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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. Tap any word to open its example sentences.
Battle screen
The five words that show up in almost every random encounter.
攻撃 kōgeki attack N3
Noun / suru-verb
攻撃力が 上がった！
Attack power went up!
魔物の群れが こちらを攻撃してきた！
A horde of monsters attacked us!
回復 kaifuku recovery, healing N3
会心の一撃 kaishin no ichigeki critical hit —
Noun phrase
会心の一撃！
A critical hit!
会心の一撃で ドラゴンを倒した！
Took down the dragon with a critical hit!
逃げる nigeru to run away N4
Verb
うまく逃げられた！
Got away safely!
強すぎる敵からは 逃げるのも作戦だ。
Running from a too-strong enemy is also a strategy.
全滅 zenmetsu total party wipe N1
Noun / suru-verb
パーティーは全滅した……
The party was wiped out...
回復アイテムを忘れて、あと一歩で全滅だった。
Forgot healing items — one step from a full wipe.
Status screen
Stats and ailments — what all those bars and numbers mean.
体力 tairyoku stamina N1
防御 bōgyo defense, protection —
Noun / suru-verb
防御の構えを取った！
Took a defensive stance!
敵の攻撃を防御して、ダメージを半分に減らした！
Guarded against the enemy's attack and halved the damage!
素早さ subayasa quickness, agility —
Noun
素早さが 上がった！
Agility went up!
素早さが高ければ、強い敵からも逃げやすい。
With high agility, it's easier to run away from strong enemies.
経験値 keikenchi experience points —
Noun
経験値を獲得した！
Gained experience points!
経験値がたまって レベルが上がり、新しい呪文を覚えた！
Leveled up with the experience points — and learned a new spell!
Dungeon screen
Chests, traps, and the words that tell you it's safe to keep going.
宝箱 takarabako treasure chest —
Noun
宝箱を開けた！
Opened the treasure chest!
宝箱の中から、新しい装備を手に入れた！
Found new equipment inside the treasure chest!
罠 wana trap —
鍵 kagi key N5
出口 deguchi exit N5
Noun
出口を見つけた！
Found the exit!
出口までの道は罠だらけ — 体力に気をつけろ。
The way to the exit is full of traps — watch your stamina.
探索 tansaku exploration —
Noun / suru-verb
ダンジョンを探索した。
Explored the dungeon.
探索を続けると、経験値がどんどんたまる。
Keep exploring and the experience points pile up.
Shop & inn screen
Buy, sell, rest — the loop between every dungeon run.
購入 kōnyū purchase N1
Noun / suru-verb
回復薬を購入した。
Purchased a healing potion.
新しい装備を購入して、旅の準備がととのった。
Purchased new equipment — ready for the journey.
売却 baikyaku selling (off) —
Noun / suru-verb
いらない武器を売却した。
Sold off an unwanted weapon.
古い道具を売却して、所持金を増やした。
Sold old items and boosted my money.
所持金 shojikin money on hand —
宿屋 yadoya inn —
無料 muryō free (of charge) N3
Quest board
Requests, rewards, deadlines — the side-quest vocabulary set.
依頼 irai request, commission N3
Noun / suru-verb
新しい依頼を受けた。
Took a new request.
村人の依頼で、道具を届けることになった。
A villager's request: deliver an item.
報酬 hōshū reward N1
達成 tassei achievement N1
Noun / suru-verb
クエスト達成！
Quest complete!
依頼を達成して、ギルドの経験値も上がった。
Completed the request — guild experience went up too.
期限 kigen deadline N2
Noun
期限は明日までだ。
The deadline is tomorrow.
期限を過ぎると、報酬が減ってしまう — 逃げるな、急げ！
Miss the deadline and the reward shrinks — don't run, hurry!
失敗 shippai failure N4
Noun / suru-verb
依頼に失敗した……
Failed the request...
失敗しても、仲間がいればやり直せる。
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 jakuten weak point N2
Noun
弱点を見つけた！
Found the weak point!
弱点をつけば、少ない攻撃でも大ダメージ。
Hit the weak point — big damage even with light attacks.
必殺技 hissatsu waza ultimate move —
Noun
必殺技を放った！
Unleashed the ultimate move!
必殺技のあとは、回復を忘れずに。
After the ultimate move, don't forget to heal.
咆哮 hōkō roar N3
Noun / suru-verb
ボスが咆哮した！
The boss roared!
咆哮のあいだは動けない — 防御をかためろ。
You can't move during the roar — brace your defense.
討伐 tōbatsu slaying —
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.
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.