What the JLPT N1 was REALLY Like
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- Опубліковано 28 кві 2024
- I took the JLPT N1 last weekend. Here is what it was REALLY like, and what I think you should do to pass it. Have you ever taken the Japanese Language Proficiency test? What was YOUR experience with it?
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Have you ever taken the JLPT? What was your experience like?
Never taken the JLPT. However, currently studying the Japanese bachelor program at university. Wonder if it's better for me to take the JLPT-test after I finished my program...
I think taking the test can be a great milestone. Something to aim for that keeps you on the grind! =)
For all levels the listening section is played only once I believe. I took the N4 test after 3 months of starting Japanese last week and felt the listening section was the easiest but mostly cause I've watched a ton of anime. I had mostly struggled with my limited vocabulary so section 1 was hard
I've taken the JLPT N4 (and failed by 5 points), and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I thought it would be much more challenging because I heard about all these scary experiences and whatnot. Vocabulary was easy, and Kanji was easy, but listening and Grammar is what I struggled with the most. Though I failed by 5 points, I got a basic understanding of how the JLPT is structured. So next year, I'm aiming for N3!
@poodles4058 That's what I'm hearing! I'm also hearing that a few years ago that was different. I wonder if/why they changed it!
Anyone that says that the N1 has things that only matter to the JLPT test and aren't used in "real life" is probably someone who doesn't read much Japanese at all. All of those supposedly obscure grammar points and vocab show up very frequently in any sort of written media, because you need variety in the way you express things. Also, I feel like I encountered those grammar points/vocab much more in media meant for adults like proper novels and non-fiction books, so it's not even a case of chuuni light novel writer writes in a less common way just to sound cool, they're just a constituent part of the language that you'll have to learn.
Yup. That's seems to be my experience as well. =)
Yep
I lived in Japan 11 years, I had N2 and I have failed N1 twice. Still I’m a translator and japanese people rate my japanese as some of the best amongst the foreign community. I guess that you can live real life in japan as a good speaker and even work amongst japanese people without N1… but I admit I never got in to reading novels. I’ll often read articles and internal emails and I read the news on occasion but that’s probably why I haven’t been able to pass. I’m just starting to get in to reading novels anyway! Wish me luck!
The big thing is that the test and the test material is quite different for the grammar part
As one of my Japanese teacher said, for n1 grammar part it's better to study mainly n2 material
Vocabulary is indeed something that's acquired by multiplying readings though, completely agree on that :)
@@Rebecca-bz6ph it's the same with the eiken english tests. If you go look at it, the highest level is mostly university-level vocabulary which even some native english speakers don't know. You definitely don't need to know that stuff just for living life, but it is definitely used in more educated contexts.
I am not native English speaker. And I was studying specifically for SAT. It was tiring and I burned out. And failed SAT. I hated English. Then I kinda quit it, but I was listening to UA-cam as a background and reading fanfics (I couldn’t wait until they’ll translate it). So after couple month I passed IELTS I didn’t any studying. Reading and Listening 7.5. Writing and Speaking I did not practiced even passively so they were 6-6.5. So my advice is to have fun. Now English is almost my dominant language 😊
Congratulations on passing that!
And yes, for languages, if you can find ways to have fun with them you can learn SO MUCH more than by just studying. =) I agree!
Isn't IELTS made for foreign learners of English? SAT is made to be challenging for the natives, so the English section contains a lot of obscure words, expressions and grammar. It basically requires specifically grinding example/practice tests for an average american student to pass it with good grades (1520+). My Azerbaijani friend got 1530 after around 2 months of training for it, but he is halfway through between C1 and C2 (inputwise at least). So one has to train for the SAT specifically for quite some time on top of being able to get closer to 8.5-9 on IELTS for listening and reading. Especially considering how ridiculous questions for the native language exams can be. I personally was unable to get perfect score on my Russian exam for the test part. So don't think too much about it, a year or two of actively seeking for an advanced language material at your own pace most likely will get you there.
@@NewbieFirst I disagree, maybe they made the SAT easier in recent years, but I found it to be fairly easy (I can see how a non native might find it challenging though). For reference, I took it in 2019.
Pretty similar to me. I had to take English proficiency test a couple years ago so I bought books, got cds and did a mock test like what I thought I should do. Then I realized, why read something I don’t enjoy when I spend hours reading English web novels and watching English speaking youtuber every days already. When the score came out my family was pretty surprised because they thought I was just lying around unprepared until the test lol
To be fair most native english speakers struggle with the SAT english section
I did the N2 last week, first time I've taken a JLPT; I found that the reading sections were pretty demanding, in that a lot of the questions did ask you to consider the whole text and not just certain parts, so you couldn't just skim or scan for the relevant section and yeah like you mention, the texts are pretty chunky and there are quite a lot of them
Listening was diabolical though, so many times they try and misdirect you from the right answer by referencing other potential answers in the listening passage, and we only got to listen once unless someone claimed they couldn't hear the passage, which they allowed a few times tbf, but they still speak so fast. Some bits were easier than others, but pretty much every candidate I spoke to thought that the listening was the worst bit
I did it as well
The reading part was diabolic, had to rush trough the last few texts
Good luck to us both!
The listening part was quite diabolical for me as well. There is no reaction time at all for those questions that we can't see the answers. Good luck!
Listening was the absolute worst this time for N2, couldn't agree more.
the listening was hell! the quality of the audio wasn't good
Yeah idk why but I practiced with a lot of old N2 exams and they were all fine but the N2 JLPT this winter seemed a lot harder than the older ones. Many of my friends also said that they had a really hard time on that exam compared to older ones. Listening had always been fine for me but it definitely caught me off guard this time 😅
Exactly, the JLPT is a comprehension test that measures input ability, and it is a pretty good barometer for real input ability.
As you said, if you read a lot, it's fine even without specific study. Most of the people who complain about it just don't read.
The real problems with the JLPT are that it's only twice per year, you have to wait 2 months for the results and it's often poorly conducted.
For example, it's not fair when you miss answers in listening because someone else has their phone go off, or people are arguing in the hallway, or the CD stops, but things like that often happen.
WTF?? JLPT in my country is so strict. If your phone did as mere as vibrate your test is invalidated and you'll be escorted out.
@@319hiroyuki Yeah that person will get escorted out but everyone else still gets screwed over by that persons phone going off because they miss hearing some of the question due to the noise.
@@moyga I've heard other people say that the audio will be replayed. Is that not the case?
