A 6-Month JLPT N4 Study Plan
This Japanese-Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) N4 study plan is a 26-week schedule with a fixed daily study time for learners with a solid N5 baseline. It aims to make you N4-ready, with roughly the last six weeks reserved for timed mock tests.1 The key numbers are 26 weeks, about 1 to 1.5 hours a day, and an anchor of around 300 cumulative study hours to reach N4.2
Before You Start: The N5 Baseline This Plan Assumes
N4 is defined officially as "the ability to understand basic Japanese," with reading scoped to passages on familiar daily topics written in basic vocabulary and kanji, and listening scoped to daily-life conversations spoken slowly.1 For how the levels and sections fit together, see The JLPT Explained: Levels, Sections, and What Each Means.
This plan builds from N5 to N4. It does not re-teach N5, and its hour and unit counts only hold if the N5 foundation is already in place.
The four-phase structure used later in this article is J-Compass's own editorial framework. The unit counts and hour budget are sourced, but the phase boundaries are a design choice.
What you should already know
This plan assumes an N5 baseline: fluent kana, the N5 grammar core, and the N5 kanji and vocabulary already learned. N5 is the entry level of the JLPT, defined officially as "the ability to understand some basic Japanese."1
The commonly cited unofficial N5 targets are roughly 100 kanji, about 800 vocabulary words, and about 80 grammar points. All three are study estimates because the JLPT publishes no kanji, vocabulary, or grammar list.345
A reader without this baseline should complete A 4-Month JLPT N5 Study Plan from Zero first rather than skipping ahead.
What N4 adds on top
The cumulative N4 study targets, all unofficial, are roughly 300 kanji, about 1,500 vocabulary words, and about 100 to 130 grammar points. These are the round, widely circulated community-consensus figures.345
The more useful number is the delta beyond N5: what you add after N5. The estimates below are given as ranges because different unofficial lists give different raw counts.
| Strand | Cumulative N4 (est.) | New beyond N5 (est.) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kanji | ~300 | ~170–220 | A widely used unofficial list contains 167 N4 characters5 |
| Vocabulary | ~1,500 | several hundred (~600–700) | A widely used unofficial list contains 571 entries4 |
| Grammar | ~100–130 | ~80 | A widely used unofficial list totals 132 points3 |
The raw list counts and the rounded community targets do not always agree, which is why each figure above is a range, not a fixed number.345
The Numbers: ~300 Hours and What Fills Them
The ~300-hour figure is the anchor for this plan, but it is an estimate, not a promise. This section explains the budget and shows how a 26-week calendar at 1 to 1.5 hours a day maps onto it.
Why 300 cumulative hours (+150 over N5)
Commonly cited cumulative-from-zero estimates are roughly 150 hours for N5 and 300 for N4 for a motivated self-studier with no kanji background. The estimates rise steeply through the upper levels.2
These round numbers trace back to per-level figures printed in older JEES test-preparation books, which stopped appearing in official materials around 2008.2
The increment is simple subtraction. If N5 from zero takes about 150 hours and N4 from zero takes about 300, the N4-from-N5 increment is about 150 hours.6 A learner who already holds N5 should budget for that ~150-hour increment, not the full ~300-hour cumulative total.
These figures are unofficial averages, not official guidance. The JLPT administrators publish only can-do level summaries, never a recommended hour count, so every hour figure comes from school estimates, old test-book numbers, or self-reported learner surveys.127
The best-documented dataset is a set of self-reported figures attributed to the Japanese Language Education Center for students residing in Japan from 2010 to 2015. It runs roughly twice as high: N4 at 575 to 1,000 hours without a kanji background, and 400 to 700 with one.7 Treat the headline ~300 figure as the optimistic floor and the survey range as the documented average for immersion learners.
Learners already literate in Chinese characters need fewer hours, with the saving concentrated on the vocabulary and reading load. The documented swing is smaller at N4 than at the upper levels but still real.87
Daily time targets and how 26 weeks gets you there
The plan's headline daily target is roughly 1 to 1.5 hours a day across a 26-week, six-month runway.
