JLPT N1 Grammar Guide with Examples
N1 is the highest JLPT level. It covers abstract, formal and literary Japanese, including the nuanced grammar and vocabulary found in editorials, essays and business writing. This grammar guide is made for advanced learners aiming for near-native reading and listening.
Below are 115 JLPT N1 grammar study entries, including 〜が早いか, ベルが鳴るが早いか, 〜や否や（やいなや）, 発売されるや否や. Grammar patterns with short meanings and example sentences.
How to use this list
- Read the example sentences first, then work out the pattern from them.
- Write your own sentence for each pattern — one that is about your life is easiest to remember.
- Pay attention to what comes before the pattern (verb form, noun, adjective) — that is where most mistakes happen.
JLPT N1 grammar — full list
| Pattern / example | Meaning, reading and notes |
|---|---|
| 〜が早いか | no sooner had X than Y (dramatic, written) |
| ベルが鳴るが早いか | no sooner had the bell rung... |
| 〜や否や（やいなや） | as soon as (formal, literary) |
| 発売されるや否や | as soon as it went on sale... |
| 〜なり | the moment X, (surprisingly) Y — same subject |
| 帰るなり閉じこもった | the moment he got home, he shut himself away |
| 〜たなり | still in the state of... (座ったなり動かない) |
| 〜そばから | as soon as X, Y (repeatedly — exasperated) |
| 覚えるそばから忘れる | I forget as fast as I learn |
| 稼いだそばから使う | spend it as fast as I earn it |
| 〜極まりない | extremely / the height of (often critical) |
| 失礼極まりない | the height of rudeness |
| 感極まる | to be overcome with emotion |
| 〜の極み | the pinnacle / epitome of |
| 贅沢の極み | the height of luxury |
| 痛恨の極み | a matter of the deepest regret |
| 〜の至り | the utmost... (humble, ceremonial) |
| 光栄の至りです | it is the greatest honour (award speech) |
| 若気の至り | the folly of youth |
| 〜といったらない | indescribably / you wouldn't believe how |
| 〜すら | even (formal さえ) |
| 専門家ですら | even the experts... |
| 名前すら書けない | can't even write his name |
| 〜だに | even / merely (literary, fixed combos) |
| 想像するだに恐ろしい | terrifying even to imagine |
| 夢にだに思わない | never even dream (of it) |
| 微動だにしない | doesn't budge an inch |
| 〜てこそ | only by doing X (does Y hold) |
| 苦労してこそ | only by struggling... |
| 〜ばこそ | precisely because X (often + のだ) |
| 愛していればこそ | precisely because I love you... |
| 〜を禁じ得ない | cannot suppress (an emotion) [formal] |
| 涙を禁じ得ない | cannot hold back tears |
| 〜を余儀なくされる | be forced to (by circumstances) [news] |
| 中止を余儀なくされた | was forced to be cancelled |
| 〜を余儀なくさせる | to force (someone) into — the cause as subject |
| 〜ずにはおかない | inevitably causes / will definitely do |
| 感動させずにはおかない | never fails to move (its audience) |
| 〜ないでは済まない | won't get away without doing |
| 冗談では済まない | this is no laughing matter |
| 〜ないまでも | even if not (quite) X, at least... |
| 〜とは言わないまでも | I won't go so far as to say X, but... |
| 〜なくして(は)〜ない | without X, Y is impossible (formal) |
| 努力なくして成功はない | without effort, no success |
| 〜ものを | if only... (regret, unspoken reproach) |
| 謝ればいいものを | if only he'd just apologised... |
| 〜とばかりに | as if to say... (action as proof) |
| チャンスとばかりに | as if seizing the chance... |
| 〜(よ)うが／〜(よ)うと | no matter what/how (volitional + が/と) |
| 何と言われようが | no matter what people say... |
| 〜うが〜まいが | whether... or not (total indifference) |
| 行こうが行くまいが | whether you go or not... |
| 〜であれ〜であれ | whether A or B (both irrelevant to the rule) |
| 男であれ女であれ | whether male or female... |
| 〜にせよ／〜にしろ | even granting that... / whether... or |
| 忙しいにせよ | even granting that you're busy... |
| 〜をおいて(他に)ない | there is no other than X (high praise) |
| 彼をおいて他にいない | there's no one but him |
| 〜にたえない | unbearable to witness / overwhelmed with feeling |
| 見るにたえない | unbearable to watch |
| 感謝にたえません | overwhelmed with gratitude (formal) |
| 〜にかたくない | easy to imagine |
| 想像にかたくない | easy to imagine (fixed phrase) |
| 〜までもない | no need to even... |
| 言うまでもない | needless to say / goes without saying |
| 〜ゆえ(に) | because of... (literary cause) |
| 若さゆえの過ち | a mistake born of youth |
| 〜とあって | given that... (special circumstance) |
| 来店とあって | given that [they] visited... |
| 〜なりに／〜なりの | in one's own way (respectful) |
| 子供なりに考えた | thought hard, in his own child-like way |
| 〜ずくめ | nothing but... / all... |
| 黒ずくめ | dressed all in black |
| いいことずくめ | nothing but good things |
| 規則ずくめの生活 | a life of nothing but rules |
| 〜を皮切りに(して) | starting with X, (a whole series followed) |
| 東京公演を皮切りに | starting with the Tokyo performance... |
| 〜をもって | by means of X / as of X (formal) |
| 本日をもちまして閉店 | as of today, this shop will close |
| 〜を境に(して) | with X as the turning point |
| 父の死を境に | with my father's death as the turning point |
| 〜いかんによって(は) | depending entirely on X (formal) |
