I recently got to know about the JLPT exam and wanna know about it.

12 comments

1. At N5, the benefit is confirming your own level. It most likely won’t help much professionally. As for knowing what the exam is like, you can find that all online. Go ahead and take some mock exams.

2. > N5

   why waste your time?

3. It’s mostly for motivation, because it gives you a clear study goal (what to learn and until when). The only JLPT levels that have a practical value are N2 and N1, which are sometimes requested as part of job applications in Japan.

4. Please take some practice exams beforehand so that you can get used to the format. I haven’t taken below N3 but my first time taking the test, I found the style of questions sometimes confusing because they aren’t really similar to how tests are designed in the US (where I’m from).

5. There are actually textbooks that give you practice questions. They’re sometimes hard to get your hands on (I order most of my material from [amazon.jp](https://amazon.jp) because I just find they have more resources) but I found one on the US Amazon [here.](https://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Language-Proficiency-Questions-paperback/dp/4893589407/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=jlpt+n5+official+practice+workbook&qid=1683286240&sprefix=n5+pra%2Caps%2C85&sr=8-4) Be warned, there is no English in the book from what I read. It’s put out by the JLPT organization though. I used to have a copy myself but got rid of it when I decided that Japanese was too hard a language for me to master (don’t ever do that, just keep trying).

   I agree with others though, the N5 is for you to see where you are. It’s that first step, first victory kinda thing. I’m shooting for it in December this year too! I’ve got to brush off my 4 years of formal education in Japanese. I’m rusty and it shows. You can totally do it though! がんばって!

6. There is no benefit to taking the N5 really, it won’t get you into a school or work place. If you wanna prepare for one anyway you can find past papers online

7. I wanted to make sure I progressed somewhere before I put more money into learning (I was self studying). I bought genki series (textbook and workbook) for 110sgd and at that time n5 was 55 sgd so it was a somewhat affordable learning gauge.

   Overall it was a good experience since i passed with all A scores for all the section but also humbling because I took a trip to Japan right afterwards and could only use 1 or 2 words haha.

   I would say now it would be better to skip to N4 since the cost has went up significantly. For my home country, N5 cost 55, N4 was 65 but i think it’s now at least a hundred plus.

   I think as beginners it’s always good to ensure that your foundation is solid so i recommend to take at least N4 level if possible.

   For studying there’s a lot of youtube resources available for the lower levels and you can google quite a bit of jlpt prep. But asfaik, there has been some changes so the past year resources from 2020 might not be relevant.

   https://www.jlpt.jp/e/topics/202009091599642827.html

8. I’ll be doing the same thing this year, in Atlanta. I never took a college course, don’t need it for my job, but I’m doing it for a personal win to show that my self study has paid off. It’s a cool accomplishment to prove to yourself. I know that – and I’m perfectly okay with it.

9. The Japanese Language Proficiency Exam is a multiple choice exam which tests your knowledge of the Japanese language. There are five levels with N5 testing basic survival Japanese and N1 being close to or at basic adult literacy.

   The exam tests several areas: language knowledge (kanji, vocabulary and grammar), reading, and listening. There are variations between test levels in how they’re administered, but each section has a time limit, so you need to do practice exams and time yourself in as close to test conditions as possible.

   The best way to prepare would be taking classes, getting tutored, or working through a textbook for your level (here is a curated list):

   N5 – Genki 1, Nakama 1, Yokoso 1

   N4 – Genki 2, Nakama 2, Yokoso 2, Minna No Nihongo Elementary

   N3 – Quartet 1, An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese

   N2 – Quartet 2, Tobira, Authentic Japanese

   N1 – authentic materials aimed for native Japanese speakers

   After completing the textbook, you can use the appropriate prep books for your level. Some better known series are Nihongo Somatome, Shin Kaizen Master and Tesuto ni Deru. Many of these series are split into parts corresponding to your testing level. You can do all or some of them, depending on your strengths and weaknesses. My suggested approach is:

   Kanji > Vocabulary > Grammar > Reading > Listening

   This may take some weeks to complete all of them. Basically however, you also want to try practice tests intermittently.

   9 weeks before test – finish course study, attempt practice test

   8 – 6 weeks before test – start review process, training week areas

   5 weeks before test – second practice test, recalibrate review based on results.

   4 – 2 weeks before test – continue review

   1 week before test – third practice test and last minute reviews

   3 days before test – final practice test

   Day before test – final preparations (make sure you have pencils, etc. ready, double check testing location, arrange fire travel…)

   Benefits of the test don’t really become apparent until maybe N2 level. Some school and employment opportunities may require passing the JLPT to be a candidate, although those exact requirements vary depending on the institution, etc..

   The JLPT doesn’t test for speaking or writing (i.e.: there isn’t a conversation or essay portion) and you may want to find alternative tests for those skills.

10. Hi, I wrote the JLPT N5 in December, 2018. I started learning Japanese with no prior knowledge four months before the exam in August, 2018, and I primarily studied with Genki 1. In terms of preparation, I completed one Genki chapter a week. Additionally, I finished several JLPT N5 practice tests in order to get a feel for the structure of the exam. In my opinion, that was more than enough preparation.

    Similar to the practice exams, the JLPT is entirely in Japanese. From all the sections, I found 聴解 (listening) to be the most challenging because I prepared for it the least.

    Overall, my exam went very well and I highly recommend writing the JLPT because it was a rewarding experience. At the time, the N5 felt very challenging (I remember reading about how easy the N5 was, and therefore I underestimated it), however, in retrospect I agree that it was a very straightforward test and probably only felt hard at the time because of how new I was to everything.

    There are learning programs in Japan that require the N5, however, for my purposes the N5 served as a goal I could strive for and also as a means to test my progress. I work in an entirely unrelated field and I don’t live in Japan, so I’ve never used my certificate for anything before. Regardless, it was still a good experience and was a nice milestone for my early Japanese learning.

11. Simplest exam. I took a mock exam long ago and there were questions like which verb ending to use. Just YouTube or google some mock questions.

    Benefits? None in practical terms. I went straight to N2 bc it can help you get a job or into uni. If you are good at having a goal there’s no downside, but saying “I have X N level” means exactly what the tests state. You can comprehend extremely basic Japanese. On the flip side it is unnatural Japanese and you wouldn’t understand a single sentence in natural conversation if you only studied for the N5, but again, nothing wrong with a goal. You’d still be able to say a little Japanese to someone instead of none

12. Until December you should have enough time to pursue at least n4, I’m going for n4 in July and started language school in January, I did n5 curriculum in less than 3 months