Families & Communities
What this unit covers
The topics below follow the published Japanese Lang course framework for Unit 1. Japanese Lang publishes no per-unit weighting, so there is no percentage to chase here.
Lessons in this unit
- The Three Writing Systems13 min · 3 objectivesDistinguish hiragana, katakana, and kanji and state what each is used for · Explain how the three scripts combine within a single sentence · Recognize why kanji often carry two kinds of readings
- Particles は / が and Polite です14 min · 3 objectivesUse は (wa) to mark the topic and です to make a polite statement · Distinguish the topic particle は from the subject particle が · Introduce family members politely
Every term in Unit 1
All 22 terms we publish for Families & Communities, with definitions. Reading them through is the fastest way to find the ones you cannot define — then drill those in cram mode until you can produce them without the prompt.
- 家族 (かぞく)
- One's own family. Use 家族 for your family and ご家族 when speaking of someone else's — the honorific prefix is not optional in polite speech.
- 両親 (りょうしん)
- Parents. Your own; someone else's is ご両親. The same in-group and out-group split governs almost every family term.
- 祖父母 (そふぼ)
- Grandparents. Own: 祖父 and 祖母. Someone else's: おじいさん and おばあさん, which are also what you call them directly.
- 兄弟 (きょうだい)
- Siblings. Older brother 兄 (own) against お兄さん (others'); older sister 姉 against お姉さん. Younger siblings 弟 and 妹 have no separate honorific forms.
- 親戚 (しんせき)
- Relatives beyond the immediate family.
- 近所 (きんじょ)
- Neighborhood, the area nearby. 近所の人 is a neighbor; 隣 (となり) is specifically next door.
- 地域 (ちいき)
- Region, local area, community. 地域社会 is the standard word for local community in essays.
- 社会 (しゃかい) の変化
- Social change. 少子高齢化 — declining birthrate and aging population — is the single most useful compound for essays about Japanese society.
- 核家族 (かくかぞく)
- Nuclear family, contrasted with 大家族, the extended household. The shift between them is a standard comparison topic.
- お正月 (おしょうがつ)
- New Year, the most important holiday. 初詣 the first shrine visit, お年玉 money given to children, おせち料理 the special foods, 年賀状 New Year cards.
- お盆 (おぼん)
- Mid-August observance when ancestors' spirits are said to return. Families travel to hometowns; 盆踊り is the associated dance.
- 七五三 (しちごさん)
- November 15 celebration for children aged seven, five and three, marked with a shrine visit in formal dress. A concrete, specific example for a cultural presentation.
- 成人の日 (せいじんのひ)
- Coming of Age Day, the second Monday of January, for those turning twenty. The age of adulthood became eighteen in 2022, while the ceremony largely remains at twenty.
- 敬語 (けいご) の三種類
- Three registers: 尊敬語 elevates the other person, 謙譲語 lowers yourself, 丁寧語 is the plain です・ます politeness. Mixing them is the classic error.
- 内 (うち) と外 (そと)
- In-group and out-group. Determines whether you use humble or honorific forms: you humble your own family and company even when speaking to an outsider about them.
- 〜てあげる / 〜てくれる / 〜てもらう
- Giving and receiving actions. あげる I do for you; くれる someone does for me; もらう I receive the favor. Choosing wrong reverses who benefits.
- 〜てくださる / 〜ていただく
- The honorific and humble versions of くれる and もらう. 先生が教えてくださいました — the teacher kindly taught me.
- 家族について話す
- 両親と姉が一人います。The counter and the verb いる or ある must agree with animacy — 人 with いる for people.
- 〜ながら
- Doing two things at once by the same subject: 音楽を聞きながら勉強します。The main action is the second verb.
- 〜とき
- When: 子供のとき、よく公園で遊びました。The clause before とき takes plain form, and its tense marks whether the action was complete.
- Cultural comparison structure
- Name the practice, give two concrete details, state your own community's practice, name the difference. Two minutes. A general statement about "Japanese culture" cannot reach the top band.
- 比較の表現
- 〜に比べて (compared to), 〜と違って (unlike), 〜のに対して (whereas). アメリカに比べて、日本では…
What examiners penalize here
- AP Japanese presents authentic texts mixing all three scripts. You do not need to know every kanji, but you must read hiragana and katakana fluently and recognize high-frequency kanji. Drilling kana to instant recognition frees your attention for meaning during the timed reading section.
- The は/が distinction is tested constantly. A quick heuristic: if the information is **new or being singled out** (answers “who/what?”), lean が; if it is the **established theme** you are commenting on, lean は. Reading lots of authentic dialogue builds the intuition faster than memorizing rules.
Practice Japanese Lang
Our practice bank is drawn from across the whole course rather than filtered to one unit, which is closer to how the exam asks anyway — it will not tell you which unit a question is testing.
Questions about this unit
How much of the AP Japanese Language & Culture exam is Unit 1?
The Japanese Lang course framework does not publish a per-unit weighting, so there is no percentage to quote for Unit 1 and anyone who gives you one is guessing. Spread your time by where your own errors are instead.
What topics are covered in Japanese Lang Unit 1?
Families & Communities covers Family, Community, Traditions and Relationships. We publish 22 terms with definitions for this unit, all of them on this page.
How should I study Japanese Lang Unit 1?
Read the 2 lessons below first — about 25 minutes — then drill the 22 terms in cram mode until you can produce each definition from memory rather than just recognize it. Recognition is what makes a unit feel finished when it is not. Finish with practice questions and read the explanation for every one you get right by elimination as well as the ones you miss.
All 6 units of AP Japanese Language & Culture
Unit names, topics and exam weights follow the published College Board course framework for AP Japanese Language & Culture. AP® is a trademark registered by the College Board, which does not endorse this site.