| 〜いかんにかかわらず | regardless of X |
| 〜なしに(は) | without X (formal, flexible negative) |
| 許可なしに入るな | don't enter without permission |
| 〜をものともせず(に) | undaunted by X |
| 悪天候をものともせず | undaunted by terrible weather |
| 〜はおろか | let alone X, not even Y |
| 漢字はおろかひらがなも | let alone kanji, not even hiragana |
| 〜ならいざしらず | X would be one thing, but... (pointed contrast) |
| 〜きらいがある | have a (mildly critical) tendency to... |
| 大げさに言うきらいがある | has a tendency to exaggerate |
| 〜めく | seem X-ish / take on the air of X |
| 春めいてきた | starting to feel like spring |
| 〜がてら | while doing X, (also do Y) |
| 散歩がてらコンビニに寄る | stopped by the store while out for a walk |
| 〜ながら(に)して | remaining in the state of X (innate/unchanged) |
| 生まれながらにして | from birth, innately |
| 〜に至って(は) | now that it's reached the point of X |
| ここに至っては | now that things have come to this point |
| 〜に至るまで | all the way up to / down to X |
| 服装から言葉遣いに至るまで | from clothing down to speech |
| 〜からある／〜からの | as much/many as X (surprisingly large) |
| 10キロからある荷物 | a package weighing as much as 10kg |
| 〜まみれ | covered in / smeared with X |
| 泥まみれ | covered in mud |
| 借金まみれ | buried in debt (figurative) |
| 〜まじき | should never (do) — unforgivable to... |
| 許すまじき行為 | an unforgivable act |
| 〜べく | in order to (achieve X) — formal purpose |
| 〜べからず | shall not (old-style prohibition, signs) |
| 〜んがため(に) | in order to (desperate, all-in purpose) |
| 生きんがために働いた | worked in order to survive |
| 〜ずじまい | ended up never doing X (quiet regret) |
| 話せずじまいだった | never got to talk to him |
Every JLPT N1 grammar point explained
Each of the 52 JLPT N1 grammar patterns has its own page with the meaning, how to build it, examples and practice questions.
Browse all JLPT N1 grammar points →Practice questions
Test yourself with 6 sample questions from the JLPT N1 grammar quiz in the app. Pick an answer in your head, then open “Show answer”.
1. "No sooner had the doors opened than customers poured in" uses?
- 開くそばから (hiraku soba kara)
- 開くばこそ (hiraku ba koso)
- 開くが早いか (hiraku ga hayai ka)
- 開くだに (hiraku dani)
Show answer
Answer: 開くが早いか (hiraku ga hayai ka)
が早いか = no sooner had X than Y — dramatic one-off in narration. ドアが開くが早いか、客がなだれ込んだ.
2. "I forget things as soon as I learn them (every time)" uses?
- 覚えるが早いか (oboeru ga hayai ka)
- 覚えるや否や (oboeru ya ina ya)
- 覚えるなり (oboeru nari)
- 覚えるそばから (oboeru soba kara)
Show answer
Answer: 覚えるそばから (oboeru soba kara)
そばから = repeated "as soon as" with exasperation. 覚えるそばから忘れてしまう.
3. 「娘は私の顔を見るなり、泣き出した。」 なり implies?
- The same subject did something unexpected immediately
- A repeated habit
- A formal request
- A hypothetical
Show answer
Answer: The same subject did something unexpected immediately
なり = the moment X, (surprisingly) Y — same subject, striking action, observed by the speaker.
4. "Running red lights is an extremely dangerous act" uses?
- 危険極まりない (kiken kiwamarinai)
- 危険といったらありません (kiken to ittara arimasen)
- 危険の至り (kiken no itari)
- 危険ばこそ (kiken ba koso)
Show answer
Answer: 危険極まりない (kiken kiwamarinai)
危険極まりない = extremely dangerous — 極まりない attaches to na-adjective stems, often critically.
5. The award-speech phrase "it is the greatest honour" is?
- 光栄の極み (kouei no kiwami)
- 光栄の至りです (kouei no itari desu)
- 光栄極まりない (kouei kiwamarinai)
- 光栄ったらない (kouei ttara nai)
Show answer
Answer: 光栄の至りです (kouei no itari desu)
光栄の至りです — の至り is the humble, ceremonial "utmost," used almost exclusively in formal speech.
6. "His snoring is unbelievably loud" uses?
- うるささの至り (urusasa no itari)
- うるささといったらない (urusasa to ittara nai)
- うるさいばこそ (urusai ba koso)
- うるさいや否や (urusai ya ina ya)
Show answer
Answer: うるささといったらない (urusasa to ittara nai)
といったらない = indescribably / you wouldn't believe how. いびきのうるささといったらない.
Study JLPT N1 grammar in the free app
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Frequently asked questions
Is this the official JLPT N1 grammar list?
There is no single official grammar list for the JLPT, so this is a study list built from the A Star Japanese JLPT N1 lessons. It focuses on what learners at this level are most likely to meet.
How should I study the JLPT N1 grammar?
Read the example sentences first, then work out the pattern from them. Write your own sentence for each pattern — one that is about your life is easiest to remember. Pay attention to what comes before the pattern (verb form, noun, adjective) — that is where most mistakes happen.
How can I practise JLPT N1 grammar for free?
Download A Star Japanese for free on iPhone or Android. It has lessons, flashcards with spaced repetition, quizzes, listening practice with real Japanese voices and timed JLPT mock exams — with no ads.