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JRPG Japanese vocabulary: 35 words, screen by screen

Most JRPG menus reuse the same handful of words — attack, equip, HP, buy, quest — no matter which game you're in. This page groups 35 of them by the screen they actually show up on: battle, menu, status, dungeon, shop, quest board, and boss fight. Each word has furigana, romaji, its JLPT level where one exists, and two example sentences. It's the site version of our flashcard Shorts series — a video for each screen below, and the full word set to read at your own pace.

Battle screen

The five words that show up in almost every random encounter.

攻撃こうげき

N3

kōgeki · Noun / suru-verb

attack

攻撃力こうげきりょくが上あがった！

Attack power went up!

魔物まものの群むれが こちらを攻撃こうげきしてきた！

A horde of monsters attacked us!

回復かいふく

N3

kaifuku · Noun / suru-verb

recovery, healing

HPが回復かいふくした！

HP restored!

薬草やくそうを使つかって 仲間なかまを回復かいふくした。

Used an herb to heal an ally.

会心かいしんの一撃いちげき

—

kaishin no ichigeki · Noun phrase

critical hit

会心かいしんの一撃いちげき！

A critical hit!

会心かいしんの一撃いちげきで ドラゴンを倒たおした！

Took down the dragon with a critical hit!

逃にげる

N4

nigeru · Verb

to run away

うまく逃にげられた！

Got away safely!

強つよすぎる敵てきからは 逃にげるのも作戦さくせんだ。

Running from a too-strong enemy is also a strategy.

全滅ぜんめつ

N1

zenmetsu · Noun / suru-verb

total party wipe

パーティーは全滅ぜんめつした……

The party was wiped out...

回復かいふくアイテムを忘わすれて、あと一歩いっぽで全滅ぜんめつだった。

Forgot healing items — one step from a full wipe.

Status screen

Stats and ailments — what all those bars and numbers mean.

体力たいりょく

N1

tairyoku · Noun

stamina

体力たいりょくが 残のこりわずかだ！

Stamina is almost gone!

宿屋やどやに泊とまって、仲間なかま全員ぜんいんの体力たいりょくが回復かいふくした。

Stayed at the inn — the whole party's stamina recovered.

防御ぼうぎょ

—

bōgyo · Noun / suru-verb

defense, protection

防御ぼうぎょの構かまえを取とった！

Took a defensive stance!

敵てきの攻撃こうげきを防御ぼうぎょして、ダメージを半分はんぶんに減へらした！

Guarded against the enemy's attack and halved the damage!

素早すばやさ

—

subayasa · Noun

quickness, agility

素早すばやさが 上あがった！

Agility went up!

素早すばやさが高たかければ、強つよい敵てきからも逃にげやすい。

With high agility, it's easier to run away from strong enemies.

経験値けいけんち

—

keikenchi · Noun

experience points

経験値けいけんちを獲得かくとくした！

Gained experience points!

経験値けいけんちがたまって レベルが上あがり、新あたらしい呪文じゅもんを覚おぼえた！

Leveled up with the experience points — and learned a new spell!

状態異常じょうたいいじょう

—

jōtai ijō · Noun

status ailment

状態異常じょうたいいじょうで 動うごけない！

Can't move — a status ailment!

毒どくの状態異常じょうたいいじょうは 道具どうぐで回復かいふくできる。

Poison status ailments can be cured with an item.

Dungeon screen

Chests, traps, and the words that tell you it's safe to keep going.

宝箱たからばこ

—

takarabako · Noun

treasure chest

宝箱たからばこを開あけた！

Opened the treasure chest!

宝箱たからばこの中なかから、新あたらしい装備そうびを手てに入いれた！

Found new equipment inside the treasure chest!

罠わな

—

wana · Noun

trap

罠わなにかかった！

It's a trap!

罠わなを見破みやぶって、仲間なかまを守まもった。

Spotted the trap and protected the party.

鍵かぎ

N5

kagi · Noun

key

鍵かぎがかかっている。

It's locked.

この扉とびらには、特別とくべつな鍵かぎと道具どうぐが必要ひつようだ。

This door needs a special key and an item.

出口でぐち

N5

deguchi · Noun

exit

出口でぐちを見みつけた！

Found the exit!

出口でぐちまでの道みちは罠わなだらけ — 体力たいりょくに気きをつけろ。

The way to the exit is full of traps — watch your stamina.

探索たんさく

—

tansaku · Noun / suru-verb

exploration

ダンジョンを探索たんさくした。

Explored the dungeon.

探索たんさくを続つづけると、経験値けいけんちがどんどんたまる。

Keep exploring and the experience points pile up.

Shop & inn screen

Buy, sell, rest — the loop between every dungeon run.

購入こうにゅう

N1

kōnyū · Noun / suru-verb

purchase

回復薬かいふくやくを購入こうにゅうした。

Purchased a healing potion.

新あたらしい装備そうびを購入こうにゅうして、旅たびの準備じゅんびがととのった。

Purchased new equipment — ready for the journey.

売却ばいきゃく

—

baikyaku · Noun / suru-verb

selling (off)

いらない武器ぶきを売却ばいきゃくした。

Sold off an unwanted weapon.