For the listening test, it reminded me of the English test I had to pass before moving to France, as I was told it would be really useful to prove I could speak decent English, as many people here don't really. So... I pretty much got 100% on every part except... The listening had three parts: formal speech, casual (slang) speech, and a long speech with regular English. The long speech talked for a straight two minutes without stopping. It was about Miss Watson having a bunch of problems throughout her day.
Q1: At what time did Miss Watson went to the hairdresser?
... Like that appointment she changed over 5 times in that 2mins ? I don't know... I can't even recall my class scedule altough it's been the same for the last 5 month and you ask me to remember something like this?
I got 60% on that one... Having it in my native language wouldn't have helped at all.
That's stupid because irl if you get that convo, you'd ask the key points you wanted to know again to confirm it.
Also no one speaks like that, i wanted to know at what time you could go to the company, not "what i planned to do but something happened so that's why i thought i could go at this time but then i realized there's a long lost relative who will visit at that time so i changed it again to this time..."
"At what time did Miss Watson *GO to the hairdresser?"
@@AaaaNinja See what not speaking english for years has done to me!
Yeah... People with a bad memory or ADHD are NOT able to do that. I wonder if they have accommodations for that?
N1 has changed a lot, recent years it has become more and more practical
Andy is such a huge inspiration for me. Thank you for everything you do!
Great video to dispel any misconceptions surrounding examination as well sharing what you did to study in an honest and realistic manner. It helps tremendously.
That confidence is well-deserved.
Thank you so much! I'm glad to hear that it was helpful. =)
Very interesting to hear that! I’ve been thinking about taking the N1 just for fun without any preparation! I passed the JLPT1級 like 15 years ago, before it was N1, and I’ve been living here since, so I thought it might be interesting to try! Cheers from Kobe!
Really loving the recent uploads Andy! Keep it up mate
Thank you, Andy. Great information and advice
I grew up in Australia, with Japanese parents. I did go to a Japanese supplementary school on Saturdays, but most of my knowledge was through talking to my parents, friends, and watching shows. In university, I decided to test myself out and try the N1. I fortunately passed, but not anywhere near 100%.
There is a lot of kanji and vocab I just didn't come across as a kid, but that definitely doesn't mean N1 is useless.
It covers much broader areas where Japanese is used. Whilst I did poorly on the reading section due to not knowing a lot of the kanji, I could get enough to pass.
However, I did manage to get 100% on the listening part. They definitely pull back on obscure vocabulary for the listening section, and they do only use natural realistic conversations.
I also teach beginner Japanese, so am thinking of taking some of the other levels in the future to see how they're like.
I agree. Before I passed N2 on last December I had already started to read light novels on my own. (Though my Sensei does not suggest that I do that because there are some informal grammars or words.) Still, I suggest that people who are near the N2 level read novels that fit their level. It is extremely rewarding because you actually read in Japanese. Grammars like ざるを得ない are quite useful because they do use in novel. By truly enjoy reading these novel it increased my reading speed and help me to finished my N2 Reading & Grammar section like 20 minutes early.
do you have any recommended light novel for the N2 equivalent level? been meaning to start reading japanese books before fully commit on the bigger books.
10 years speaking Japanese, only once I used zaru wo enai irl, and it’s not even necessary since I actually could use nai to ikenai with the same nuance
@@tsukuneboy I don't think I've heard anyone say "ざるを得ない" IRL either but I've seen it a lot in manga, novels, articles, etc...So I guess it's mostly a formal literary expression rather than a casual one. Most expressions I've learnt for N2 could also be reformulated in easier words but were still ones I've met many times when reading.
@@sintech I read 無職転生 volume 25 last year 26 right now. I tried reading Re Zero, but it was too hard for me. I also read 青春ブタ volume 1. I think the difficulty for me is 無職転生
Great content Andy, keep it up.
I think a lot of the "N1 has random stuff on it" comes from the fact that most people taking it are coming from a primarily academic background so more nuanced day to day phrases/grammar points aren't things they're regularly exposed to. Any kind of immersion experience you can get goes a loooong way towards breaking through that.
It's kinda funny, because I feel a lot of those points in N1 seem to be even easier if you have experience with academic Japanese (at least from my own experience). Not saying they aren't in every day Japanese as well, but at least in terms of how the reading structure is, it feels similar than in academic writing (but much easier and understandable for people who don't know much about the topic). Also part of the listening is something you would hear at a Japanese university often and part of the reading in e-mails you might write to some of your professors at university in Japan (including the keigo of course).
Unless your comment only covers academic background in the country the people who take the test come from. Then I would agree more with it.
Hope you have nice holidays (if you celebrate any of them)!
You are the only one who I can trust about this. I’m gonna take the N1 on the very next cycle and this is quite informative.
Great video, Andy! (Brian here.) Your experiences line up with mine. I took the N1 in 2019 -- my first standardized Japanese test in decades -- and like you, I found the selections from the reading section to be interesting and realistic. Some were fairly easy, and some required that you really focus, but I agree that skimming is probably not the best strategy because, as you say, many questions want you to summarize what the author is really getting it, and that sometimes comes down to a single, crucial sentence that you could miss if you were just skimming. (Honestly, that is my advice for reading in general.)
The listening section was challenging for me too, for exactly the reason you mention! After over an hour of pedal-to-the-metal focus in the the earlier sections, I zoned out a couple times right during a crucial moment in the longer dialogs. "And the killer is..." -- (Wait, did I leave the the lights on at home) -- "Question: Who was the killer?" (No!!!!)
One other thing about the listening section is that you can forget which answer was the right one. It's like when you're on the phone and they say, "Press 1 for Sales, press 2 for Support..." and you listen all the way until the end and then go, "Wait, was Support 1 or 2?" But there's no way to go back!
So what I recommend is that when the listening section starts, you quickly draw a bunch of squares marked with A, B, C, and D (or some shorthand version of that). As you're listening, you can say to yourself, "Nope, A is definitely wrong" or "B sounds right" and cross out or circle them as you go. I found that helped me to eliminate simple forgetfulness/brain fog as a factor. You're allowed to take notes on your booklet (not answer sheet) so that isn't a problem.
I just took the N4 in Tokyo. More people were taking N5 than N4!
For the listening part, they only played the audio once, but asked the question twice. They’d do the introduction, ask the question, then give the information, and then ask the question again.
I didn’t study for it cuz I was busy. I definitely failed the vocabulary part. 😂 but I nailed the listening.
15:15 I think you make a really good point here. However, I think that flashcards/test prep booklets can still be helpful. I think the problem (what most end up doing) is that waiting until signing up to start prepping for the test, which only gives a max of 6 months to study, is a surefire way to get burnt out.
