exception of

を問わず (o towazu): regardless of

を通じて/ を通して (o tsuujite/o tooshite): via, through

おまけに (omake ni): to make matters worse

恐れがある (osore ga aru): there are fears that

ろくに～ない (roku ni~nai): not doing something properly

際に (sai ni): at the time, in case of

幸い (saiwai): luckily, fortunately

さらに (sara ni): furthermore, again, more and more

せいぜい (seizei): at the most, at best

せめて (semete): at least, at most

次第 (shidai): as soon as

次第だ/ 次第で (shidai da/shidai de): depending on, so

しかも (shikamo): moreover, furthermore

したがって (shitagatte): therefore, accordingly

その上 (sono ue): besides, in addition, furthermore

それなのに (sore na noni): and yet, despite this

それなら (sore nara): then, if that’s the case

それにしても (sore ni shite mo): nevertheless, even so

それとも (sore tomo): or, or else

そういえば (sou ieba): come to think of it

そうにない (sou ni nai): extremely unlikely to, showing no signs of

そうすると (sou suru to): having done that

少しも～ない (sukoshi mo~nai): not one bit, not even a little

すなわち (sunawachi): in other words

たあげく (ta ageku): to end up, finally

直ちに (tadachi ni): at once, immediately

たまえ (tamae): [order somebody to do something]

た末 / の末 (ta sue/no sue): as a conclusion of

たって (tatte): even if, even though, no matter how

てばかりはいられない (te bakari wa irarenai): can’t keep doing something

てでも (te demo): even if one has to, by all means

て以来 (te irai): since

ていては (te ite wa): if one keeps doing something

てからでないと (te kara denai to): unless, until

てこそ (te koso): now that, since

手前 (temae): before, in front of, from one’s standpoint

てならない (te naranai): very, extremely

てしょうがない (te shou ga nai): very, extremely

てたまらない (te tamaranai): very, extremely, can’t help but do

て当然だ (te touzen da): natural, as a matter of course

ては (tewa): if, since, one after another

てはいられない (tewa irarenai): can’t afford to, unable to

てはならない (tewa naranai): must not, cannot, should not

と同時に (to douji ni): at the same time as

というふうに (to iu fuu ni): in such a way that

ということは (to iu koto wa): that is to say

というものだ (to iu mono da): something like…, something called…

というものでもない (to iu mono demo nai): there is no guarantee that…, not necessarily

といった (to itta): such… as

とか (toka): I heard that…

と考えられる (to kangaerareru): one can think that…

ところだった (tokoro datta): was just about to do something

ところに/ところへ (tokoro ni/tokoro e): at the time

ところを見ると (tokoro o miru to): judging from, seeing that

とっくに (tokku ni): already, long ago

とも (tomo): even if, no matter

としても (to shite mo): assuming, even if

としては (toshite wa): as for

つもりで (tsumori de): with the intention of doing

つつ (tsutsu): while, although

つつある (tsutsu aru): to be doing

上で (ue de): after

上に (ue ni): as well, besides, in addition to

上は (ue wa): now that, since

は別として (wa betsu to shite): aside from

はもとより (wa moto yori): also, let alone

はともかく (wa tomokaku): whether or not

わずかに (wazuka ni): slightly

やがて (yagate): soon, before long, eventually

やら～やら (yara~yara): such things as

よりほかない (yori hoka nai): to have no choice but

ようでは (you dewa): if

ようがない/ようもない (you ga nai/you mo nai): there’s no way to, it’s impossible to

要するに (you suru ni): the point is

ざるを得ない (zaru o enai): can’t help doing, have no choice but

ずに済む (zu ni sumu): get by without doing something

Click here to download the printable PDF file for the JLPT N2 Grammar List.

See also: JLPT N2 Vocabulary List