I plan on studying Japanese extensively with the intention of studying or speaking it at my workplace, but I really wanna know what is the reward for clearing N1 as I have read online that N3 is proficient enough for your workplace interactions (and work related vocabulary ofc), I may be completely wrong, but what drives people to learn so many kanjis and attempt N1 multiple times?
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Fluency? Not sounding like an idiot when you speak another language etc
Realistic feasible long term goal. Lots of jobs will only demand N2, but having a goal to strive for helps alot with both motivation and dicipline.
I personally dont study with that goal in mind, but I still want to achieve it one day.
The question of what drives people to learn as many kanji can also be easily answered: Its fun and we want to know as many as possible, for that having a categorization like n5-n1 kanji gives a clear vision over what kanji are generally better to learn, depending on which learning stage you are on.
IMO dont view it as a test, but as a proof of knowledge.
I don’t want to take JLPT at all but if you don’t know at least up to N1 kanji, you’ll have trouble reading most things that aren’t for learners
Job prospects in Japan. According to my business Japanese professor in college: as a foreigner the best thing you can have on a resume is saying that you passed the N1. It’s just proof that you can show employers of your Japanese proficiency. Imo the test itself is pretty faulty so people who aren’t interested in it shouldn’t feel pressured to model their studies off of it.
I want to consume media intended for natives, so N1 is actually the bare minimum (at least without having to consult a dictionary every 2 minutes or so like I do now, at N3 level)
Edit: To be clear, passing the JLPT test itself is actually not necessary at all, it’s more of a “cleared milestone” kinda thing. It motivates me to keep going and helps me gauge my current level of proficiency to a certain degree too.
Like actually taking the test and getting the certificate?
Nothing much other than a few jobs that absolutely require it as opposed to just checking your abilities in the interview.
The journey is the important part, getting to N1 level is way more important than the actual test itself.
It’s going to depend on the person.
For one, it’s an official document of your efforts, especially if you don’t have an academic record or similar for Japanese.
Secondly, it might be a requirement for work or school.
Third, it’s a goal with fairly well defined objectives – study these kanji, those words and that grammar. If you’re self studying, it helps.
For me it’s just for online dick-measuring, as someone else put it elegantly a few days ago, so I’m waiting until I’m confident I can get a perfect score. I could definitely pass now (the bar is *very* low), but I feel like it would be a waste of money if I don’t get 100%. I’m thinking about taking it in December next year since it’s not held in my city in July.
Not really sure why people would downvote my personal situation…
N3 might be enough for workplace interactions if the workplace is a daycare and you are the child being taken care of
N3 will allow you to read most popular novels with a dictionary and a grammar guide. There is no way you will have meaningful workplace interactions with it.
N3 is totally inadequate for workplace functioning, unfortunately
Some people want to thrive in the target language, not just get by. There’s so much nuance we miss out on by not being able to fully understand the language
because it’s there? it’s a level above workplace competency to still aim for (n2).
N2 is what 99% of what companies ask for, not N3.
Also, people learn N1 to test themselves, because they’re passionate, because learning japanese is fun, to have even more confidence in the language. There’s plenty of reasons why.
If you make your goal just N3 your going to not become proficient. Passing N3 through studying for the test (rather than gaining that skill with just increasing general language skill) will put you in a position to communicate but sound stupid in most social situations, and unable to communicate in business situations.
I’m studying for N2 and don’t feel like I could realistically work in a Japanese business environment. I could probably get by in a factory or simple retail job. Think about how much jargon is in a sales meeting or a product demonstration.
N3 might be a minimum requirement for some Japan-related job, but it’s far from enough.
Under Japan’s immigration authority’s “Point-based Preferential Immigration Treatment System for Highly Skilled Foreign Professionals”, an N2 certificate nets you 10 points. An N1 certificate is worth 15.
A total of 70 points is required to qualify for that type of visa (Highly-skilled Professional Visa).
Outside of this and other such practical considerations, the N1 can represent something to shoot for when pursuing advanced-level studies in Japanese. After a certain point, your learning will be less structured, and progress harder to measure, so it can be helpful to have fixed points to aim for, in the form of the JLPT.
Did you know that N1 gets you points on your visa application?
Honestly if you want to function without google translating everything you need at least N1 level kanji knowledge.
N1 will get you an interview, but it’s very easy to sniff out in an interview if you can actually communicate to that level. Remember you need both technical and cultural proficiency. So in reality you will need at least N1 but operate at a higher level than that socially plus understand business terms and industry specific language.
N3 is enough if your workplace is Family Mart and you mostly scan products and operate a cash register.
N1 also seem like a massive mountain at one point but it’s just a starting point really.
It’s worth bearing in mind that in the whole scheme of things, N1 level Japanese isn’t really that high.
N1 is the minimum you need to live and work in Japan independently. For people that say N2 is fine: N2 requires ‘only’ 1000 kanji. That’s what Japanese children learn in ES.
When I passed N1 I decided to join my JHS kokugo class, and I was already out of my depth at 2nd grade – that’s the level of a 14 year old Japanese child.
I did an internship in a Japanese company in Tokyo last year (just after N1) and I could only just keep up with all the emails and meetings etc. For comparison’s sake, I’m comfortable watching TV and reading novels.
So, to answer your question: N1 is really the starting line to live and work in Japan as a fully independent and competent speaker.