I plan on taking the test at some point, but I'm not going to specifically grind it out to get there. The best approach for studying anything, whether it's a language or a subject for school, is to go about it at a sustainable pace. Using the N1 as an example, the jump in words needed from N2 is like 4,000-ish additional, so grinding those out in 6 months would definitely be dreadful. The better approach IMO would be to start from further out than the registration date, like maybe a year from the actual test date or so, which would then only require like 11 cards a day (sentence cards specifically) to reach that goal. At that point it becomes small, bite size chunks of flashcard sessions as opposed to spending who knows how long drilling cards every day. This would be super unintrusive and then give plenty of time for doing reading, maybe some practice test books, or whatever kind of fun supplementary study one could wish for. It's mostly about just finding a good balance.
Demn 100k soon, congratulations on advance.
Thank you sxoxgxi! I think I still have another year or so until 100k, but we'll get there! =)
I took the N5 here in Rome, Italy. There were a looot of people (but it must be said that here in Italy the JLPT can be taken only in December, no July, and only here in Rome and in Venice, which is a harder to reach city than Rome). As you guessed, there were much more people taking the N5/N4 than the higher levels.
The hardest part for me was the reading, because of my speed, and the listening.
Thank you for telling me about that! It's interesting to hear how it's done around the world. I'm surprised they only do it once per year if so many people want to take it! But still, better than 0 I suppose!
Hoping you can get the score you want on the N5! =)
c'ero anch'io!
i was taking the N5 in the same room.
it was a good checkpoint for me.
just knowing that i had paid for the exam, and the train, and the hotel room, and having a deadline, made me actually start studying!
i want to take n4 next year, and that will force me to study more grammar and vocab!
Same! I ended up taking N4 because all the spots for N5 were taken
@@user-rr1br7gs6u oh man... that really sucks!! there were less than 250 spots available for N5 in Rome. no idea about Venice.
IT WAS TERRIBLE!!!
I did the N3 in Venice, seats are quite scarce and a lot of languaghe students are taking them as it count for university credit, there were a lot more people attending lower levels but it is expected I suppose. I have to disagree that Venice is hard to reach, there is the train reaching the city and from the station the test facility is only about 15 minute walk and very accessible. Also technically Milan has a facility but for "reasons" was not able to organize the test so also take that in mind
ビデオを作ってありがとうございました！来年ね7月にJLPTN3を受けたいと思います！
coming from your discord and seeing you ask about editing preference and now the video is uploaded 👁️👃🏻👁️ mans works quick! excited to watch 🥰
Thanks Katey! I went light on the editing today! haha
I hope you can learn something from my experience. =)
Super interesting.
I’m enjoying reading manga and playing games in Japanese but no plans to take any tests 😅
Looking forward to hearing about your result
Thanks Kyushu! I have a feeling you could pass it with flying colors. ;-)
Me too, l'm not really all that interested in taking a test. I'm only learning Japanese to be able to read books, websites, and people's social media comments in Japanese.
I took the JLPT N1 test the first time a very long time ago. I had majored in Japanese language at a US university, and had lived in Japan more than 10 years at that point, and I just walked in and took the test. And passed, but it was just barely. Then, working at a company, a colleague started saying to everyone that I had said I'd passed the N1, but it was so long ago, I must have forgotten it all, I couldn't really be at that level. So I walked in and took it again, and that time I remembered which sections I had questions on, which might have gone better... and passed with a very high score. I agree - the N1 is testing not the language-school class type Japanese, but the living-with-language competence type Japanese.
Then I heard about the BJT - Business Japanese Proficiency Test. That test deals with workplace vocabulary (confirming deliveries, inter-department vs intra-department vocabulary usage, accounting and stockroom management, telephone honorific competence, that sort of thing.) Instead of trying to guess your level, everyone takes the same test, and the score is from 0 to 800, with 800 being native speaker. Again, this is specific to specific situations and vocabulary, and if you're not in business settings, you won't do well, but it's not obscure or irrelevant. Because it is open-ended like that, it can come across as brutal. But based on the grade you get, a company can hire you with the confidence that you can do 'regular Japanese employee work', and if you're at the level, answer the phone or visit customers.
The BJT is run by the Nihon Kanji Noryoku Kentei Kyokai (日本漢字漢字能力検定協会) the Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, or Kanken (漢検) for short. It's test that native Japanese elementary~high school students and others take, and it may have changed, but when I looked at it, it was FULL of obscure, irrelevant trivia questions about kanji. So such obscure, irrelevant trivia tests exist, but they aren't the JLPT or the BJT for foreigners.
The listening part was BRUTAL. It's likely going to be the reason why I failed my N3 (well, I feel like I failed it). The reading was super demanding too. Lots to read with limited time, I had to just give up on a couple questions in order to focus efforts into answer all questions / answering questions I did understand.
I took it outside of Japan and there were a TON of N1 and N2, and hardly any people in my N3 section..
Edit : I should add that I played from like 0% to 85% of Sister Princess for PS1 and started an N3 focus vocab deck for a smidge over a month before the test, every single day. I finished a manga I had started reading earlier in the year too. All these 3 things helped me a lot for the vocab and grammar parts.
What deck did you use?
Can confirm that for N2 reading speed was everything. The listening section was easy and felt like not really N2 material (if you watch anime everyday at least) but hell those 30+ pages of reading were almost impossible if you didn't train for speed and as you mentioned you can't really skim through as the questions need the whole text and their meaning to be understood.
If you want to train for reading speed, get movies, etc. in a language you don't know but a version with Japanese subtitles. Because you can't understand the original language, you'll be relying on the Japanese subtitles... which zip through SO fast! The easiest subtitle reading speed is the NHK Hearing-handicapped nightly news, Education channel around.. 6:45 pm? for 15 minutes, every night.
I took the N2 in Kanagawa back in July. To a certain degree, it felt as if I was being tested on my ability to take tests (although my language ability was important as well). As was mentioned in the video, for the listening section if you zone out at all (which is hard not to do given how dry the conversations are) you are going to miss something. Combined with the deliberate attempts to confuse the listener (which imo were unnatural and/or could be very easily resolved in real life) the listening part was slightly tricky although not that bad from a purely linguistic point of view.
The reading section felt like a time management obstacle more than anything. Perhaps not to the extent that you mentioned about the N1 in the video but at the N2 level, many of the passages had to do with "reading between the lines" in a way that goes beyond just finding some concrete information in the text. This means that scanning and skimming techniques don't work as well and more time is needed to fully comprehend the text (i.e. I read the full text for many of the questions).
