For those of us already in Japan, there are test centres in each region. Information on exam centres around the world can be found on the website. In some other countries it is only once per year so please check with the organizers in your own country if you live outside Japan.
Tests are held in December and July every year for those in Japan. Please bear in mind that the deadline for applications is usually around 2 and a half months before the test date.
Application packs are also available from various bookstores around Japan. The application form can be completed online or printed off and submitted by post. Once you know the level you want to take, you can submit an application. The the first to start is at the JLPT website, please go to the website From here, you will be able to check the requirements for each level, as well as do some sample questions so see which level is best suited to you. Taking the exam is one thing, but registering for the exam can also be a little tricky for a first timer. However, in order to obtain the certificate, the candidate must pass every individual section, and sections cannot be retaken individually later. In short the pass mark is around 60% for N5-N2 and 70% for N1. N2 and N1 only have 2 sections: Listening and the vocabulary/grammar/reading sections of the previous exams are all merged into one section. N5 to N3 have 3 sections: Kanji and vocabulary, grammar and reading, and listening. One of the major downsides of the JLPT is the fact that it has no speaking segment. Like a lot of foreigners in Japan, I have picked up a lot of phrases words and mannerisms from my Japanese friends and colleagues in my time here, but I have never seriously or formally studied the language until now. This remains a point of contention however.įrom my own point of view, I will be taking level 5, since I am a JLPT virgin. N1 is the new pinnacle of Japanese examinations.Īlthough no official clarification has been forthcoming from the organizers, many experts and test takers have claimed that the new N1 is slightly more difficult than the old level 1 exam.N2 is pretty much the same as the old level 2 exam.Its difficulty level is pitched halfway between the old level 3 and 2 exam. N4 is the equivalent of the old level 3 exam.Recognizing this, the test was given an overhaul in 2010, when new standards were set for the exams and a fifth exam level was added. Many test candidates complained that the gulf in requirement between the older level 3 and level 2 exams was simply too great and many successful level 3 candidates would often become disheartened and frustrated when they could not pass level 2. Students who passed this level would have to master 3000 kanji and more than 10,000 words. Level 1 is, was as you would expect, the highest level. People who attain level 2 are largely considered to have conversational Japanese ability and can say so on their resume. At this level the requirement surges to 1000 kanji and 6000 words. Level 2 represented an even greater jump up in requirements.
At this level students were expected to know around 300 kanji and 1500 words. The level 3 exam was considerably more advanced than the level 4. Someone who passed the level 4 exam would have a level of written Japanese roughly equivalent to a grade 2 or 3 elementary school student. Candidates are expected to learn around 120 kanji, their various readings and pronunciations, as well as around 800 words of Japanese and the basic rudiments of Japanese grammar. The level 4 exam was a basic introduction to Japanese. The JLPT has been around since 1984 and originally comprised four levels.
I will take the famous some would say infamous, Japanese Language Proficiency Test. But this December, for the first time, I will find out just how good my Japanese is. I have been in Japan for a total of more than six years and I would like to think that in that time I’ve managed to pick up, at least a little bit of the language in my time here.