The arithmetic is straightforward: 26 weeks at seven days is 182 study days. At 1 hour a day, that is about 182 hours; at 1.5 hours a day, about 273 hours. With a more realistic 5- to 6-day study week that leaves room for rest and catch-up, the plan comes to roughly 180 to 270 hours of focused new-material time.
That focused total sits at or below the ~300-hour anchor, and the gap is honest, not a flaw. The ~300-hour figure means total effort, not pure new-material time. The difference is absorbed by spaced-repetition (SRS) review, mock tests, and incidental practice.
For comparison, published pacing maps a one-hour-a-day rate to roughly 5 to 8 months for the N4 increment measured from N5, which brackets this six-month plan.6
A study session splits into blocks: an SRS warm-up to clear the daily review queue, a new-grammar or new-vocabulary block, a kanji block, and a reading-or-listening block. The proportions shift by phase. Early weeks are heavier on new grammar and kanji; later weeks are heavier on reading and listening.
Faster or slower learners scale the calendar, not the content. The same ~300-hour budget and the same unit counts compress into fewer weeks at a higher daily rate or stretch across more weeks at a lower rate.6
The arithmetic above assumes a 5- to 6-day study week. Weekends absorb catch-up and SRS-backlog clearance during the build phases, then carry the timed mock tests in the final phase.
The 6-Month Plan, Week by Week
The plan moves through four phases across the 26 weeks: grammar and kanji build, then consolidation with reading and listening, then review and gap-closing, then mock-test integration.
Phase table (weeks, focus, weekly unit counts, daily minutes)
This grid converts the ~300-hour N4 anchor into weekly unit counts. Every target is concrete, and every count is an unofficial study estimate, because the JLPT publishes no official grammar, kanji, or vocabulary list.345
| Weeks | Phase | Daily target | Grammar/week | Kanji/week | Vocab/day | Skill focus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1–8 | 1: Grammar + kanji build | 1–1.5 h | ~3–4 points | ~10 | ~12–15 | New grammar, steady daily kanji, SRS |
| 9–16 | 2: Consolidation + reading/listening | 1–1.5 h | ~3–4 points (finishing) | ~10 (finishing) | ~12–15 | Reading and listening ramp, sustained SRS |
| 17–20 | 3: Review + gap-closing | 1–1.5 h | none new | none new | review only | Cycle weak areas, clear SRS backlog |
| 21–26 | 4: Mock-test integration | 1–1.5 h | none new | none new | review only | One timed full mock per week + targeted drill |
The counts reconcile with the N4 deltas. At ~3 to 4 grammar points a week over the 16 build weeks of Phases 1 and 2, that is roughly 48 to 64 points. This covers the ~80-new toward ~130-cumulative range once N5 review carries some load.3
At ~10 kanji a week over those same 16 weeks, that is about 160 characters, near the ~167 in the unofficial new-kanji list.5 At ~12 to 15 vocabulary words a day over the ~112-day build runway, that is roughly 1,300 to 1,700 words, bracketing the ~1,500 cumulative target.4
Phase 1 (weeks ~1 to 8): grammar and kanji build
The heaviest new-grammar load sits here, including the classic N4 clusters: te-form expansions, conditionals, and transitivity pairs. Pace about 3 to 4 grammar points a week, about 10 kanji a week, and about 12 to 15 vocabulary words per study day.35
New grammar, kanji, and vocabulary all enter a daily SRS review queue, so earlier items stay alive as new ones are added.
Use a curated N4 grammar checklist and an N4 kanji-and-vocab strategy for the actual teaching. Here, the pacing is stated as concepts.
Phase 2 (weeks ~9 to 16): consolidation and reading/listening
Finish the remaining new grammar and kanji at the Phase 1 pace. Then shift more time toward reading and listening practice while sustaining the SRS review queue.