Vocabulary and grammar were somewhat of a hit and miss. Sometimes there were words I didn't know or a kanji I forgot. All in all this wasn't a bad section.
I agree that just reading more definitely helps. Or doing whatever it is you enjoy in Japanese is very helpful. That said, test booklets and the like are a good way to get an idea of how the test works, how to manage your time, and what areas you might need to focus on to improve.
+1 to the only textbook study burnout though. Currently dealing with that as I contemplate going for my own N1.
After studying 日本語 for almost 4 months, I took a practice N5 and ironically found that reading and 漢字 was the easy part, but I only got *2* right on the listening section.
That's something I noticed, and don't feel bad about it, since if you haven't had a chance to listen to the language a lot it can be hard to pick up on words you already know. That's what I did at the start, so I was fine with reading and kanji since I focused on that a lot, but didn't have much in terms of listening comprehension. Like with anything, just keep going for it and eventually things do start to clear up a bit.
This is why i'm holding off taking the test. I've mostly studied by reading and writing, and I feel confident in that regard. But I find it much more difficult to listen to a show or people speak. I actually find it easier to read japanese subtitles while listening to japanese shows than it is to just listen.
Higurashi! man I love that visual novel, it's up there as one of my favourites, steins gate too? you got incredible taste
I took the N2 in Sendai and we were around 600 people that was quite intimidating. There was also N1 at my location, but only ~100 I think. No N5/N4/N3, maybe they were elsewhere in the city.
As for the test itself, I didn't study for it and I definitely had a lack of knowledge in kanji and grammar. I really enjoyed the reading part like you! Interesting texts, but sometimes hard questions..... I don't think I passed it, but going into it I thought of it as a training, and I will definitely pass it next time in July!!
I was shocked when you mentioned on the JLPT N3 they allowed you twice to listen. I took the JLPT N5 earlier this year and we only got to listen once. They didn't even pause for a second, they just continued to let the CD player keep going. It was so difficult, I really wish for the lower levels they would allow two times of listening.
Someone else mentioned that they did the same for N4 this year! I don't know if maybe they changed it since I took N3 many years ago, or if my memory has betrayed me!
I took the N4 and they did not, so maybe it is up to instructor digression. Seems like a grey area though, considering some had 2x listening and some did not.
@@Orange_Heart When you say "they did not", are you meaning they didn't only play it once?
If so, what country did you take the test in?
Not supposed to be twice. Only once.
@@hollidieker8679 US they played it only 1 time is what I'm saying
Love your videos - you helped me get through my college JAPA courses :^]
I'm glad to hear that I could help Charlie! Thank you!
Thank you!
Awesome video
Thank you Kevv!
Thank you so much for pointing the ざるを得ない grammar point. Contrary to you though, I had studied that grammar estructure last year and for some reason I thought it was such an useful expression I got it engraved on my brain and as soon as I saw it I was like "there it is! I know what you are".
I gave the N1 in Chile this year and coincidentally was an assistant for the JLPT N1 last year and the number of people definitely lowered in comparison. Last year it was like 13-14 people, I reckon. However, this year we were only 8 enrolled and 6 attended.
This was my first year taking the N1 (took the N3 for the first time in my third year studying Japanese and approved it the same year) and I totally skipped N2. I have to say it was challenging more so since I didn't study that much. I had a Japanese tutor weekly, but it wasn't as intensive as some weeks I had to cancel due to work.
Let's see the results.
I think it might be interesting to compare it to the AP Japanese test I took earlier this year in my senior year of HS. There was actually a speaking/presentation section where they give us a topic and we have to present.
Great video, Andy. Excited to see how you did on it. I wish the JLPT was closer to me so I could take it. I would have to make a full trip out of it being 6+ hours away. Maybe once I get N3-N2 level I will take the trip 🤣
Thanks Mully!
Yeah, a 6 hour trip to take a test would definitely feel like overkill! When you get to that level maybe! Or maybe some day you can take it over here! =)
Great video, almost scrolled past because of the thumbnail blended in.
Thank you!
Maybe I should put some kind of border around it! haha
I took the n2 this year. I felt like the reading part was easier than I thought. I blew through the vocab words and once I got to the reading section I moved to the back and worked my way back up. Still listening was harder than I was expecting so I'm not so sure how I did. They didn't give you a second chance and the N2 as well. You only had one chance to figure it out. I haven't been setting too much but what I have been doing is playing the kanken premium has a DS game by I.E. institute. I learned about five kanji a day then I do the little quiz that they have for reading and writing and that's about it no more than 30 minutes a day. I really believe that has helped my kanji and vocab ability. I plan to listen to more podcasts strictly in Japanese and play more games to get prepared for the N1 next year!
Also, thanks so much for your assistance been Japanese for a year now and I wish I'd known about you in the beginning (pretty sure a lot of people are saying the same). #bestteacherever💯
Thank you Ivanoviich! I'm glad that I've been able to help. =)
I took the N1 in Switzerland!
My background: 7 years on and off self-studying with textbooks, youtube, lil bit of reading, talking to Japanese ppl when i'd get the chance (barely).
Kanji/vocab is usually my strength (in N3 and N2), but on this test I've come across a few kanjis and words I've never seen before... Though I have to admit I mainly studied with text books like Soumatome and Kanzen Master. (a little bit more media input wouldn't have hurt ig.) Unfortunately I haven't found the right media source (news, youtuber, ...) that could motivate me to immerse daily into Japanese, + it's pretty much impossible to get Japanese books that would interest me in my country.
Then, the reading section is always the same to me. Way too little time. Then I'd say for the next JLPT I'll read more and then... here we go again lol.
The listening section was extremely hard for me on N3 and N2, but on N1 it was the easiest part for some reason. To me it felt like the listening didn't get harder, it's just N1 vocab they would use, + if you take notes on the listening part it can be of great help.
Heyy, never seen your vids before but youtube thought I need to see your channel and this vid was really interesting. :)
Just wanted to ask, how did you deal with the kanjis that you weren't familiar with in the medias you were reading/using?
I also want to work on my Japanese as a hafu living abroad, but my biggest fear is still kanji as that is probably stuck around 小6 level for me and I just cant seem to get in to it as it seems so daunting.
I picked up Yotsuba recently and found an Anki deck from a reading club and have been going through that. I am pretty much a beginner but it's been tons of fun.
That's the trick! =)
If you're enjoying it, you keep going. If you keep going, you get better! Virtuous Circle for the win.
