‘My Japanese level is N2 + N4 with a HINT of N1’

34 comments

1. I’m with you. Actually JPLT looking good on your resume is probably a recent thing. I came to Japan 20 years ago and Japanese staff didn’t know what JPLT was. I learned in a patchwork of ways. I don’t know what I could pass. I do know what I am capable of from a skills perspective.

2. I get what you’re saying, but people saying that is a world better than people proud they can’t speak Japanese lol

3. > Stop saying this it’s annoying as hell.

   I on the other hand have no problems with it. Please continue saying it if you wish.

4. It’s overhyped and it’s value exaggerated by certain people. As a standardised test it might be useful as a basic requirement for something like university entry when there’s no other way to screen masses of applicants, but “better than nothing” is not a great tool for a meaningful measurement of proficiency.

5. I mean is there an easier way to explain your Japanese is level to another foreigner in a concise way?

   If someone asked me “how’s your Japanese?” I’d say I passed N3 awhile ago and I just took N2. A short sentence and you’d probably think “oh well he’s probably got the basics down and might know a little bit”

   I don’t see how it’s any different than a runner asking another “what’s your mile time” or a gym friend asking “what do you bench?” Someone could have a weak bench press but a strong squat or the other way where someone only does upper body, but hearing “I bench XXXlbs” will give you a quick indication of someone’s progress,

   If it was important then you’d actually go into the weeds of it and talk about strengths and weakness etc and I’m sure whoever you’re talking with would elaborate like “I know the grammar but I have trouble producing it on my own” or “my kanji is a little weak” etc

6. mine is N2 with a teaspoon of kanji.
   anymore kanji than that and I overdose.

7. I just don’t think “I’m N1 level” is that different from “I passed N1”. I don’t know any beginner who lucked out and passed N1, but maybe they exist I guess. Even Chinese students have to study -a little bit- 👌🏻

8. I’d even go a step further and say the JLPT isn’t a good test because it’s not a comprehensive test, and when people refer to their N-level they’re not really saying much.

   The test doesn’t assess 50% of the language skills, specifically anything productive. There is no speaking, conversation, or writing. I understand why, but that’s a severe limitation of the test and causes someone saying “I’m around N3” to essentially mean nothing since they could be very high level conversationally, but they can’t read, or their vocab knowledge could be holding them back on the test. Conversely another “around N3” person could have crammed nothing but kanji, vocab, and grammar without actually acquiring much of it while having nearly no speaking or writing ability. Both people would land on the same JLPT level.

9. People use the JLPT as a measure of their level because it is concrete.

   You could say “I can work in Japanese”, or “I can handle daily conversation just fine” or any other proxy you want. The problem is all these other proxies can have widely different meanings based on who uses them.

10. I passed N3 then failed N2, so 3-2 =

    ‘My Japanese is N1.’

    ​

    Yes it’s annoying.

11. > The JLPT is great for what it is, good for a self study goal, sometimes it’s a job requirement, it looks good on the resume, so I’m not knocking the JLPT.

    Actually can we repeat this part? A lot of people have so many unreasonable takes on the JLPT. Yes it’s not perfect but it’s arguably the best out there, so use it, within the scope that’s it’s meant to be used.

12. Just focus on you. Seems like an awful waste of energy to think about this, let alone make a post about it.

13. My Japanese level is “can live independently without translation” while simultaneously being “can’t hold a conversation unless there’s a purposeful task or information transfer involved.”

14. I like your rant. I’ve never ran to anyone who has told me their JPLT level other than on this sub.

    Reminds of when I lived in Mexico I would often get people telling me what percentage of English they spoke. It never made sense to use percentage as a way to measure fluency. What do they mean a percentage of all English words? If so fuck I’m probably at 20% as native speaker.

15. If you hate hearing it then simply stop asking people what their Japanese ability is? Unless you are a recruiter then rip.

    It annoys me to but I just dont ask and make my own assumption when I hear them speak.

16. I think most people are missing the point of the rant because they seem to take it as you hate when people refer to using the JLPT as a measurement AT ALL

17. Its a good way to quickly get rough idea of what level people are at.
    If I ask someone “how good is your japanese”, almost everybody says “not good”, and then they might speak near fluent japanese lol.

