JLPT N5 reading practice

そちら / ここ · Words for places: そちら politely means “there, where you are” and ここ means “here, where I am”. そちらの天気 is “the weather where you are”.

～はどうですか · A set question meaning “How is ~?”, used to ask about the state of something.

とても + adjective · とても means “very” and strengthens the adjective after it: とても寒いです, “it is very cold”.

AよりBのほうが好きです · Comparing two things: 雨より雪のほうが好き means “I like snow more than rain”. より marks the thing being compared against.

～ですから、～ · から after です gives a reason, and the clause after it gives the result: “I like snow, so every day is fun”.

い-adjective + です · い-adjectives such as 寒い and 楽しい become polite by simply adding です, with no change to the adjective itself.

もう + past tense · もう means “already”. With a past-tense verb it asks or says that something has already happened: もうしましたか, “have you done it yet?”. The answer はい、もうしました means “yes, I already have”.

～ましたか · The polite past ～ました plus the question particle か makes a polite question about the past: しましたか, “did you do it?”.

お～ (polite prefix) · The お in お花見 and お弁当 is a polite prefix that these nouns usually carry. It does not change the meaning; the words just sound softer and more natural with it.

noun + を + verb · を marks the object of the action: お花見をしました, “went cherry blossom viewing”, and お弁当を食べました, “ate a boxed lunch”.

place + で · で marks where an action takes place: 公園で食べました, “ate in the park”.

Time words without a particle · Relative time words like きのう (yesterday) take no particle and usually come early in the sentence.