@@ToKiniAndy Exactly! It's been SUPER hard because I've hardly got my Hiragana memorized at this point but I really love and am passionate about anime and manga so it's making the process of getting started worth it. Even if for me it's just a page or two when I sit down.
But my end goal is to read a book that wasn't translated in a series I really loved as a younger adult. I must know how the story ends!!!
Have a tangible goal and making it fun is the best way to keep at it. Also thanks to yours and others great educational content. Super grateful for that. Arigatou!
😂 I have been here a long time too, grandchildren here now. I took the test in December with out studying has well. I read mainly insect and farming books, so my vocabulary is only strong in those areas.
I think I did okay in the first grammar section but the long reading section was a bit of a headache. I consider myself a good speaker but a couple of questions in the listening section threw me 😂. I used to spend my life in an all Japanese environment, but with fast internet access I guess podcasts and audiobooks have spoilt me.
Oh, I got N2 way way back when it was known as 2 Kyu.
Just found you channel in the beginning of my Japanese journey, thanks for interesting insights. Sorry if I missed something, when will you get the results? I'm very curoius on how it turned out in the end
"Reading a lot and having fun" is definitely the best way to learn. The main grind in Japanese is getting good enough to start immersing. Breeding books all day and doing flash cards is effective but doesn't help outside of its bubble so much
just took the n2 exam earlier this month, while many of my friends complained about the reading section because there was not enough time or they thought the listening was hard, they were fine for me, but i have worries i might have failed the kanji and vocab section because i focused too much on grammar while preparing for the exam (i used the shinkazen master n2 grammar workbook) and didn’t focus on kanji enough :') and then the grammar turned out to be just a page and a half from the whole exam. if it turns out i didn’t pass it i’ll just focus on that next time
I took the N5 test last week. There were 40 people in my exam room and there were 10+ exam rooms in the uni I took the test (from N5-N1, in HCMC). I was kind of surprise, because I didn't think that there were so many people. And that was just one of the exam locations in Vietnam.
Interestingly, I'm kind of the opposite. I'm more comfortable reading/writing than speaking/listening because I'm not studying in a college environment, so it's just me, the computer, and the notepad. Hard to practice conversation that way haha. I'm still a beginner, but I won't give up, your content has been extremely helpful, as well as wanikani and satori reader.
I'm gonna study for N1 now! As a Japanese, I think I need this...Gonna need a lot of flashcards now...
Reading speed really is key I think. I took the N2 this month, the only studying I did was grammar for a month - not every week, mind you - but I think I passed. Yes, the vocabulary section was awful to me, but I did really well at listening and reading so as long as I get the sectional minimum required points I'll be ok.
Why did I do good at listening? Because of anime and Vtubers. Why did I do good at reading? Because I have played several visual novels + read a bit of manga in Japanese and I'm used to reading. Of course, I didn't get the meaning of many words at the provided texts, but I was fast enough that I could re-read everything several times and get a grasp of what the conveyed tone and main point was. Because of visual novels and manga, I'm used to trying to understand whole sentences without knowing the specific words used. That helped a lot.
It's so nice to hear you talk about this. Because I also thought the vocab for N1 was absurdly specific, I was considering stopping at N2. I don't feel like studying for an exam anymore, I just want to keep doing the things I like. But from your testimony it sounds like I'll be okay if I just keep reading a lot and looking up weird grammar and vocabulary along the way. So encouraging. I'm so glad I came across this video!
what sorts of visual novels and manga did you read? i passed the n2, but barely passed for reading (20/60)
@@butterfly22432
Any manga is ok I think, they usually have hiragana. A short one I read is koe no katachi. Look back is even shorter. You can focus however on manga with daily life topics first, they should have easier vocab (Yuri yuri for instance? Slice of life ones)
I remember playing actual games with not much dialogue like to love Ru. I recently started Another code and that should give breathers from reading, too.
For VNs... It's better if they have voice over, like the gotoubun no hanayome games. The vocab in those ones is easy/moderate I would say. I also played steins gate but the vocab is more advanced with that one. However, even advanced vocab is ok if the story interests you so much that it gets you to keep going. For instance, I read yumeutsutsu (moderate-hard) and flowers (harder). I guess those are the ones that helped.
Edit: some advice that people who are serious for N1 also give is to read other stuff, like news and cultural reports, so that you get a costumed to the more formal vocabulary and the way of putting things into words. If you find them boring, I think a good idea can be to look for news videos on UA-cam that have subtitles, and then focus on the subtitles
Took the N5 in Canada this past weekend, Most of the people seemed to be there for N1. This was not a small group either.
I live in Japan and consider doing the N2 because it feels like what I use in everyday conversations so I won't need to study as much as for the N1. I figured that it can't hurt to have the certificate.
Am at 9:40 and couldn't help but agree wholeheartedly. I did N2 this year (first time taking the JLPT, after studying for about 2 years), and I'm pretty sure I passed though I admit I too was so tired during the listening section I zoned out midway and I had to guess 3 questions.
I understand the strategy somewhat of looking for the word in the passage and then reading the lines next to it to get the answer. BUT I never really do that myself. Because for N2 at least there is so much nuance in these passages that it can be very easy to miss out on them, especially on questions that ask 'What is the author's stance on...'. (Plus, I do love reading the passages. I would really love to be able to write Japanese at that level one day.)
Overall, JLPT was an interesting experience. I mostly studied reading news, articles, books, manga, videos...Some of N2 practice books here and there but never really made them my focus. I am considering N1, but I'm not holding myself to it.
To answer your question about whether there are less people taking N1 here (Singapore), I think I noticed a lot of people studying at least N3 and above. N2 was the most I'd think.
In Argentina we were 500. More than 300 were N5 (and first timers). The N2 were 36 and the N1 only 20.
A couple questions:
1. What milestones should one hit before jumping into video games and mangas and stuff? For example finish japanese duolingo, complete certain anki decks, etc?
2. What games do you recommend. Some of your clips looked pretty cool.
it feels similar to how I learned english, at the beginning sure i learned the basic grammar and some vocabulary, but it started to feel like a grind and eventually decided to just... consume content, switched everything in my life from spanish to english, watched videos in english, read in english and of course it was difficult at the beginning, but after a while it just started to click until I didn't need a dictionary anymore. But most important, it was very fun, that feeling of discovery, of catching new stuff, weird words outside the dictionary, it was so entertaining compared to just...reading rules,
I think im hitting a similar point for japanese, im not even on jlpt5 level, but I know most particles, finally understood how verb works and I can use identify adjectives pretty easily. Kanji is the most difficult thing for me atm and the only thing preventing me from making that full switch to japanese and find my way through. That's why my objective is pick a frequency vocabulary list, learn the like 100 more useful kanjis and some common radicals and just go for it. it will probably be slower than english, but it should be fun haha.