古ふるい道具どうぐを売却ばいきゃくして、所持金しょじきんを増ふやした。

Sold old items and boosted my money.

所持金しょじきん

—

shojikin · Noun

money on hand

所持金しょじきんが足たりない！

Not enough money!

所持金しょじきんをぜんぶ使つかって、呪文じゅもんの書しょを買かった。

Spent all my money on a spell book.

宿屋やどや

—

yadoya · Noun

inn

宿屋やどやに泊とまった。

Stayed at the inn.

宿屋やどやで休やすむと、体力たいりょくが全回復ぜんかいふくする。

Rest at the inn and stamina fully recovers.

無料むりょう

N3

muryō · Noun

free (of charge)

今日きょうは宿代やどだいが無料むりょうだ！

The inn is free today!

初回しょかいの回復かいふくサービスは無料むりょうらしい。

The first healing service seems to be free.

Quest board

Requests, rewards, deadlines — the side-quest vocabulary set.

依頼いらい

N3

irai · Noun / suru-verb

request, commission

新あたらしい依頼いらいを受うけた。

Took a new request.

村人むらびとの依頼いらいで、道具どうぐを届とどけることになった。

A villager's request: deliver an item.

報酬ほうしゅう

N1

hōshū · Noun

reward

報酬ほうしゅうを受うけ取とった！

Received the reward!

報酬ほうしゅうで装備そうびを強化きょうかしよう。

Let's upgrade equipment with the reward.

達成たっせい

N1

tassei · Noun / suru-verb

achievement

クエスト達成たっせい！

Quest complete!

依頼いらいを達成たっせいして、ギルドの経験値けいけんちも上あがった。

Completed the request — guild experience went up too.

期限きげん

N2

kigen · Noun

deadline

期限きげんは明日あしたまでだ。

The deadline is tomorrow.

期限きげんを過すぎると、報酬ほうしゅうが減へってしまう — 逃にげるな、急いそげ！

Miss the deadline and the reward shrinks — don't run, hurry!

失敗しっぱい

N4

shippai · Noun / suru-verb

failure

依頼いらいに失敗しっぱいした……

Failed the request...

失敗しっぱいしても、仲間なかまがいればやり直やりなおせる。

Even if you fail, with your party you can try again.

Boss battle screen

The vocabulary that shows up right before the health bar fills the screen.

弱点じゃくてん

N2

jakuten · Noun

weak point

弱点じゃくてんを見みつけた！

Found the weak point!

弱点じゃくてんをつけば、少すくない攻撃こうげきでも大だいダメージ。

Hit the weak point — big damage even with light attacks.

必殺技ひっさつわざ

—

hissatsu waza · Noun

ultimate move

必殺技ひっさつわざを放はなった！

Unleashed the ultimate move!

必殺技ひっさつわざのあとは、回復かいふくを忘わすれずに。

After the ultimate move, don't forget to heal.

咆哮ほうこう

N3

hōkō · Noun / suru-verb

roar

ボスが咆哮ほうこうした！

The boss roared!

咆哮ほうこうのあいだは動うごけない — 防御ぼうぎょをかためろ。

You can't move during the roar — brace your defense.

討伐とうばつ

—

tōbatsu · Noun / suru-verb

slaying

ボスを討伐とうばつした！

Slew the boss!

討伐とうばつの報酬ほうしゅうは、伝説でんせつの武器ぶきだった。

The slaying reward: a legendary weapon.

復活ふっかつ

N1

fukkatsu · Noun / suru-verb

revival

ボスが復活ふっかつした！？

The boss revived!?

仲間なかまが倒たおれても、復活ふっかつの呪文じゅもんがある。

Even if an ally falls, there's a revival spell.

Reading these words as you play

Playto reads your game screen as you play and shows a translation in place, with furigana and JLPT tags on the words — the same tags used on this page. Words you meet get saved automatically, so a menu screen like these turns into review later instead of just scrolling past.

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Common questions

How many words do I need to play a JRPG in Japanese?

There's no single number — it depends how much of the game you want to actually read versus recognize by icon. The 35 words here cover the system vocabulary (attack, equip, HP, buy, quest) that repeats across almost every JRPG menu, which is usually the first wall a learner hits. Story dialogue and item flavor text pull from a much wider, game-specific vocabulary — see the JLPT breakdowns on the games hub for how that varies title to title.

What does 会心の一撃 mean?

会心の一撃 (かいしんのいちげき, kaishin no ichigeki) means "critical hit." 会心 on its own means something closer to "to one's heart's content" or "just as intended," and 一撃 means "a single strike" — together, a strike that lands exactly right. It's specialized gaming vocabulary and doesn't appear on standard JLPT wordlists.

Is JRPG Japanese useful for JLPT?

Partly. Several words on this page do sit on real JLPT lists — 全滅 and 復活 are N1, 期限 is N2, 依頼 and 無料 are N3 — so playing does reinforce genuine vocabulary. But a good chunk of RPG-system Japanese (会心の一撃, 状態異常, 必殺技, 宝箱) is specialized enough that it never appears on any JLPT list at all. Treat games as a fun supplement to grammar study, not a substitute for it.