Japanese Language Proficiency Test

The Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT, 日本語能力試験) is a test administered by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (文部科学省) to foreign speakers of the Japanese language in order to assess their abilities. Upon passing the test, one is able to receive a certificate based on the level of the test that they passed. There are 5 levels, called N5, N4, N3, N2, and N1, with N5 being the easiest test and N1 being the hardest. Grading of the test is divided into 3 sections, language knowledge, which includes vocabulary and grammar; reading; and listening. Each section’s total possible points is 60, and one must score at least 19 points in each section and at least 100 points overall in order to pass level N1. (Total for a passing grade in N2 and N3 are 95 and 90 points, respectively, with the same 19-point requirement in every section)

After four years in high school and three years in college of studying Japanese, I took the JLPT N1 in Japan on the 2nd of July, 2017, and received a passing score. According to data from the Japanese Language Education Center, the average amount of time required to study Japanese and receive a passing grade on the N1 exam for someone with no prior kanji knowledge (such as English speakers like myself) ranges from 3100-4500 hours. In order to pass the N1, one must be able to “read writings with logical complexity and/or abstract writings on a variety of topics, such as newspaper editorials and critiques, and comprehend both their structures and contents,” “read written materials with profound contents on various topics and follow their narratives as well as understand the intent of the writers comprehensively,” and “comprehend orally presented materials such as coherent conversations, news reports, and lectures, spoken at natural speed in a broad variety of settings, and is able to follow their ideas and comprehend their contents comprehensively,” and “understand the details of the presented materials such as the relationships among the people involved, the logical structures, and the essential points.”

You can learn more about the JLPT here.