Having completed genki 1/2, ive realised that it doesn’t cover all the n4 points needed. I just bought the kanzen master book to review everything I did genki but if anyone has any other resources I should use to fill in gaps in my knowledge, please let me know.
Has anyone else noticed this and what did you do? Were you able to pass n4 using genki grammar points alone?
Also are there any official checklists of all the grammar points I need to know for each jlpt level?
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No one for the last decade has known exactly what vocabulary and grammar you need to know to cover N4. For all you know, Genki 1/2 *do* cover N4. When *you* feel ready [for the N4](https://www.jlpt.jp/e/about/levelsummary.html), just take it. Stop buying books and ticking potentially outdated, artificial checklists.
Start Tobira. Tobira got me N3 no problem. There’s no point to keep reinforcing N4 grammar, you might as well start a more difficult text and learn whatever sits between where you are now and as far as you can get in Tobira before the JLPT.
Tobira is what I used back in university to bridge the gap
So let’s get technical here:
Completing both Genki books will get you to PASS N4, NOT ace it.
In other words, so long as you score above a 90 (out of 180), you’re passing it. If some of those lost points are due to grammar… well, grammar is usually where people have the most issues
Not saying you shouldn’t use other supplemental material, but Genki will technically get you to PASS N4.
As far as I understand JLPT, it actually gives you much more and checks how far you can go. For example, the first time I tried mock N5 test, I couldn’t even understand the questions properly, but because it’s a simple test, I seemingly as almost random picked some answers and it was more than enough to pass it. When I could pass N4, I tried N5 again and while my score got better, it wasn’t even close to answering all questions. To be honest, even when I could pass N3, I still had some questions I couldn’t answer in that N5 test. JLPT likes some tricky question, when you need to perfectly remember kanji strokes, or some exceptions. But you don’t need to know it all to get a passing score. If I’m not wrong, sometimes you can even have mistakes and get the maximum score, because it’s not proportional. They judge how hard questions were and give according points.
The JLPT doesn’t have any official grammar or vocabulary lists, therefore it’s impossible to know if a textbook does or doesn’t cover the material for a certain level. Any grammar/vocab lists you find online along with prep books like SKM are based on the previous version of the test from 10+ years ago when they did publish official grammar/vocab lists. People basically just assume that the lists for the old version of the test works for the current version. Ultimately it’s just guess work though since the previous version of the exam only had 4 levels instead of the current 5.
There are no official lists of what could appear on the N4 or not. The Kanzen Master is also just an approximation by people who know the JLPT very well and by general consensus, the best approximation we have. But each year is different and it is absolutely possible to have a grammar point on an N4 exam that was only tested on N3 exams in previous years. Or vocab that became obsolete being removed from the test alltogether without war.
It is also true that Genki is not covering every topic you find on most unofficial N4 lists or JLPT-focused textbooks. And the reason for that is that Genki is not a JLPT prep-guide like the Kanzen Master but a complete textbook course focusing on communication skills. HOWEVER, the grammar covered by Genki is enough to pass the N4 as you do not need to know everything that “could” be on the test in order to get a passing grade. If you worked through both Genki books and know their content well, you will certainly pass N4.
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I studied with a book called A Dictionary Of Basic Japanese Grammar. Its not structured with vocab and workbook style questions like a normal textbook. But its packed with grammar points, explanations, sample sentences, how it can and cant be used, and explanations on differences between similar grammar points. If you have a good place to study your other points like listening and vocab then this would be a solid choice. Theres also two more books that cover intermediate grammar and advanced grammar.
I passed n4 solidly (135/180, you need 90/180 to pass), doing only genki I & II for grammar. It wont get you there on kanji/vocab or listening though, so you need to study outside for those. I used wanikani & listened to podcasts to round out my studies.