Contemporary Life
What this unit covers
The topics below follow the published Japanese Lang course framework for Unit 5. Japanese Lang publishes no per-unit weighting, so there is no percentage to chase here.
Lessons in this unit
- Counters (助数詞)13 min · 3 objectivesExplain why Japanese uses counters to count nouns · Choose the right counter for people, flat things, long things, and small animals · Handle the sound changes that occur with certain counter combinations
- Keigo: The Basics of Honorific Language14 min · 3 objectivesDistinguish the three branches of keigo: teineigo, sonkeigo, and kenjōgo · Recognize common honorific and humble verb substitutions · Choose respectful language appropriate to social hierarchy
Every term in Unit 5
All 22 terms we publish for Contemporary Life, 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.
- 生活 (せいかつ)
- Daily life, living. 日常生活 everyday life, 生活習慣 lifestyle habits.
- 仕事 (しごと)
- Work. 就職 finding employment, 転職 changing jobs, 残業 overtime, 給料 salary.
- 会社員 (かいしゃいん)
- Company employee. 正社員 regular employee against 派遣社員 dispatched or contract worker — a significant labor distinction in Japan.
- 働き方改革 (はたらきかたかいかく)
- Work style reform, the policy program addressing long hours and overtime. Specific and current, and strong material for an essay on work.
- 学校 (がっこう) の制度
- 小学校 six years, 中学校 three, 高校 three, 大学 four. 義務教育 compulsory education covers the first nine.
- 受験 (じゅけん)
- Taking an entrance examination. 受験生 an examinee, 塾 cram school, 浪人 a student retaking after failing.
- 部活動 (ぶかつどう)
- School club activities, often daily and intensive. A distinctive feature of Japanese schooling and a reliable comparison topic.
- アルバイト
- Part-time work, from the German Arbeit. バイト for short. 正社員 is contrasted with it.
- 交通 (こうつう)
- Transport. 電車 train, 地下鉄 subway, 定期券 commuter pass, 満員電車 packed train, 乗り換える to transfer.
- 住まい (すまい)
- Housing. アパート, マンション (a concrete apartment building, not a mansion), 一戸建て detached house, 家賃 rent.
- 食生活 (しょくせいかつ)
- Eating habits. 和食 Japanese cuisine was recognized by UNESCO in 2013; 一汁三菜 is the traditional meal structure of soup and three dishes.
- 健康 (けんこう)
- Health. 健康診断 medical checkup, 生活習慣病 lifestyle-related disease, 運動不足 lack of exercise.
- 趣味 (しゅみ)
- Hobby. 趣味は読書です — the noun form follows は, not the verb.
- 旅行 (りょこう)
- Travel. 観光 sightseeing, 温泉 hot spring, 旅館 traditional inn, 民宿 guesthouse, ゴールデンウィーク the late-April to early-May holiday cluster.
- 買い物 (かいもの)
- Shopping. コンビニ convenience store, デパート department store, 商店街 shopping street, レジ checkout.
- Counters 助数詞 review
- 本 for long objects, 枚 for flat, 冊 for books, 匹 for small animals, 台 for machines, 人 for people. 一本 いっぽん, 三本 さんぼん — the sound changes must be learned.
- Time expressions
- 〜前に before, 〜後で after, 〜間 during, 〜までに by. までに is a deadline; まで is continuation up to a point.
- Plain vs polite in writing
- Essays use plain form (だ・である) or polite (です・ます) consistently. Switching between them mid-text is a marked error.
- Email frame 敬語
- 拝啓 opening and 敬具 closing in formal letters; email usually uses お世話になっております and よろしくお願いいたします。
- Making a request politely
- 〜ていただけませんか is more polite than 〜てくれませんか, which is more polite than 〜てください。Match the level to the addressee.
- Declining politely
- 申し訳ありませんが、〜。ちょっと〜。Trailing off with ちょっと is a complete and understood refusal in Japanese.
- The conversation task
- Four exchanges of twenty seconds each. Answer and add something: a bare answer with no elaboration caps the score even when it is correct.
What examiners penalize here
- You will not be tested on every rare counter, but people (〜人), flat things (〜枚), long things (〜本), small animals (〜匹), and the general 〜つ are essential. Drill each counter’s 1–10 series aloud so the sound changes come automatically under time pressure.
- AP does not expect flawless keigo, but recognizing and producing basic sonkeigo/kenjōgo raises your register on formal tasks like a business email or a speech to an audience. Memorize the handful of special verb pairs (いらっしゃる／参る, おっしゃる／申す, 召し上がる／いただく) — they carry most real-world keigo.
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 5?
The Japanese Lang course framework does not publish a per-unit weighting, so there is no percentage to quote for Unit 5 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 5?
Contemporary Life covers School, Work, Food and Travel. We publish 22 terms with definitions for this unit, all of them on this page.
How should I study Japanese Lang Unit 5?
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.