87 docs tagged with "jlpt"

A JLPT N2 study plan from an N3 start: a 12-month schedule splitting vocabulary, grammar, and immersion, with the last 8 weeks in full mock-test mode.

A JLPT N5 study plan from zero: a 16-week, 45 to 60 minute a day schedule taking you from kana through grammar, vocab, kanji, and mock tests.

A JLPT N4 study plan from an N5 start: a 26-week, 1 to 1.5 hour a day schedule across grammar, kanji, and vocab, with mock tests in the last 6 weeks.

Alternatives to the JLPT compared: what BJT, J.TEST, JFT-Basic, and Kanji Kentei each certify, who runs them, and which test fits your goal.

Japanese animal idioms explained: phrasal 慣用句 built on 馬, 犬, 猫, and 虎, each with its reading, literal gloss, real meaning, and everyday usage.

Body parts and health vocabulary in Japanese: the N5 core list (頭, 目, 手, 足), illness words like 風邪 and 熱, plus the が痛い pattern and doctor phrases.

How to go from N4 to N3: an honest look at the gap (roughly triple the vocabulary, ~350 kanji, 100+ grammar points) and a 9-month bridge plan to close it.

A Japanese counters list grouped by category: 50+ counters with kanji, readings, what they count, and JLPT estimates, plus links to each deep-dive.

Japanese counters (助数詞) explained: why the language needs measure words, the top 20 to memorize first, and where 一本 becomes いっぽん. Start counting here.

Japanese emotion onomatopoeia decoded: the top 30 feeling words like ドキドキ, ワクワク, and イライラ, the nuance between near-synonyms, plus intensity scaling.

How Japanese slang works: the four formation patterns behind 若者言葉 and net-speak, why slang churns so fast, with dated examples like やばい and 草.

How long does it take to learn Japanese? FSI says 2,200 hours. This page unpacks what "fluent" means, what one year buys, and how to set realistic goals.

How long to prepare for each JLPT level: honest hour estimates for N5 to N1, how kanji background shifts them, and hours-per-day math to hit your test date.

How many Japanese words do you need to be fluent? See the JLPT vocab targets from N5 to N1, the passive vs active gap, and the native-speaker ceiling.

How new loanwords are coined in Japanese: the pipeline from foreign concept to katakana to a settled word, the language bodies that steer it, and why some fail.

How to learn Japanese from zero to fluency: a sourced roadmap from kana through JLPT N5 to N1, with hour budgets per level and the anti-patterns to skip.

How to take a JLPT mock test the right way: timed conditions with no lookups or phone, an honest score read, and a targeted drill on your weak spots.

Japanese body-part idioms explained: 慣用句 built on 手, 目, 口, and 心, each with its reading, literal gloss, real meaning, usage, and how everyday it is.

Japanese colors vocabulary made predictable: which colors are い-adjectives (赤い, 青い), which are nouns needing の (緑, 紫), and the 青/緑 blue-green history.

Japanese counter sound changes explained: why 一本 reads いっぽん, not いちほん. The euphonic rules for 1, 3, 6, 8, 10 across h-, k-, s-, and t-row counters.

Japanese feelings and emotions vocabulary: a register-sorted list of 嬉しい, 悲しい, 怒る, 楽しい, 寂しい plus the ～がる third-person rule for describing how others feel.

Japanese family vocabulary explained: the full N5 kinship list, why 父 and お父さん split into own-family vs other-family sets, plus in-law terms.

Japanese food and eating vocabulary for N5–N4: core foods, the cooking verbs 焼く 煮る 蒸す 揚げる, tableware, restaurant phrases, and いただきます explained.

Japanese internet and tech vocabulary, organized: core word lists for ネット, スマホ, and SNS, plus the clipping, する-verb, and wasei-eigo patterns behind them.

Japanese shopping vocabulary for N5–N4: 円 (yen), the 買う/売る/払う verbs, store types like コンビニ and 八百屋, price words 高い/安い, plus いくらですか and shop keigo phrases.

Japanese numbers for beginners: the native and Sino-Japanese sets, the 万-block grouping for large numbers, reading zero, decimals, and counter forms.

Japanese onomatopoeia explained: the four classes (giseigo, giongo, gitaigo, giyougo), reduplication and form patterns, and why mimetic words fill daily speech.

Japanese school vocabulary for N5–N4: the 小学校→大学院 ladder, subjects 国語 算数 数学 理科 社会 英語, classroom words, the 勉強する/習う verbs, and 運動会/文化祭.

