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JLPT N1 Verbs — Communication & Social Interaction Vocabulary (2026)

Complete JLPT N1 Verbs — Communication & Social Interaction vocabulary with readings and example sentences (57 words).

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57 verbs for formal communication, negotiation, and confrontation — including several imperial/court-register words (謁見, 宣示) that show up in historical and political writing.

This article is part of our JLPT N1 Complete Vocabulary Guide. Practice all 57 words with the Verbs — Communication & Social Interaction Vocabulary deck in Onigiri Anki.

Protest, Accusation & Punishment (10)

Formally condemning wrongdoing and calling for accountability.

counterargument; objection抗弁kouben

彼の抗弁は説得力があった。 — His counterargument was persuasive.

protest; objection抗議kougi

労働者たちは賃下げに抗議した。 — The workers protested the wage cut.

cross-examination; grilling詰問kitsumon

弁護士は証人を詰問した。 — The lawyer cross-examined the witness.

denunciation糾弾kyuudan

野党はその政策を糾弾した。 — The opposition strongly denounced the policy.

impeachment; denunciation弾劾dangai

議会は大臣の弾劾を決議した。 — The parliament voted to impeach the minister.

condemnation断罪danzai

裁判官は被告の行為を断罪した。 — The judge condemned the defendant's conduct.

slander; malicious reporting讒言zangen

彼の讒言で彼女の評判は傷ついた。 — His malicious slander ruined her reputation.

remonstrance諫言kangen

先輩の諫言で、若いリーダーは思いとどまった。 — The senior member's remonstrance led the young leader to reconsider his course.

to remonstrate with; to dissuade諌めるisameru

彼は私にやめないよう諌めた。 — He dissuaded me from quitting.

to publicly denounce; to put someone on the spot吊し上げるtsurushiageru

その会議で部長は吊し上げられた。 — The manager was publicly denounced at the meeting.

Persuasion, Encouragement & Inducement (9)

Moving someone toward an action through appeal or motivation.

publicizing; propaganda喧伝kenden

そのうわさはSNSで喧伝された。 — The rumor was publicly spread on social media.

inspiration; encouragement鼓舞kobu

彼女の言葉がチームを鼓舞した。 — Her words encouraged the team.

encouragement激励gekirei

彼の激励で最後まで頑張れた。 — His encouragement helped me keep going.

inducement; attraction誘引yuuin

新しい広告は客を誘引した。 — The new advertisement attracted customers.

to court; to persuade口説くkudoku

彼はやさしい言葉で彼女を口説いた。 — He tried to court her with gentle words.

recommendation; encouragement勧奨kanshou

医者は私にもっと休むよう勧奨した。 — The doctor urged me to rest more.

solicitation; invitation勧誘kanyuu

勉強会への勧誘を受けた。 — I received an invitation to join a study group.

to petition; to plead earnestly嘆願するtangansuru

住民は公園の再開を嘆願した。 — The residents petitioned the city to reopen the park.

to advise a superior進言するshingensuru

私は上司に計画を変えるよう進言した。 — I advised my superior to change the plan.

Formal Notification & Official Consultation (8)

Government- and institution-level announcements, inquiries, and responses.

proclamation; declaration宣示senji

社長は会議で新方針を宣示した。 — The president made a declaration at the meeting.

official notice通牒tsuuchou

会社は新しい方針について通牒を出した。 — The company sent an official notice about the new policy.

consultation; inquiry諮問shimon

省は新しい法律について専門家に諮問している。 — The ministry is consulting experts about the new law.

acceptance; consent応諾oudaku

彼女は私たちのお願いをすぐ応諾した。 — She promptly accepted our request.

acceptance or refusal諾否dakuhi

会社は諾否を来週知らせる。 — The company will let us know whether it accepts or refuses next week.

tacit approval黙認mokunin

部長はその計画を黙認した。 — The manager tacitly approved the plan.

ignoring; silent treatment黙殺mokusatsu

彼は私の質問を黙殺した。 — He ignored my question completely.

negotiation; dealings相対aitai

双方は夜遅くまで相対を続けた。 — The two sides kept negotiating late into the night.

Concession, Negotiation & Mediation (7)

Resolving a disagreement or connecting two parties.

concession譲歩jouho

彼女は合意するために譲歩した。 — She made a concession to reach an agreement.

transfer; grant譲与jouyo

その権利は新しい所有者に譲与された。 — The rights were transferred to the new owner.

negotiation談判danpan

両社は価格について談判を続けた。 — The two companies continued negotiations over the price.

intermediation周旋shuusen

先生が周旋してくれて、私はいい職場に入れた。 — The teacher interceded for me, and I was able to get a good job.

arrangement斡旋assen

会社が住まいを斡旋してくれた。 — The company arranged housing for me.

intermediation (agency, relay)取次toritsugi

荷物は取次に預けてください。 — Please leave your luggage with the front desk.

mediation取り持ちtorimochi

彼の取り持ちで両者は和解した。 — Through his mediation, the two sides reconciled.

