N5 表記: Writing It Right
表記（ひょうき）means "orthography" — writing words correctly. In 問題2 of the Vocabulary section (5 items), the exam flips 問題1 around: a word appears in hiragana, and you choose the correct kanji or katakana spelling from 4 options. This chapter is your complete writing course for N5: the kana spelling rules, okurigana (the kana tails on kanji words), katakana conventions, and — the exam's favorite weapon — look-alike kanji.
Good news: you already know all 103 N5 kanji from the previous chapter. Here we train the recognition precision that separates 千 from 干 at a glance.
1. Kana Spelling Rules (the Foundation)
These rules from Basic Japanese are re-tested here in writing form — a quick tour with the exam's angle:
- Long vowels in hiragana: long o is written with う (おとうさん, ありがとう) except the famous お-exceptions (おおきい, とおい, とお); long e is usually written with い (せんせい, えいが). 問題2 offers the wrong stretcher as a trap: せんせえ ✗.
- Small っ: がっこう, きって, ざっし — options missing the っ (がこう) or doubling the wrong place are classic distractors.
- じ／ぢ and ず／づ: default to じ・ず. ぢ・づ appear only in special cases like ちかづく — at N5, when in doubt, じ・ず wins.
- Particles keep their historic spelling: は・を・へ as particles, even though read わ・お・え.
2. Okurigana: Where Does the Kanji Stop?
Okurigana are the hiragana that complete a kanji word: 食べる, 新しい. 問題2 tests whether you know exactly where the kanji ends and the kana begins. The N5 patterns to lock in:
| Word | Correct | Typical wrong options |
|---|---|---|
| たべる | 食べる | 食る ✗、食える ✗ |
| あたらしい | 新しい | 新らしい ✗、新い ✗ |
| ちいさい | 小さい | 小い ✗、小いさい ✗ |
| すくない | 少ない | 少い ✗ |
| おおきい | 大きい | 大い ✗ |
| やすむ | 休む | 休すむ ✗ |
| はいる | 入る | 入いる ✗ |
| でる／だす | 出る／出す | 出でる ✗ |
| うまれる | 生まれる | 生れる（rare form — not the exam answer） |
| ならう | 習う | 習らう ✗ |
Rule of thumb for adjectives: the kanji covers the unchanging root; everything that conjugates must be kana — 新しい because 新しくない keeps しくない changing. Rule for verbs: one hiragana of the stem usually shows (食べる, 起きる), but the very common short verbs keep it minimal (見る, 来る, する has no kanji at N5).
3. Katakana Writing: The Precision Game
Loanwords appear in 問題2 as hiragana (てれび) and you choose the correct katakana (テレビ). What's tested:
- The long-vowel mark ー: コーヒー, タクシー, ノート, スカート, セーター, ボールペン. Options drop or misplace the ー: コヒー ✗, タクシ ✗.
- Small ッ: ベッド, ポケット, カップ, マッチ, コップ.
- The look-alike four: シ／ツ and ン／ソ — expect options like レストラソ for レストラン, ツャツ for シャツ. Also チ／テ, ク／ワ.
- Voiced-mark precision: テレビ not テレピ; ベッド not ペッド; バス (bus) vs パス — one circle changes the word.
Drill list (write each from memory): テレビ・ラジオ・カメラ・シャツ・ネクタイ・エレベーター・デパート・アパート・レストラン・プール・スポーツ・ニュース・パーティー・ストーブ・スリッパ・ハンカチ.