Japanese transportation vocabulary for N5–N4: train, bus, and station words, the 乗る/降りる particle rule, ticket and IC-card phrases, and directions.

Japanese weather vocabulary for N5–N4: the words 晴れ 雨 雪 曇り 風, the four seasons 春夏秋冬, temperature adjectives, the 降る/吹く verbs, and 梅雨 explained.

Japanese workplace vocabulary for N4–N3: job titles 社長/部長/課長, 働く vs 勤める, 出勤/退勤/会議, 名刺 business-card words, and the keigo of humbling your own company.

What to bring to the JLPT: a packing checklist (voucher, photo ID, HB pencil, eraser), the banned items, and what to expect from timing, breaks, and lunch.

The JLPT N1 grammar checklist, grouped by theme: timing, concession, scope, and the classical bungo survivals, each routed to its full guide where one exists.

A JLPT N1 listening strategy for native-rate audio: why N1 is faster and denser than N2, the 即時応答 timing trap, and what to listen to per question type.

A JLPT N1 prep overview: the headline numbers (~2,000 kanji, ~10,000 vocab, ~150 grammar), three-section scoring, and why N1 is the long-tail level.

JLPT N1 pitfalls explained honestly: the frequency long-tail and diminishing returns, the plateau that feels like a wall, and the over-grammar-focus trap.

JLPT N1 reading explained: the question types, how to parse literary, editorial, and academic prose, and how to infer the author's intent and mood.

The JLPT N1 vocabulary list, ~10,000 words: the new literary, formal, specialized, and long-tail layer beyond N2, and why you read and mine it, not drill it.

JLPT N1 vocabulary means ~10,000 words, most seen rarely. Learn why deck-drilling hits diminishing returns and how immersion plus a curated core closes the gap.

The JLPT N2 grammar checklist, grouped by theme: compound particles, conjunctive and concessive patterns, and classical forms, each linked to a full guide.

A JLPT N2 kanji and vocabulary strategy: the ~1,000 kanji and ~6,000 words, the new layer beyond N3, the decks worth using, and a parallel-track schedule.

A JLPT N2 listening strategy built around the five official question types, with a tactic for each and the NHK news, drama, and podcast sources that train them.

JLPT N2 prep overview: the kanji, vocabulary, grammar, and hours behind the gateway level, plus the three-section format and the 19-point section rule.

A JLPT N2 reading strategy by genre and question type: how to read news, editorials, and business texts, plus the new two-source integrated comprehension item.

The JLPT N2 vocabulary list, foregrounding the ~1,750 words new beyond N3: business, news, academic, and formal register, plus 漢語 and study decks.

The JLPT N3 grammar checklist, grouped by theme: causative and passive, inference, compound particles, and temporal clauses, each linked to a full guide.

JLPT N3 mock tests and practice materials, curated and honestly labeled: free official sample questions, the Official Practice Workbook, and Shin Kanzen Master.

JLPT N3 prep overview: the kanji, vocabulary, and grammar counts, why the N4 jump is the steepest, reading-speed targets, and the 95/180 pass mark, honestly.

Pass JLPT N3 reading with a per-passage time budget, a realistic reading-speed target, the skim-then-question method, and the N3 passage types explained.

A JLPT N3 section-by-section strategy for the vocabulary, grammar and reading, and listening sections: time budgets, elimination, and what to do per section.

The JLPT N3 vocabulary list, foregrounding the ~1,800 words new beyond N4: the Sino-Japanese surge, work, society, news, emotion, and study decks.

The JLPT N4 grammar checklist, grouped by theme: conditionals, te-form and transitivity, modal and obligation endings, each linked to a full deep-dive guide.

A JLPT N4 kanji and vocabulary strategy: the ~300 kanji and ~1,500 words (700 new beyond N5), the decks to use, and a parallel-track study schedule.

JLPT N4 prep overview: the kanji, vocabulary, and grammar counts, the three-section format, study hours, and the 90/180 pass mark, with honest caveats.

The JLPT N4 vocabulary list, foregrounding the ~700 words new beyond N5: verbs, transitive pairs, な-adjectives, adverbs, connectors, and decks.

The four JLPT N4 grammar points learners stall on, why each is hard for English speakers, and a strategic order to attack them before test day.

The JLPT N5 grammar checklist, grouped by theme: copula, particles, verb and adjective forms, and key expressions, each linked to a full deep-dive guide.