Alteration, Review & Correction (5)

Changing a document, record, or plan — legitimately or otherwise.

tampering; falsification改竄kaizan

データが改竄された。 — Someone tampered with the data.

correction; revision訂正teisei

提出する前に訂正してください。 — Please make the correction before submitting it.

revision; proofreading校閲kouetsu

この原稿を校閲してください。 — Please proofread this manuscript.

deliberation; council評議hyougi

評議の結果、予算案は修正された。 — As a result of deliberations, the budget proposal was revised.

to explain; to plead弁じるbenjiru

彼女は法廷で事情を弁じた。 — She explained the circumstances in court.

Formal Meetings & Audiences (6)

Structured, often hierarchical, face-to-face communication.

talks; meeting会談kaidan

両首脳は東京で会談した。 — The two leaders held talks in Tokyo.

audience with a superior謁見ekken

その大使は天皇に謁見した。 — The ambassador was granted an audience with the emperor.

reception; receiving visitors応接ousetsu

社長は来客の応接を自ら行った。 — The president personally handled the reception of visitors.

informal talk懇談kondan

会議のあと、先生と懇談した。 — After the meeting, I had an informal talk with the teacher.

recommendation口添えkuchizoe

彼女の口添えで面接を受けられた。 — Thanks to her recommendation, I was able to have the interview.

courteousness慇懃ingin

彼の慇懃な態度は時に不自然に見えた。 — His courteous demeanor sometimes looked unnatural.

Explaining, Requesting & Testifying (12)

Presenting one's case, asking formally, or giving an account.

oral argument弁論benron

弁論で彼の主張は裁判官に伝わった。 — Through oral argument, his claim was conveyed to the judge.

explanation釈明shakumei

彼は遅れた理由を釈明した。 — He gave a brief explanation for the delay.

instruct carefully言い含めるiifukumeru

上司は私に、間違えないよう言い含めた。 — My boss carefully instructed me not to make a mistake.

assert insistently言い立てるiitateru

彼は自分が正しいと言い立てた。 — He insisted that he was right.

press one's claim言い募るiitsunoru

彼女は不当に扱われたと、言い募った。 — She pressed her claim that she had been treated unfairly.

state formally申し立てるmoushitateru

証人は見たことを申し立てた。 — The witness formally stated what he had seen.

testimony供述kyoujutsu

警察は彼の供述を記録した。 — The police took his testimony.

reminiscence述懐jukkai

彼は学生時代を述懐し、少し笑った。 — He reminisced about his student days and smiled a little.

to request; to demand要請するyouseisuru

政府は国民に協力を要請した。 — The government requested cooperation from the public.

to petition; to make a formal request請願するseigansuru

市民は安全対策の強化を請願した。 — The citizens petitioned for stronger safety measures.

to make a direct appeal or petition直訴するjikisosuru

労働者たちは社長に直訴した。 — The workers made a direct appeal to the president.

to keep in check; to restrain tactically牽制するkenseisuru

部長は増え続ける経費を牽制した。 — The manager restrained the rising expenses.

Register range: from courtroom to imperial court

This list spans an unusually wide formality range. 抗議 and 訂正 are everyday formal verbs you'd use at work. But 謁見 (an audience granted by royalty or a very high dignitary) and 宣示 (a formal proclamation) belong to a historical/court register — you'll meet them reading about diplomacy or history, essentially never in daily use. 直訴 (a direct appeal, historically to a feudal lord, bypassing normal channels) carries the same flavor: it's still used today for "going over someone's head" to appeal directly to the top, but the word itself preserves its Edo-period origin. Recognizing which register a word belongs to helps you judge whether a passage is describing everyday events or something more dramatic and formal.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between 弾劾 and 断罪?

弾劾 (impeachment) is the formal process of accusing an official of wrongdoing and seeking their removal from office — it's a specific legal/political procedure. 断罪 means condemning someone as guilty in a more general or moral sense (世論の断罪を受ける, to be condemned by public opinion), without necessarily involving any formal proceeding.

How is 改竄 different from simply making an edit?

改竄 specifically means tampering with or falsifying a document, record, or data — altering it dishonestly to deceive (データを改竄する, to falsify data). It's a strongly negative word used in scandal reporting, unlike neutral editing verbs such as 訂正する (to correct) or 校閲する (to proofread/copyedit).

Practice All 57 Verbs — Communication & Social Interaction Vocabulary Words

Import the Verbs — Communication & Social Interaction Vocabulary deck into Onigiri Anki and master this category with spaced repetition.