I think it's a great way to go. And MUCH more fun.
Japanese definitely is a bit harder since it has kanji, but when you get over that hurdle, things get much easier. =)
Interesting to know about the N1, though that'll be waaay in my future as I'm only just starting to learn Japanese... I only know a few words, at the moment! Would a couple of years be enough time to get ready for doing the N5?
JLPTお疲れ~
I took the N1 in Germany last Sunday.
The room I was in was really chill, maybe around 20 people.
The test itself was really hard I think in comparison to past tests.
I was really nervous preparing for this test so I took like 13 past tests at home and I think the actual one last Sunday was one of the hardest ones.
I really had some kind of mental breakdown during the mid sized text section because I just could not understand the text in front of me. Think it was the one with 意図 in the 情報.
Vocab had some weird stuff like ピント. Listening had some curveballs like usual but I liked it this time, they shortened it a bit and it felt a lot better like this.
Timewise I needed almost exactly the whole 110min. I usually read every word like you do (think skimming is not the way to go if possible). You are totally right with sufficient reading speed being important.
Although I met some crazy people in the break before the listening section that stated they had like 30 minutes left to check their answers. How?😂
All in all, since there are already some leaked answers and question sheets on chinese and vietnamnese websites I was able to check my answers early and I'm quite confident that I girigiri passed with around 70-80% right answers in each section.
I never want to take this test again 😂 (back to reading light novels for fun)
お疲れさま！ I do remember an 意図 one, yeah. The one I struggled with most was the one with aimed at young students who are "looking for themselves"... I don't know why, but it just seemed so vague. lol
Anyway, I hope you get it this time and never have to do it again, then! =)
@@ToKiniAndy right! I think I even chose the wrong answer on this one with the finding ones personality. I thought the author wanted to say that you dont have to do anything to bring out your personality since you naturally hold one from birth or something but the right answer was 自分自身でいることが大事だ
Ooo! I think I got that one right then. =) I definitely got 1 wrong on that one though I think. I realized it was wrong, and was about to erase and change the answer, and they announced that the test was over! haha
I took the N4 this month and I can report that they only play the listening questions once now! In fact it felt super fast to me and my friends !
It's the same for N5, you only get one listening.
It was the same when I took the N5. Really fast, no breaks between sentences and really involved. I failed the test due to that part ugh.
Hi Andy. Honest question. Does reading also help with listening and speaking? I mean of course you have to listen and speak the language, but does reading help in some way? I find that a lot of advance learners of any language advocate reading a lot...but does it help with your overall skill in the language aside from just being a good reader? Not invalidating your claim or anything, just genuinely curious on the impact of reading.
I took N5 in Johor, Malaysia. It was the morning session along with N2. N5 ofc have more people than N2. For me actually I'm not sure if I'll pass or not cuz idk every word but it's def an experience for me being a 30 years old in the midst of 20 years old students. They even bring the minna no nihongo book to study in between. As for me, i just look at them study and try to catch some highlights. Was also trying to calm their nerves. Believe me kids, you don't wanna be nervous before or during the test.
When you mentioned "zaruwoenai" i just KNEW you were talking about Okabe lmao
I learned that grammar point the exact same way btw
I took the n5 in DC. There were 2 rooms for each level but I dont know how full they were. I'm not sure I passed and if I did, I know I could have done better. I'm gonna try way harder and go for n4 next year but I'm still proud of myself for doing it 😤
In Poland, I would say the upper limit of examinees varies; last week's exam seems to have had an upper limit of 500, while the summer one, which I took, I could have sworn had an upper limit of 800. Maybe that's because of the season.
Also, this is scary: I couldn't help but check my result and it seems I got just a few more points than you! How?! I'm (always) behind on my kanji practice! :'D
Wow, that's a lot!
And wait, how were you able to check your results and MY results? haha
@@ToKiniAndy Oh, I was talking about the N3 results! ^^;;
Hi! I am an italian native speaker and I l can speak 7 languages at various levels of fluency, and Japanese is one of these. I've been studying it for 4 years now and I reached a N3 level, but i don't know when I will start learning N2, but I know for sure that learning kanji and vocab from textbooks will get me bored immediately because I can't remember things in that way. I've tried anki and apps like that many times but that method doesn't work for me. I need to encounter words and kanji in different contexts. Since you told us that you used to read a lot during your challenge, could you pleas explain me how you managed to learn all new words you found? if you already explained this in another video, I'll watch it ! I discovered your channel only a few hours ago. Good luck!
Thats right.. by reading a lot, I was able to improve my reading comprehension t in the N2 level test
I would be interested in knowing which DS/3DS games you played or found most helpful. Maybe I can find some at my local Book Off.
At the Ann Arbor, Michigan Location the most taken test was the N2 test. I believe this is because a threshold for most job applications in Japan seem to be N2 so makes sense.
Interesting! I didn't know that about job applications. Thanks for letting me know!
Yeah, looking up something on Gaijinpot right now I got "日本語でのビジネスコミュニケーションスキル ※Speaking/Listening: 上級 （equal to or above N2), Reading/Writing: 中級 （equal to or above N4)" for an HR Support Job.
That's makes a ton of sense then. Thanks for pointing it out! =)
I will definitely be referring to this video when I take the JLPT N1 in a couple years (probably) and as usual great video!
Thank you Dash! I have a feeling you could take it sooner than you think!
@@ToKiniAndy Thats good to hear lol
6:44 was that the vegetable question? yeah hated that one as well...
Yeah, I was tired and over it by then. haha
I took the JLPT N5 and 4 here in Brazil. My sensei advised me into starting doing the easiest (N5) and moving on to the more difficult ones (N4, 3, 2 and 1) depending on my level. Really, the majority of the people usually do the N5 and N4. I remeber once asking my sensei if there was anyone who would took the N1, and she said it's been years anyone did this test.
I haven't taken the N1 yet, but I have gotten really high grades on the ACT reading comprehension test. For good comprehension in any language, read the entire passage quickly but deliberately, making mental notes of important people and events that happen in the passage. Then, read the question and quickly rescan for the details that the question wants to know. This method allows you to understand the general concepts and context of the passage and then quickly find the details that weren't immediately obviously important the first time reading. Many times though, you'll already be confident in an answer and won't even need to rescan the passage which saves time. Only skimming usually makes people have to scan over and over again and miss important details or cause confusion about the situation. It may feel like an easy shortcut to save time, but if you feel the need to do shortcuts then you probably lack the skills that you're being tested on. Even if you pass, you still cheated yourself of reaching your potential.
