I new to learning it’s my first year of learning Japanese. I took a gap year to learn the language and other stuff, but it’s almost the end of the year, and I still feel like the n5 practice test and so higher then what I feel my current level is. I can read very basic sentences, but I don’t think I have the grammar knowledge or word amount yet to understand N5 stuff. I know about 1100 words currently, I’m bad when it comes reading kanji, my listening skills are crazy high. I just want to know if anyone else found n5 hard the first year? If so how long did it take to pass it?
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have you tried kanshudo? it helped me a lot learning grammar and memorizing the kanji, theres pre built decks for the most common 100, 200 kanji etc. you do have to pay subscription fee for the lessons but the first few are free.
If you started from absolute zero Japanese knowledge (eg you didn’t have a head start on kanji from knowing Chinese), it takes on average [almost 500 hours of study to be able to comfortably pass the N5](https://cotoacademy.com/study-hours-needed-pass-jlpt-comparison-levels/). That’s a lot of hours! I average less than an hour a day of Japanese study and it wasn’t until I was at over two years of experience that I felt confident I could pass N5
For me after one year of Japanese from zero I was about n4 – n3 level, granted I did spend around 4 – 5 hours a day studying. I think you’re putting too much emphasis on words rather than actually understanding the way the language works. The first thing I did after learning hiragana and katakana was read Tae Kim’s grammar guide (available for free in pdf) while watching Japanese content with Japanese subtitles (mostly slice of life at first w simple grammar). After getting through a few Grammar points in the book they were instantly reinforced through immersion. As soon as I was done with the grammar guide, I moved right to RTK to learn all 常用漢字 (~2200) in around 5 months. Only then did I start making sentence cards to learn vocabulary. You’d be surprised how much you can pick up through immersion even without Anki in terms of vocabulary. Feel free to DM me if you have any other questions.
Sometimes you are at the threshold of understanding, but you won’t know until you walk through the door. Don’t be discouraged by how hard it seems now, and focus on what you can control: learning new words and kanji, and inputting sentences that use the grammar you are not quite comfortable with.
I’d also get into a habit of flashcards while you’re still building your foundation if you are not already—they can really bootstrap your knowledge of kanji and vocab. Anki is great for vocab if configured properly. As for kanji study, I’m biased but would recommend [Ashiba](https://www.nihongonoashiba.com).
I recommend going through a workbook like TRY! N5 to review the grammar points you need for N5. It also includes a practice test at the end.
For vocab and kanji I recommend using an app like Renshuu or Anki. Using an app that uses SRS will help you remember vocab and kanji better. I think for the JLPT specifically, Renshuu is better because it has multiple choice questions that can also test you on spelling.
I would say that N5 is where you should be after completing the first year of a university-level Japanese class. [Sample tests for different JLPT levels.](https://www.jlpt.jp/e/samples/forlearners.html)
Maybe if the class is intensive (or the student is very motivated), maybe one semester.
I think the hardest part at the start is figuring out what works for you, as everything is so new. Get a good routine and just trust the process. It may still feel like you are behind, but remember, learning a language is a marathon and not a sprint. After about 8 months of solid routine (~1300 Kanji + Tango N5 deck completed), I am finally noticing the dividend of my effort. The gains come slowly and you won’t even notice them happening until return to something you did months ago. For example the other day I restarted listening to Nihongo con Teppei and suddenly it all made sense. Don’t be disheartened, learninf a language is a test of your perseverance and persistence. If you feel burnout approaching, just drop your new cards to one a day. That way you will give your brain time to recover yet most importantly not lose your routine. The worst you can do is lose that habit as it’s 10X harder to get back into it. 頑張ってね！
How many hours have you put in? It’s hard to tell because if you’ve been at it for 5 hours a week then you would have just over 260 hours. 1 hour a day is obviously 365 hours. With it taking roughly an average of 500 hours of efficient study to feel comfortable passing N5. Can you please describe your listening skills? What makes them far ahead of your other skills? For example are you listening a lot can can you transcribe what’s being said into hiragana but don’t know the meaning?
Forget the timing, forget what you think you know, focus on what you don’t know. What are you failing on with the tests you are doing? You need to study your mistakes and then the test will become more easy for you. If that’s your goal. Whether it’s easy or hard is irrelevant, what you need is to know the things you don’t and then it will become doable. Break it down.