4. Look-alike Kanji: The 表記 Boss Battle
The most distinctive 問題2 trap: four kanji that differ by a single stroke. Train your eyes on these sets — cover the right column and name each character:
| Set | How to tell them apart |
|---|---|
| 白・百・日・目・自 | 白 white (drop on 日), 百 hundred (一 on top), 日 sun, 目 eye (one more bar), 自 self (drop on 目) |
| 木・本・休・体 | 木 tree; 本 book (root-line at the base); 休 rest (person 亻 leaning on tree); 体 body (person + 本) |
| 人・入・八 | 人 person (legs meet at top); 入 enter (right stroke covers the left); 八 eight (two separate strokes) |
| 千・干・土・士 | 千 thousand (slanted top); 干 dry (straight top); 土 earth (bottom bar longer); 士 samurai (top bar longer) |
| 右・石・左 | 右 right (口 under the arm); 石 stone (口 pushed down-left); 左 left (エ under the arm) |
| 大・犬・太・天 | 大 big; 犬 dog (extra drop top-right); 太 fat (drop inside); 天 heaven (bar on top) |
| 母・毎 | 母 mother; 毎 every (person-hat on top of 母) |
| 午・牛 | 午 noon (stroke stops at the bar); 牛 cow (stroke pierces through!) |
| 四・西 | 四 four (inner legs touch the bottom stroke); 西 west (inner legs hang from the top bar — they do NOT reach the bottom) |
| 間・聞・門 | 門 gate alone; 間 = gate + 日 (interval); 聞 = gate + 耳 (hear) |
| 今・会 | 今 now (line under roof); 会 meet (ム under roof) |
| 気・汽 | 気 spirit/air (メ inside); 汽 steam (water 氵 on the left — appears in 汽車 at higher levels) |
5. How the Exam Tests This — and How to Win
Worked example 1 (kanji choice)
この みちは ひろい です。
① 広い ② 太い ③ 白い ④ 長い
All four are real adjectives — you must match the meaning in context (a road is "wide"). Answer: ① 広い. Meaning knowledge and writing knowledge are tested together.
Worked example 2 (look-alike trap)
えきの ひがしぐちで あいましょう。
① 東口 ② 西口 ③ 南口 ④ 北口
Pure direction-kanji recognition: ひがし = 東. Answer ①. If 東/西 still blur, use the memory hooks: 東 = sun (日) rising behind a tree (木) = east; 西 looks like a bird settling into its nest at sunset = west.
Strategy checklist
- Reconstruct before you look. Read the hiragana, picture the correct writing yourself, then scan the options for your answer. Option-first reading invites the trap.
- Check the option's "danger zone": for kanji options, the differing stroke (千/干 top; 午/牛 pierce); for katakana, the ー, ッ and voicing marks; for okurigana, where the kana tail starts.
- Use the sentence: 問題2 sentences are short but decisive — みち (road) selects 広い over 太い; はな could be 花 or 鼻, and only context tells you which.
- Budget ~30 seconds per item; wrong answers here are almost always haste, not ignorance.
6. Practice Round
| Hiragana | Correct writing | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| がっこう | 学校 | 学枚 ✗-type fake kanji |
| せんえん | 千円 | 干円 ✗ |
| おかね | お金 | お全 ✗ |
| ちいさい | 小さい | 小い ✗ okurigana |
| はんぶん | 半分 | 半今 ✗ |
| しゃつ | シャツ | ツャツ／シャシ ✗ |
| ぼーるぺん | ボールペン | ボルペン ✗ (missing ー) |
| きく | 聞く | 間く ✗ (gate + 日 is "interval"!) |
Summary & Key Takeaways
- 問題2（表記, 5 items）reverses 漢字読み: hiragana → correct kanji/katakana.
- Kana rules re-tested in writing: long-o with う (except おおきい・とおい), small っ, じ・ず defaults, particle spellings は・を・へ.
- Okurigana: conjugating parts stay kana — 新しい, 少ない, 食べる, 入る (never 新らしい, 入いる).
- Katakana precision: ー placement, small ッ, voicing marks, and the シ/ツ・ン/ソ eye-test.
- Look-alike kanji sets (白百日目, 木本休体, 人入八, 千干土士, 右石左, 大犬太天, 午牛, 間聞門…) are the signature trap — learn the one-stroke differences deliberately.
- Winning routine: picture the writing yourself first, then verify the danger zone of each option against the sentence's meaning.