18. Resident 日本語上手 here!!

19. I mean it’s the general standard and a better summary than:

    “I’ve been studying seriously for about 10 months and have only memorized 500 kanji but I don’t have too much problem with listening because I’ve been in Japan for about a year and always watch anime, but writing is still super difficult but that doesn’t matter because I’m not looking to work where it’s required.”

    So if someone tells you “my Japanese level is N2”, you get what you get from it.

20. Speaking of Japanese tests, has anyone else here taken/passed the Kanji Kentei? I took 4級 like 3 years ago but didn’t pass. I passed N1 a year or so ago, but someday I want to try and take the 準1級 test and pass it. I’ve been studying for it for over a year on-and-off but haven’t made much progress.

21. Someone can pass JLPT N2 but can’t speak/make simple conversation.

    It just like Japanese people having TOIEC 700+ or Eiken 2 kyu but struggle with simple conversations.

    Its all about yennies …

22. I don’t disagree with you but lots of Japanese learners out there who haven’t taken the test but have studied a few years, they can only estimate the level they are at.

    I have no clue what level I am at having studied for 2 years but working in a JP company in logistics. I was studying N3/N2 material and after 4 months of intense imposter syndrome (still ongoing), I’m somehow doing business meetings and phone calls with keigo. I plan to take the test at the end of the year so I can safely say what level I am but when meeting other people, I just say around N3-N2.

23. Whom do you ask about their Japanese level and must you do so?

24. I often refer to my Japanese skill as “Wood 5” level, in reference to being lower than iron in league of legends. Sometimes i have good games, but overall, im bad. Sometimes I can understand a conversation, sometimes, especially in in the inaka with drunk people, its “wakaran” all day.

25. People with lower/no Japanese skills: I want to be good enough to pass the JLPT 4/3/2/1 one day! Personal goals!

    Everyone else in these posts after obtaining said levels: it’s all shit, shut up. Now that I’m better at Japanese, your goals and accomplishments are worthless.

26. How does it help people if you say “I’ve passed N1” when you’d likely struggle with N2?

27. Better than overhearing someone who understands relativity little, who has a terrible accent claiming they are “Fluent”

28. This always gets into a bit of a dick measuring contest though, doesn’t it? I have met some overly confident assholes who use this as a way to prop up their otherwise mediocre lives. Once you have lived here for a significant length of time, it becomes irrelevant.

    I just say, “it’s good enough to order a beer or get laid”. After that, the rest is gravy.

29. i only attempted N2 once, yrs ago, and fell just short of passing. pretty good considering i was also in the middle of writing my japanese thesis, preparing to graduate, studying for finals, job hunting, and jumping thru hoops to renew a visa that expired before all required documents even existed. i said screw it, i’ll try again later if it becomes necessary. so since i don’t have an “N-level” to rattle off i just tell people i use it at work, in daily life, and i’ve had plenty of friends and a few relationships with japanese that speak zero english. bit wordy but still answers the question.

30. I have no issue with people saying stuff like that, but I also don’t put toooooo much weight into what they say either. At least until I’ve seen their Japanese in action.

    I knew plenty of people back home who would take the test at the peak of their university studies, but then never do anything with it afterwards. A few years would pass and they’d still claim their N2 or N1 (which technically they will forever hold) but in reality their Japanese had slipped to the most basic of levels. I’ve met people with N2 who struggled understanding and talking to a waiter here in Japan, and I’ve also met people who had only sat N5 but were speaking circles around the N2 person.

    I’m no expert or anything, but my day to day speaking and listening ability are pretty decent. My kanji is absolutely trash though so unless I studied up I’d probably still fail the JLPT (I’ve never tried it). I think it can be a good goal to work towards, and I can understand it being a requirement on some jobs here, but honestly you can’t put as much weight into it as people would have you believe.

31. Well, my Japanese level is so far past n1 that after I actually took the test, the entire staff of the test center apologized. They still send me a box of fruit every year.

32. The classic is “my Japanese is about N3”, when they’ve never done JLPT. It usually means they speak a bit but can’t be bothered to study written Japanese. There’s also the meme that after you’ve studied the Genki textbooks you can pass N3. No idea if that is true.

    I’ve definitely seen posts with people saying “my speaking ability is about N3”. When there isn’t any speaking part in the test.

33. i had N1 13years ago but i never refer as my japanese level is N.. instead my level is over 9000. Just saying my level is business level, it’s how business world put in the job description

34. So what do you want them to say instead?