I took the N4 and when I saw the list there were like 2k people taking the N4 compared to the others where it was only around 300-500.
It was my first time taking the JLPT and I honestly only seriously prepared for the test for a month. As in I didn't know what vocabs nor kanji were under N4, so I did a vocabulary and kanji speed run, it was so intense. I really studied as much as I can in one month.
Test day came and honestly, I was really... surprised? because it wasn't really that hard??? Maybe I'm being too confident about this haha but I'm about 90% sure I passed. Hoping to take the N2 next year!! Thanks fir the video!
@Nada i already knew a bit of japanese but the stuff I know are all spread out through all the N levels. Like some words I know are for N3-1 (according to my jisho). So I kinda wanted to assess what my level could be now. I didn't think it would be as high as N3 so I went with N4 for now.
What I meant here is that I solely focused on studying things you'll learn on N4, or mostly taught on N4. And what would appear on an N4 exam. Since I knew some vocabs/grammar/kanji already, I just speedran the things I didnt know.
Im sorry I hope I explained it properly 😅
I have heard these stories many times. That you'll pass if you are lucky and the topics are something of your field and so on. So I studied a little bit and took the N1 two weeks ago, even though I barely managed to pass N2 18 months ago...
I won't pass but I was not "lost" in the exam. Even though some Japanese people might not fully know all the words or understand fully all the sentences, nothing was that obscure. To be honest, some grammar points and vocabulary that came up, I learned them just by playing Pokémon in Japanese...
Did you pass? I'll be taking the N1 in December, and I barely passed the N2 last year... Even if I fail this time, I think that my study routine now will help me pass with a decent? score eventually.
@@fucchan_nihongodid you end up passing the n1?
@@butterfly22432 Yes! My score was 127/180.
I smiled when I heard the furigana katakana mix-up. A true hallmark of having been conditoned by Manga and Games. お見事
Could you recommend a list of Manga and games (or other reading materials) and how to find them?
N5 seems to be the most taken where I live. Northwest USA.
The limit in Poland was 500 participants. If I remember correctly, about 40 people took the N1. I took the N3 along with 80 other people.
The last time i see Jlpt N1 is literally when it says that u are already an expert in Japanese and understand advanced conversation like taking a breath
This was my first time taking the JLPT and I took the N2. Reflecting on it, I took too much time on the reading, so I had to guess on many questions on the last two sections of the grammar (the sentence-forming portion and the fill-in the blank). The listening portion was pretty easy on my opinion. Overall, Idk if I passed or not so I’m pretty nervous.
Praying you passed! I also struggled a lot on the Language Knowledge section because I wanted to save time for the Reading section. I rushed a lot of questions but I also just didn't know a lot of things. In the end my Listening score made up for the LK score (i had 23/60 for that so, phew, close one). Maybe it'll be the same for you!
@@yowo6105 I did better than I thought tbh. I got 43/60 in the language knowledge portion, 41/60 in the reading, and 53/60 in Listening so in total 137/180. I probably could of scored around 50+ in the language knowledge had I not took too much time in the reading but a pass is a pass.
the reason for so many participants might be covid restictions and therefore - JLPT cancelations.
my friends couldn't go to JLPT because it was cancelled 5 times already!
i was ultra lucky to have passed JLPT N3 in winter 2019, right before covid.
at that time i was so slow in reading - that i decided to not waste my time and guess every answer in the reading section - and it worked out! lucky me ;D
other sections were pretty easy, even though i have been studying japanese for only 1.5 years in university.
my teacher was very nonchalant about it - she said, when she went to JLPT N3 with her friends - they treated it like a fun little hanging out activity, so i shouldn't be nervous at all - and she was correct!
_
thanks for the video, time to level up my reading comprehension skills i guess)
Yeah, I've found that relaxing and trying to have fun on tests is the best way to make sure you perform to your full potential. =)
Heyyyy I live in Nagano Pref too and I took the N2 at Shinshu Univ Engineering Campus on 4th Dec. There were 468 people taking the N2 on that day, so a lot more than N1. Curiously, the building the exam took place in only hosted N2. I didn't see any other levels in that building or any other buildings around the Campus, and I was wondering where other levels took place in.
P.S. I also enjoyed the reading passages in the test. I think they were actually enjoyable to read. But I took too much time enjoying them XD. And then had to randomise some of my answers.
Ooh! Maybe that's why the other levels seemed so sparse. They must have held N2 at a totally different location because so many people signed up! Originally, I thought the test was supposed to be in Niigata, so I was thrilled when it was moved to Nagano City. The rest of the tests were held in the Bus terminal building near the station. =)
@@ToKiniAndy Oh I seeeeee.
I didn't properly learning for grammar, kanji, and other test section.
I just make a fun way, cause I like to read a book, writing own novel and also love the history of this country.
From that thing you can automatically know when something strange of the sentences is coming out. For reading section, maybe just less than 50 % I read a full paragraph.
If you know, the answer option is enough to see the right answer.
And for live or speaking in Japanese, the N4 level is enough. The most grammatically use in everyday situation.
Started studying Japanese in 2016. I did N3 in 2018 July, N2 in 2019 July and N1 in 2020 Dec (July was cancelled due to covid). My N3 and N2 experience wasn’t that bad as I felt confident in passing but I felt that I had screwed up my N1 so bad that I didn’t think I would pass. Managed to scrape by with a 103/180.
4:52 is this that economics game? I started playing it but stopped bc the music was not doing it for me at all -- was it good?
I’ve passed 1-kyu and N1 a total of 5 times, one time with a perfect score, and the other times with scores >90%. Of course I failed the test once before the first time I passed it. I think that N1 is easier than the old 1-kyu version of the test because they ask questions like “what matches what the author most wants to say” rather than “which of these two sentences (written in hiragana) use the same kanji to write the word?
The time I got a perfect score, I did what you did - just took the test without studying for it (although I had studied for it previously). Actually that was the first time I took the N1 format. I would say that I have learned more Japanese AFTER passing N1 than I did in order to pass N1 (or 1-kyu). The expressions are not used every day in casual conversations, but I think just about any Japanese university student could get a near-perfect score. On the other hand, just because you get a good score on N1 doesn’t mean you know everything in Japanese. Just try picking up a newspaper, magazine or textbook and you’ll find that it is filled with words that are beyond the scope of N1. I think N1 is really the starting point for reading authentic materials, especially academic texts.
