# JFT-Basic Word Meaning (1-1): the picture decides the verb

Category 1-1 shows an illustration and asks which word matches it. What the pictures usually show, three worked items you can attempt, and the near-miss verbs that cost marks.

## The short answer

Word Meaning is category 1-1, the first thing you meet in the JFT-Basic. An illustration appears and you choose the word that matches what it shows. The Japan Foundation describes the category in four words: to test the meaning of a word. The options are usually verbs from daily life or work. The wrong ones are near misses rather than nonsense, so the picture is what settles it.

## Key facts

- **Section:** Script and Vocabulary
- **Category number:** 1-1
- **What it tests:** The meaning of a word
- **Questions in the section:** Around 12
- **Stimulus:** An illustration, with no Japanese to read
- **Review:** Allowed anywhere inside the section

Sections, categories and rules come from the Japan Foundation's JFT-Basic pages and its "About the JFT-Basic" deck, checked 27 September 2026.

## How it's scored

This is the one category with almost nothing to read. The stem is a picture, so a weak kanji reader is not disadvantaged here, and a fast reader gains no time. What it rewards is vocabulary you can recognize without a sentence around it.

The three or four options are usually the same part of speech and often the same broad activity. A picture of someone cleaning can carry the words for wiping, sweeping and washing. Only one of them is what the hands are actually doing.

> Name the picture in Japanese before you look at the options. If your word is on the list, that is your answer. If it is not, pick whichever option sits closest to it.

## Word Meaning examples

Worked examples written for this page. Answer each one before you open the model response: memorizing a response is scored as an irrelevant answer in the real test.

**Example 1 -- three ways to clean**

> The illustration shows a restaurant worker moving a cloth across a table after the customers have left.

Prompt: Which word matches the picture?

- A. ふきます
- B. わきます
- C. ひきます
Answer: A.

Model response: ふきます, to wipe. The cloth moving across a surface is the whole of the picture, and ふく is the verb for it.

Why it scores: わく is for water boiling and ひく is for pulling. Both are common verbs a beginner meets early, which is why they appear beside the answer rather than something unrelated.

**Example 2 -- who is giving and who is receiving**

> The illustration shows an office worker holding out a document with both hands to a colleague, bowing slightly.

Prompt: Which word matches the picture?

- A. もらいます
- B. わたします
- C. かります
Answer: B.

Model response: わたします, to hand over. The person in the picture is the one holding out the document.

Why it scores: もらう and かりる describe the same scene from the other side. The direction of a Japanese giving-and-receiving verb is the thing being tested, and the picture tells you which end you are standing at.

**Example 3 -- a convenience-store verb**

> The illustration shows a customer at a convenience store holding a bento box in front of a microwave, with the staff member reaching for it.

Prompt: Which word matches the picture?

- A. ひやします
- B. やきます
- C. あたためます
Answer: C.

Model response: あたためます, to warm up. It is the word you will hear at the counter as 温めますか.

Why it scores: ひやす is to chill and やく is to grill or bake. All three are about temperature, which is the pattern: the options share a field and differ inside it.

**Three questions is a warm-up, not practice** 1,000+ JFT-Basic practice questions across all four sections, 20+ full mocks and 20+ sectional tests. One full JFT-Basic mock and one sectional test per section are free, with question-bank practice and 100 AI scoring coins a month. No card required. [Start practicing free](https://app.testmigo.com/register)

## Common mistakes

| What costs marks | Do this instead |
| --- | --- |
| Reading the options before looking properly at the picture. | Name the picture yourself first. Three plausible verbs will all start to look possible once they are in your head. |
| Choosing a verb that fits the setting but not the action. | A kitchen picture can carry every kitchen verb. Look at the hands, not the room. |
| Missing the direction of a giving or receiving verb. | あげる, もらう, かす and かりる describe one event from two sides. Decide who in the picture you are being asked about. |
| Spending a long time here because it is first. | The 60 minutes covers all four sections. This is the fastest category in the test and should be treated as such. |

**See how far 200 is** The JFT-Basic score checker turns a total on the 10-250 scale into its level band, says whether it clears A2, and works out what you still need. [Open the JFT-Basic score checker](/jft-basic/score-checker)

## How to practice

1. Practice from pictures rather than from word lists. Find a photo, name the action in Japanese, then check the word.
2. Group the verbs you meet by field: cleaning, cooking, carrying, giving. The options on test day come from inside one field.
3. Drill the giving and receiving verbs as pairs, not one at a time, so the direction is what you learn.
4. After each set, write down the wrong option you were tempted by. Near misses repeat.

## Common questions

### Is there any Japanese to read in JFT-Basic category 1-1?

Only the options. The stem is an illustration, and the instruction can be displayed in your own language. This category tests recognition of the word rather than reading.

### What kind of words appear in Word Meaning?

Everyday vocabulary, with verbs common: actions at home, at a shop and at work. The Japan Foundation sets the test at A1 to A2, so the words are the ones a beginner course covers.

### How many Word Meaning questions will I get?

The Japan Foundation publishes around 12 questions for the whole Script and Vocabulary section. It publishes no count for each of the four categories, so any specific number you see elsewhere is a guess.

**Sources**
- [The Japan Foundation: About the JFT-Basic, test structure and categories (PDF)](https://www.jpf.go.jp/jft-basic/e/about/pdf/describing_en.pdf)
- [The Japan Foundation: about the JFT-Basic (checked 27 September 2026)](https://www.jpf.go.jp/jft-basic/e/about/index.html)

[Practice Word Meaning free](https://testmigo.com/jft-basic)