JLPT levels, N5 to N1

Each level below follows the summary of linguistic competence on jlpt.jp. The study-hour figures are the ones people still cite from the Japan Foundation's comparison of the old four-level test. They are not a current pass rule. NihonNest is not affiliated with or endorsed by the JLPT.

N5

N5 is the ability to understand some basic Japanese. You can read typical expressions and sentences written in hiragana, katakana, and basic kanji. You can pick up what you need from short, slow conversations about daily life and the classroom.

The current summary gives no study-hour number. The Japan Foundation guidebook for the revised test says N5 is approximately the same as the old Level 4. The comparison PDF says that old level was normally reached after around 150 hours and the first half of an elementary course. That is a commonly cited figure, not a promise that 150 hours will pass N5.

N4

N4 is the ability to understand basic Japanese. You can read passages on familiar daily topics written in basic vocabulary and kanji. You can follow conversations you meet in daily life when they are spoken slowly.

The guidebook says N4 is approximately the same as the old Level 3. The comparison PDF says that old level was normally reached after around 300 hours and an elementary course, with around 300 kanji and 1,500 words. The current N4 summary does not set those hours as a requirement.

N3

N3 is the ability to understand Japanese used in everyday situations to a certain degree. You can read writing about concrete everyday topics, catch the outline of something like a newspaper headline, and follow the main point of a slightly harder everyday text when a paraphrase is there to help. You can follow coherent everyday conversations at a speed close to natural, including who is involved.

The guidebook says N3 was newly established, bridging the old Level 2 and the old Level 3. The comparison PDF does not give N3 a study-hour figure. This page does not invent one. Check the official site if a later notice adds a number.

N2

N2 is the ability to understand Japanese used in everyday situations, and in a wider range of situations to a certain degree. You can read clear writing on many topics, such as newspaper and magazine articles and simple commentary, and follow the writer's point. You can follow conversations and news at nearly natural speed and grasp the relationships and the essential points.

The guidebook says N2 is approximately the same as the old Level 2. The comparison PDF says that old level was normally reached after around 600 hours and an intermediate course, with around 1,000 kanji and 6,000 words. The current N2 summary does not publish that as a required total.

N1

N1 is the ability to understand Japanese used in a variety of circumstances. You can read logically complex or abstract writing, such as newspaper editorials and critiques, and follow both the structure and the content. You can follow conversations, news, and lectures at natural speed, including the relationships, the logic, and the point.

The guidebook says N1 is approximately the same as the old Level 1, but designed to measure slightly more advanced abilities. The comparison PDF says old Level 1 was normally reached after around 900 hours, with around 2,000 kanji and 10,000 words. That 900-hour figure belongs to the old level. It is not printed as an N1 requirement on the current summary.

Which level to start with

Start at N5 if you are still learning hiragana, katakana, and short slow sentences. Move up when that summary feels comfortable in real reading and listening, not because a week count says you should. In NihonNest, N5 is fully available today. Further levels are added as they're ready, through N1. Kana is free. Not an official JLPT score.

• Hiragana and katakana
• N5 vocabulary
• N5 grammar
• How long for N5
• 8-week N5 plan
• JLPT in Malaysia
• N5 in the app

How the test is scored

The JLPT reports scaled scores by scoring section, not a raw count of right answers. You pass only when the total is at or above the overall pass mark and every scoring section is at or above its own minimum. One section under that minimum fails the level, even if the total is high. Missing a test section also fails the level. The JLPT site says these standards have been used since the July 2010 test, and since the December 2010 test for N4 and N5.

• N1: total 100 points out of 180. Language Knowledge (Vocabulary/Grammar), Reading, and Listening are each 19 points out of 60.
• N2: total 90 out of 180. The same three sections, each 19 out of 60.
• N3: total 95 out of 180. The same three sections, each 19 out of 60.
• N4: total 90 out of 180. Language Knowledge (Vocabulary/Grammar) and Reading are scored together, 38 out of 120. Listening is 19 out of 60.
• N5: total 80 out of 180. The same two scoring sections, 38 out of 120 and 19 out of 60.

Those marks are the official test's. A percent or a mock inside NihonNest is a study signal. Not an official JLPT score.

Sources

• Summary of linguistic competence for each level

  The current N5 to N1 reading and listening summaries. No study-hour numbers.

• New Japanese-Language Proficiency Test Guidebook

  How N1 to N5 line up with the old Level 1 to Level 4. N3 is described as newly established. Section times in this guidebook are the older times, so this page does not use them.

• Comparison of the old and new JLPT

  Old Level 4 around 150 hours, old Level 3 around 300, old Level 2 around 600, old Level 1 around 900. No hour figure for N3.

• Scoring sections, pass or fail, score report

  Overall and sectional pass marks, and the rule that one low section fails the level.