There are so many good resources for learning Japanese and studying for the JLPT. Actually I decided to study for the JLPT because as a self-learner I wanted something to help me answer the question “what should I study next?”
Of course not all foreigners in Japan - especially westerners - have N1. But if you plan to be in Japan for several years and you’re not an expat whose coworkers are expected to speak to you in your own language, I think achieving N1-level is going to make your life in Japan so much more convenient and fulfilling. After you get that level, and if you have good kanji skills, you’ll be able to keep improving your Japanese by consuming authentic Japanese media after you have N1. Also knowing the meaning of kanji (in English for me) will make it pretty easy to guess the meaning of kanji compounds in context. Not all compounds are obvious if you know the individual kanji, but many are.
BTW - regarding your point about reading speed - the time when I didn’t get a perfect score on N1 was when I ran out of time on the reading section (I only got the questions on the last passage wrong).
The listening part is “famous” for having conversations with very convoluted and unnatural twists and turns. It’s almost a test of concentration rather than a test of Japanese listening skills.
In my experience, textbooks and vocabulary lists are helpful for “beginners” (here I’m including everything up until N1) to get coverage of all the basics. After that the vocabulary and type of Japanese expressions that are most relevant for you will be different depending on your situation and interests. If you work in a Japanese hotel, obviously keigo and expressions about travel, etc. will be important, but if you just enjoy isekai manga, a lot more fantasy-themed Japanese will be important for you. The last thing I would re-iterate is that knowing individual kanji really well will help a lot in acquiring kanji-compound vocabulary. Without a solid knowledge of kanji, I think it would be impossible to attain N1-level Japanese.
hey i am around n3 level right now, working my way through the quartet 2 grammar lessons through your videos (which are soo good) and my end goal is not to speak or understand conversations, my goal is to just read novels, vns and watch anime with jp subs, specifically i started learning japanese to just be able to read (ようこそ実力至上主義の教室へ) at a level where even without looking up any vocab i would understand almost everything in the story, how do i suggest i go about achievening this, (i do around 30 to 45 mins of anki, my own mined cards of course, 1 hour of grammar from your vids, and around 24 hours of immersion every week), and how long do you think i would take to achieve my dream, thankyou!
I say just keep doing exactly what you're doing! And if that's your goal, I'd suggest reading that exact book you're aiming at, or something of a similar or slightly lower level as your "push myself" book on the side. You'll have to look up a lot, but that's okay. If you continually challenge yourself you'll get there in no time. Probably a year or two if you can maintain that rate.
@@ToKiniAndy yo that was fast, anyhow do you think i should read re zero considering its much harder, so when i read ようこそ実力至上主義の教室へ it would be much easier, no?
That's certainly one way to approach it! Try something hard, so you can really enjoy the thing you want to when you get back to it. =)
I just worked the JLPT at my Uni, most people took the N3 test, I'd say about 1/2 of the people there took N3(about 40-50 people), N4 and N5 had about 15-20 total, N1 had 3, N2 had about 5.
Also are there any roughly N3 level manga you'd recommend? I just started Mirai Nikki(it has furigana), and I really like the anime,
For manga, pretty much anything you like should be fine as long as it has furigana! But some really easy stuff would be Yotsuba to, Doraemon, Shirokuma Cafe, Dragonball stuff like that. =)
As someone whom took (and passed) the JLPT 1kyu in 2008, AMEN. I did find the listening part easier than the 2kyu, though. With the 2kyu it was always junk like two dysfunctional people arguing over when the bus was coming and where it was going only to end with a weird tangents on pomegranates. The 1kyu was stuff like "Clean the balcony because I want to put some junk there" or "Pick up the dry cleaning on the way home"
I also recently took the Eiken 1kyu (I am Japanese, after all) and passed that which I found to have similar problems to the JLPT at the top end. The JLPT doesn't have a spoken component to it, though.
Im from the philippines. I took the n4 and it had more takers than any of the test.
I took the N2 the other day as well. Oh my god, I just blanked during the reading portion. I had so much trouble focusing on it! It wasn't even that it was hard material. I just couldn't get myself to focus.
How did you work with unknown words you found when you were reading? Did you put them into an srs, or did you do rereads of the same content? (Maybe you talk about this in the other videos, sorry that I’m lazy!)
I just looked them up and moved on. I DID add them to a list, but that was just to track the numbers for my videos. If I weren't making videos, I probably wouldn't have bothered.
If I were JUST starting out with native material though, I'd probably add words I liked to an Anki deck or something. I try to spend most of my time reading now though, and not doing flashcards.
Sometimes, yes, I would do re-reads. But I mostly just kept going.
Yesterday, I went back and re-read the first part of a manga I struggled with during my manga challenge a few months ago (like 150 lookups in the first book, maybe more). Despite not reviewing those words at all, this time I didn't have to lookup even 1 word. So, just keep reading basically! =)
@@ToKiniAndy that’s super interesting, and basically how I learned english. I just read manga and played video games. Of course I did basic studies in school as well, but I never ever used srs.
I do think srs is extremely usefull for speedrunning kanji though 😅
Yeah, for Kanji SRS is perfect. I'm going back through kanken kanji right now, and am using Anki for it! But I try to keep my Anki time well under 30 minutes per day. =)
And I think with Japanese, in the BEGINNING using SRS to pick up some new vocab quickly is super beneficial. There are definitely diminishing returns though. =)
There were a lot of people who took the JLPT here in Manila, there were over 6000 of us. Many took the N4 for their work visas, I myself took N3.
As for the nunbers of people taking the test it's the opposite here where I'm from, the higher the N... goes the fewer people were in the classroom. I took the JLPT N2 many years ago and there were crowds for N5, fewer people for N4 and N3 and really not so many for N2, like mb 12 people or so.
When i took the N2 a headache started developing during the reading part so I already felt: this is not good because we still had a listening part left. After the break the headache still didn't go away so I just made the best of it. In the end I got the best score for listening of all the parts (though given that N2 listening is not really hard if you've done somewhat consistent immersion before), and i got a score of 54/60 for it. A few questions i just zoned out at and I kinda replayed what I heard and guessed to the best of my ability, but yeah, it's better to not zone out haha.
I'll be trying the N4 here in July. I've lived in Japan for 2 years, but honestly feel like I don't know ANY Japanese. As sad as it is, because I moved here right as COVID locked everything down (couldn't go out) I got almost no real world practice. I studied kanji fairly hard for the first year hear, which helps me with reading a ton but still feel like I can't come close to holding a real conversation with someone.
Ive heard the tip for the listening is to write it down, but idk if you're allowed