I’ve only been learning for a couple of weeks, but saw a different post talking about N1, which made me wonder what’s needed for N5? It’s be cool to start getting certified in the language as I progress and have another clear goal to shoot for.
Also this is such an objective question, you litteraly would have to just google “JLPT N5 needs” and you would not only have an answer, but most likely much more informations and ressources than getting it answered here.
What’s needed to pass JLPT N5?
-Study at N5 level (duh)
-Do not spend more than 45 seconds on a question
-Try to practice before hand that overly-complex and archaic question/answer-sheet test format
I failed successfully because of the last two
Someone wanted me to share these so here are some of the resources in Japanese I use (I’ve tried to filter them to N5 to match your question):
I do use a few more than these that aren’t necessarily websites so reach out if you need more, but I think these are the most easily accessible.
I have also thought it’d be cool to take the JLPT, but it’s only offered once a year in the US. In December, which is the time of the year where I feel stressed already, and the weather might nix travel plans. Because that’s the other issue — there are only 17 testing sites. I am fortunate that I’m not THAT far from Boston.
Not going to do it in a pandemic though unless transportation and the testing had mandatory masking.
I have bought the N4 and N3 vocab books that are like this though. They’re small, so nicely portable, and have this cool red filter to hide/reveal answer. [https://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Vocabulary-Words-Language-Proficiency/dp/4872179838](https://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Vocabulary-Words-Language-Proficiency/dp/4872179838) That one is trilingual with Chinese. The one I got was Vietnamese, I think. So you can study two languages at once if you want. 🙂
Pair that with Genki I and II and you should be fine for N5.
I’ve been teaching Japanese for a while and basically you need:
complete literacy in hiragana and katakana
knowledge of 1st grade kanji and some 2nd grade
a basic understanding of the particles は、が、を、で、に、の、から、まで、and combos like のは and には
about 1,000 word vocab
– you only need to get like 40% right in the N5, so following the other people’s recommendations are great, but nothing replaces an actual teacher that can explain the completely different grammar of Japanese.
If you’re looking for something more structured, finishing Genki 1 (not just skimming but properly learning all of it) will get you a solid pass in N5. It is missing a few grammar points, but there’s not much point in aiming for a super high N5 score anyway.
What people are not mentioning is the listening section. You can do all of genki 1 thoroughly but if you can’t pick up / decipher words fast enough and with only one listen you won’t pass. (I was planning on doing the n5 in two weeks but the listening improvement is going so slowly, despite input and effort) it’s not impossible, clearly, but will catch you off guard.
Only bother with actually taking it if there is a testing site located conveniently near you.
Don’t waste your money on actually taking the N5 test. There are practice tests you can take yourself. The grade that you give yourself will mean exactly as much as an official N5 certificate.
The only JLPT certifications that mean anything is the N1 and maybe N2 if for some reason someone is asking for it.
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Rules(read before posting) is a good source.
Also this is such an objective question, you litteraly would have to just google “JLPT N5 needs” and you would not only have an answer, but most likely much more informations and ressources than getting it answered here.
What’s needed to pass JLPT N5?
-Study at N5 level (duh)
-Do not spend more than 45 seconds on a question
-Try to practice before hand that overly-complex and archaic question/answer-sheet test format
I failed successfully because of the last two
Someone wanted me to share these so here are some of the resources in Japanese I use (I’ve tried to filter them to N5 to match your question):
[Nihongo Kyoshi](https://nihongokyoshi-net.com/category/jlpt/n5-grammar)
[Nihongo no Sensei](https://nihongonosensei.net/?cat=16)
[E de wakaru](https://www.edewakaru.com/)
I do use a few more than these that aren’t necessarily websites so reach out if you need more, but I think these are the most easily accessible.
I have also thought it’d be cool to take the JLPT, but it’s only offered once a year in the US. In December, which is the time of the year where I feel stressed already, and the weather might nix travel plans. Because that’s the other issue — there are only 17 testing sites. I am fortunate that I’m not THAT far from Boston.
Not going to do it in a pandemic though unless transportation and the testing had mandatory masking.
I have bought the N4 and N3 vocab books that are like this though. They’re small, so nicely portable, and have this cool red filter to hide/reveal answer. [https://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Vocabulary-Words-Language-Proficiency/dp/4872179838](https://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Vocabulary-Words-Language-Proficiency/dp/4872179838) That one is trilingual with Chinese. The one I got was Vietnamese, I think. So you can study two languages at once if you want. 🙂
Pair that with Genki I and II and you should be fine for N5.
I’ve been teaching Japanese for a while and basically you need:
complete literacy in hiragana and katakana
knowledge of 1st grade kanji and some 2nd grade
a basic understanding of the particles は、が、を、で、に、の、から、まで、and combos like のは and には
about 1,000 word vocab
– you only need to get like 40% right in the N5, so following the other people’s recommendations are great, but nothing replaces an actual teacher that can explain the completely different grammar of Japanese.
If you’re looking for something more structured, finishing Genki 1 (not just skimming but properly learning all of it) will get you a solid pass in N5. It is missing a few grammar points, but there’s not much point in aiming for a super high N5 score anyway.
What people are not mentioning is the listening section. You can do all of genki 1 thoroughly but if you can’t pick up / decipher words fast enough and with only one listen you won’t pass. (I was planning on doing the n5 in two weeks but the listening improvement is going so slowly, despite input and effort) it’s not impossible, clearly, but will catch you off guard.
Only bother with actually taking it if there is a testing site located conveniently near you.
Don’t waste your money on actually taking the N5 test. There are practice tests you can take yourself. The grade that you give yourself will mean exactly as much as an official N5 certificate.
The only JLPT certifications that mean anything is the N1 and maybe N2 if for some reason someone is asking for it.