Japanese Kaigo vocabulary: the words that come up in the tests

Updated 19 October 2026

Much of the difficulty in the Kaigo tests is specialist kanji such as 誤嚥 (ごえん), 褥瘡 (じょくそう) and 片麻痺 (かたまひ). The Tokutei Kaigo vocabulary book has 500 words with readings and English and Vietnamese meanings, ordered by how often they appear in the tests.

500words in the book
100words free
8topic groups
3languages: Japanese, English, Vietnamese

Word groups

Words are grouped as: Care work: basics, Care techniques & daily living, Dementia & disability, Care insurance & welfare, Body & organs, Symptoms, Diseases & conditions, Medicine & dosing. Each word has a kana reading and a short meaning, and many have an example sentence taken from the app's practice tests.

A 16-word sample

Japanese	Reading	English	Vietnamese
利用者	りようしゃ	service user	người sử dụng dịch vụ
介助	かいじょ	assistance	trợ giúp
車いす	くるまいす	wheelchair	xe lăn
片麻痺	かたまひ	hemiplegia	liệt nửa người
認知症	にんちしょう	dementia	sa sút trí tuệ (chứng mất trí)
誤嚥	ごえん	aspiration	hít sặc (thức ăn vào khí quản)
褥瘡	じょくそう	pressure ulcer	loét do tì đè
声かけ	こえかけ	verbal cue, speaking to the person	nói trước, hỏi han
患側	かんそく	affected side	bên bị bệnh (bên liệt)
健側	けんそく	unaffected side	bên khỏe
移乗	いじょう	transfer	chuyển chỗ (giường ↔ xe lăn...)
体位変換	たいいへんかん	repositioning	thay đổi tư thế (trở mình)
口腔ケア	こうくうケア	oral care	vệ sinh răng miệng
申し送り	もうしおくり	shift handover	bàn giao ca
入浴	にゅうよく	bathing	tắm (ngâm bồn)
介護保険制度	かいごほけんせいど	long-term care insurance system	chế độ bảo hiểm chăm sóc dài hạn

Example sentences from the tests

誤嚥

誤嚥ごえんを防ふせぐための食事しょくじの姿勢しせいとして、最もっとも適切てきせつなものを1つ選えらびなさい。

Choose the ONE most appropriate eating posture to prevent aspiration.
Chọn 1 tư thế ăn phù hợp nhất để phòng hít sặc.

声かけ

目めが見みえにくい利用者りようしゃにお茶ちゃを出だすときの声こえかけとして、最もっとも適切てきせつなものを1つ選えらびなさい。

When serving tea to a care recipient with poor eyesight, choose the ONE most appropriate thing to say.
Khi mời trà người dùng dịch vụ nhìn kém, chọn 1 câu nói phù hợp nhất.

申し送り

申もうし送おくりの目的もくてきとして、最もっとも適切てきせつなものを1つ選えらびなさい。

Choose the ONE most appropriate purpose of a shift handover.
Chọn 1 mục đích của việc bàn giao ca phù hợp nhất.

Take a timed Kaigo practice test and see right away which answers were wrong and why.

Try it free now

The first 3 tests of each part are free, with furigana and translations. Opens in your browser, no account needed.

How to learn Kaigo words

Learn opposite pairs: 患側 (かんそく, affected side) and 健側 (けんそく, unaffected side). Questions on moving, dressing and eating often turn on this.
Read the kanji: 脱衣所 = 脱 (take off) + 衣 (clothes) + 所 (place). This helps you guess many new words.
Learn words with actions: 声かけ (speaking to the person first), 移乗 (transfer), 体位変換 (repositioning). These are everyday tasks at work.
Learn document words: 記録 (record), 申し送り (handover), 報告 (report). The documents part of the Japanese test uses them a lot.

Vocabulary and the care Japanese test

The 介護のことば part of the Japanese test asks the meaning of care words directly; the conversation and documents parts need you to understand words in context. See the structure on the Kaigo Japanese test page. In the app the vocabulary book has search and topic filters; the first 100 words are free and the rest are VIP.

Besides the vocabulary book, the app has care phrases for 37 care situations (meals, bathing, toileting, moving and more) in Vietnamese, Japanese and English, all free.

Frequently asked questions

How many words are there?

500 words in 8 groups. The first 100 (the most common) are free.

Where do the words come from?

They are chosen by how often they appear in the app's practice tests and from ViMai's care terminology dictionary.

Do words have readings?

Yes. Each word has a kana reading and English and Vietnamese meanings.

How many words should I learn before the test?

There is no official number. Know the common test words well, plus the words used in records and handovers.