The official N4 scope is the target. Reading is scoped to passages on familiar daily topics written in basic vocabulary and kanji, and listening to daily-life conversations spoken slowly.1
Cycle the main stumbling-block clusters as concepts: the passive, the causative, and the four conditionals (と, ば, たら, なら). These are widely taught as N4-level grammar and appear on the unofficial N4 grammar list.3
Phase 3 (weeks ~17 to 20): review and gap-closing
Do not add new content here. Cycle weak grammar and kanji, clear the full SRS backlog, and transition into the mock window.
This phase exists because the official N4 scope rewards consolidated reading and listening over freshly crammed items. It also exists because sectional scoring means a weak section must surface before the mock window, not during it.19
Phase 4 (weeks ~21 to 26): mock-test integration
For roughly the last six weeks, take one timed full mock test about once a week. Score each one honestly, then drill the weakest section before the next paper.
The reason is sectional scoring. N4 requires both an overall score at or above 90 of 180 and each section at or above its minimum: 38 of 120 on Language Knowledge (Vocabulary and Grammar) and Reading combined, and 19 of 60 on Listening. Failing any one section fails the test regardless of total.9
Because of that scoring rule, timed full mock tests are the only way to confirm that no section sits below its floor before test day.9
For how to run a mock under real conditions, use the J-Compass guide on taking a JLPT mock test properly. Treat each paper as a repeatable cycle: sit under exact exam conditions, score honestly, review every miss, and drill the weak spots before the next paper.9
Adapting the Plan
The 26-week, 1 to 1.5 hour layout is the calm default, not the only option. The same ~300-hour budget and unit counts can compress or stretch.
If you have more or less than 6 months
To compress to roughly four months, raise the daily rate. Published pacing puts the N4-from-N5 increment near the shorter end of a 5-to-8-month band at a higher daily pace.6
To stretch to roughly nine months, lower the daily rate while keeping the same content.6
Never cut the Phase 4 mock window or the daily SRS review. The mock window is the only check on sectional minimums, and the SRS queue keeps the focused-hour total honest against the ~300-hour budget.92
If your N5 is rusty
Add a one- to two-week N5 refresh before Week 1 rather than skipping the baseline. The plan's numbers assume the N5 foundation is in place, and a shaky baseline makes the Phase 1 grammar pace unsustainable.
If your N5 is more than rusty, return to a full N5 plan rather than doing only a refresh.
Good to know
Don't backload kanji
The classic N4 failure mode is leaving kanji to the end. N4 reading is scoped to passages written in basic vocabulary and kanji. Kanji compounds also become load-bearing for reading at this level, so a steady daily kanji habit beats a late cram.1
Dividing the ~167-character new-kanji target by only the final weeks produces a heavy spike. Spreading about 10 a week across the 16 build weeks keeps the load flat.5
Mock scores are a diagnostic, not a verdict
A sub-pass mock six weeks out is a diagnostic, not a verdict. N4 requires both a 90-of-180 total and each section at or above its minimum, 38 of 120 and 19 of 60. A mock's value is showing which section is below its floor while there is still time to drill it.9
Pair the mock with a deliberate method. The point of the repeatable cycle is the targeted drill after the score read, not the score itself.9
A standing SRS deck does the daily lifting
The daily-minute target assumes a spaced-repetition tool carries the review load. J-Compass recommends Amenokori for this: built around the FSRS algorithm, it ships a pre-built "N4 Elementary" collection of 750 vocabulary-and-grammar entries that lines up with the daily vocab-and-grammar counts in this plan.10
See also
- JLPT N3 Prep Overview: The Make-or-Break Level
- Bridging from N4 to N3: The Gap Plan
- JLPT N4 Vocabulary List: ~700 New Words Beyond N5, by Category
- A Daily Kanji Study Routine: How Many Kanji per Day, Review-Load Math, and the Three-Block Schedule
- Sentence Mining: Building Your Own Japanese Anki Deck From What You Read
- JLPT Scoring Deep Dive: The Section-Minimum Trap