Hello y’all,
I was an exchange student in Tokyo back in 2015/2016 and during that time I had gotten to a pretty decent level of Japanese proficiency (passed JLPT N2). Honestly speaking, me being able to communicate in Japanese till today is a skill very dear to me, even if I don’t really use it anymore in daily life – but it links me to those enjoyable and memorable times.
Fast forward to today: I’m happy I haven’t forgotten how to lead daily communications in Japanese as I recently discovered when speaking to a Japanese friend of a friend. But ever since \~2018 I basically stopped studying Japanese and only occasionally review some Kanji to not lose touch with the language. After all, the language has no practical use whatsoever in the field I work (IT in finance).
Then again, after having passed N2 there has always been this idea in my mind that I want to pass N1 one day. I know very well it’s not something one does just on the side. I heard that N2 to N1 is more difficult than N5 to N2, so I definitely respect the amount of studying to be done. Still, I consider myself a diligent learner when required. What I always need for myself, though, is a concise and efficient plan.
My Japanese level definitely dropped ever since my golden years of Japanese proficiency. Nowadays, it’s probably somewhere around N3-level. I still recognize the on- and kun-yomis of many Kanji (was able to read around \~1500 back then), can understand a lot of casual Japanese conversations, but I also realized some basic stuff even eluded my mind in these past 5 idle years. It’s basically a mess.
This is where my actual question starts:
How would you all get back into serious Japanese studying? What would you especially put an emphasis on to maximize the study yield with an aim to pass N1. Surely, I need to revise some grammar and Kanjis. But I also feel I need to build a huge vocabulary and basically get my Kanji proficiency to \~2000 daily Kanjis at least. I have no time limit really, so I want to put together a consistent study approach. I’m very appreciative of any literature, media (podcasts, YT channels, blogs etc.) or general tips.
Thank you all for your replies! 🙂
10 comments
Figure out what you know and don’t know from doing decks based on corpus frequency from [https://www.jpdb.io/](https://www.jpdb.io/) – take the largest 10 web novels/visual novels and such. Get rid of the junk by “never forgetting” or just easy them out. If you have kept Anki – sync it and test yourself. Find your gaps and plug them this way – better than guessing.
Lots of free web novels exist – [https://yomou.syosetu.com/](https://yomou.syosetu.com/) for cheap people. I just buy sets of books off ebay manga/novel series and I read those casually at work. Physical is tougher, so you do not get Yomichan and other tools, but looking up should be easy for you at N2 anyways. I used an exword, but I didn’t use it as I got to about 12k vocab except for rare things. I did SRS overkill, but it let me enjoy pretty much whatever even if I was new to the topic. Just make sure you read something interesting and varied for fun while you study.
Start reading and watching things again and see how much you understand. For reading, start with stuff like slice of life manga like よつばと and からかい上手の高木さん for example. Regarding listening comprehension, start at [children’s TV shows](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyBIdL_NTdA) and if that’s too easy, move onto Slice of Life anime.
This will at least give you a bit of an understanding of where your weaknesses are. However, I guarantee that after a couple of weeks of consuming Japanese media, you will start to remember things pretty quickly.
If you wanna get practising with speaking/texting, then get an account on an app called HelloTalk and you can text native Japanese people.
I think what you should do first is figure out how Japanese can be a part of your life. If you didn’t really have a place for n2 what do you think will happen at n1? Why go through this amount of work just to not make use of it.
I have also gone on and off after my “golden years” of proficiency.
Just to get the muscles loosened up, I would recommend casual input. Pick up a novel and have a go at it. Find a youtuber you might like and watch a few videos. It’s a lot easier to know where to go next once you’re back in the game. I recommend doing this before just jumping into quizzing yourself with Anki decks.
Have fun!
What really helped me get back into studying was joining a meet up for speaking Japanese. While such a thing isn’t available everywhere, it’s worth checking. The social motivation really got me back into it.
Just go ahead and set “Pass N1” as your goal. Get one of the various workbooks (on Amazon, for example) and work through it. If you can afford it, get a native tutor (for example, on iTalki).
Incidentally, after N1, you can take tests aimed at native Japanese-speakers, like Kanji Kentei (easiest is, I think Level 8). Japanese people seem to enjoy getting various certifications, so you are unlikely to ever run out of tests.
I had/have a similar situation. N2 while student in Kyoto. When I returned home I did not speak Japanese professionally or socially. Five years later I did some grad school in Tokyo, took all my classes in Japanese and got back to my prior level… after a really tough first couple weeks. Then went back home, got busy with work and family for 7 years, then wanted to get up to N1 level. I enrolled in a small class aimed at N1 and would read and practice cards on the subway. (I didn’t get a chance to test before things got busy again, but I felt great about my progress)
I guess what I want to say is, I think you’ll be surprised and proud of how much you remember and how quickly it comes back to you. Also be sure check to see what new apps / sites / tech people are using nowadays. It seems like it gets better constantly.
I’m in a *very* similar situation with Spanish.
I think the first step is to get yourself reacquainted with Japanese. A lot of that knowledge is still in your brain. It’s just dusty. It sounds like you what people who you can talk to in Japanese. That’s good. Keep talking to them. Also make sure to read things and listen to thing. Try writing something (great way to push your grammar abilities and spot weaknesses).
I would recommend spending a couple of weeks just reacquanting yourself with the language. As you use it more, you’ll find yourself remembering more and more things. After a couple of weeks, then go through and assess what you need to go back and review, what you’ve completely forgotten, next steps etc.
As far as the N1 goes, the thing that most people have trouble with is the reading section. I recommend doing lots of reading (obviously), but I would also recommend reading the types of things JHS students have to read in school. A lot of it’s on a similar level and subject matter a the N1 readings
I also recommend this [YouTube channel](https://youtube.com/@QuizKnock) for listening practice. They’re really funny and they constantly switch back and forth between really casual banter and really academic/formal vocabulary. This channel has improved my vocab and overall listening abilities *so* much
-high five- I was also in Tokyo on exchange in 2016~
for serious studying, you should start with N2 books for review (there is a lot of overlap with the grammar and kanji on N2 and N1), and from there start using N1 books. A little bit every day is alright, so it isn’t like you need to devote a lot of time (especially if you aren’t in a particular rush to learn).
My tutor used to have me read articles on NHK Web Easy (to understand what the article was about) and then read the real version (link included in the NHK Web Easy article). This is an excellent way to start picking up compound kanji words and vocab for a variety of topics, which will be essential for passing N1.
You also need to start using native materials as much as possible, even for fun/with your hobbies. And also be using J-J dictionaries as much as possible, instead of trying to remember the English meanings; N2 and N1 have so many vocabs where, the same 4 words get 1 (exactly same) English meaning in a J-E dictionary, but the Japanese nuance and 使い分け is completely different, which you won’t get unless you’re reading definitions in Japanese.
I also personally push for private lessons, because I myself am a terrible self-studier. I never would have gotten past N3 if it weren’t for the tutor I had back then, and (in Japan) the rates are very affordable.
I haven’t seen this mentioned yet, but I would suggest you actually retake N2 as a starting point. There is a staggering difference between the two tests (I’ve taken both) and if you’re feeling rusty challenging yourself to get back to where you left off would be a beneficial tactic.