JLPT N5 kanji grouped by theme: the ~100 characters across numbers, time, verbs, adjectives, and nouns, how they map to jōyō grade 1, plus an 8-week plan.

JLPT N5 prep overview: the kanji, vocabulary, and grammar counts, the two-section format, study hours, and pass marks, with honest caveats on the numbers.

A JLPT N5 section-by-section strategy for the vocabulary, grammar and reading, and listening sections: time budgets, elimination, and what to do per section.

The JLPT N5 vocabulary list of ~800 words, grouped by verbs, nouns, adjectives, time, and particles, with N5 kanji coverage and decks to study them.

A JLPT N5 vocabulary strategy: which decks to use (Tango N5, Core 2k, WaniKani), a 6-words-a-day plan to ~800 in four months, and when to add sentences.

The JLPT section minimum can fail you with a high total score. Learn the two-condition pass rule, the sectional floors, and how to protect your weakest section.

JLPT vocabulary by level: the unofficial counts for N5 to N1, why no official list exists since 2010, and the real new-words-per-level figures.

Japanese proverbs (kotowaza): 50 essential sayings with literal and English-equivalent meanings, the kotowaza-vs-idiom line, and when speakers use them.

Loanwords that replaced native Japanese words rarely replace them fully. See how ミルク, スプーン, and アパート split from their native synonyms by register.

Movement onomatopoeia in Japanese: learn ゆっくり, バタバタ, グルグル and the giyougo class, how they pair with motion verbs via と, and their conversational use.

Note-Taking in JLPT Listening, decoded: whether notes are allowed, the crutch debate, an N5-to-N1 ladder, and a shorthand system for names and numbers.

Learn the onomatopoeia + する pattern to turn mimetic words into verbs. Covers ドキドキ, ワクワク, ハラハラ, イライラ, conjugation, and when to use と instead.

Onomatopoeia in manga and anime decoded: how SFX like ドカン, バーン, and the silent シーン are drawn into the art, the katakana feel, and how translators handle them.

Pre-English loanwords in Japanese: where パン, タバコ, ガラス, and アルバイト come from, traced by source language from Portuguese and Dutch to German and beyond.

Shortened loanwords in Japanese follow a four-mora rule. Learn why パソコン, リモコン, and アポ get clipped and how to predict the short form yourself.

Texture and appearance onomatopoeia in Japanese: learn フワフワ, ザラザラ, ベタベタ and the food-texture words like サクサク and モチモチ used in ads and menus.

JLPT levels explained: a single canonical guide to N5 through N1, the test's sections, the 0 to 180 score, the section-minimum rule, and sitting dates.

JLPT test format and scoring explained: the sections at each level, the 0–180 score, the section-minimum pass rule, and how the July and December sittings work.

Japanese time, date, and calendar vocabulary for N5: days of the week, months, clock counters 時/分/秒, relative-time words, and the irregular date readings.

Top 50 yojijukugo for N2 learners in one sortable table: kanji, reading, literal and idiomatic meaning, an English equivalent, a cited example, and origin.

Wasei-eigo are Japanese-coined pseudo-English words like サラリーマン and ホットケーキ. Learn what they are, how they form, and the real English for each.

Gairaigo are Japanese loanwords written in katakana. Learn what 外来語 means, the Portuguese, Dutch, and English layers, and how much vocabulary they cover.

Passed or failed the JLPT? Read your score report, decompress or build a targeted retake plan, and learn what your certificate is actually worth.

Where the JLPT falls short: it is a receptive test with no speaking or writing section, so an N1 pass certifies comprehension, not fluency or output.

Which JLPT level should you take? A diagnostic flowchart using your study hours, grammar, vocab, and kanji counts, and your goal, plus the first-timer rule.

Learn how to study yojijukugo: where four-character idioms appear in editorials, speeches, and formal writing, how to batch and SRS them, and how many to learn.

The 人 (nin) counter counts people in Japanese, but 一人 is ひとり and 二人 is ふたり. Learn the 1 to 10 readings, why 四人 is よにん, and when formal 名 (めい) is used.

Count animals in Japanese with 匹 (small), 頭 (large), and 羽 (birds). Learn the size boundary, the irregular 一匹・三匹 readings, and why rabbits take 羽.

The 本 (hon) counter in Japanese counts long, thin objects: pens, bottles, trees. Learn its irregular readings and why calls and movies count too.

The 枚 (mai) counter in Japanese counts flat, thin objects: paper, tickets, cards, shirts, plates. The regular counter that never changes its reading.