JLPT December 2022 - Results published / Certificates sent

Japanese
#62

I’m taking the N3 exam in the USA, however I’m not sure I’ll pass it. It’s the first time taking the JLPT after 2 years of study, though I do have an idea of what to expect. I have already finish all the BunPro N3 grammar about 2 months ago, but I’m still having issues with all the conditionals Japanese has (ば、と、なら、たら).

Does anyone know of a resource that explains these in a not so convoluted way? I’ve watched several videos on YouTube, and I think I understand them until I try to answer questions on 新完全マスターN3. Then it’s almost back to the drawing board. I’m looking for a bulletproof method or some trick that would help me get the correct conditional, if there’s any. This is the one thing I’m struggling the most right now.

Thanks!!

2 Likes
#63

Not sure if it will be of help, but:

5 Likes
#64

brute forced an n3 vocab deck about 3 weeks ago which i finished today which makes me mildly confident.

but damn. today in a week… how time flies by and then its suddenly here.
looking forward to it with the right amount of nervousness though.

5 Likes
#65

Just a week left! I’m taking the N3 in Chicago and it’ll be my first time taking the test so I’m still a little nervous,

Already finished Bunpro’s N3 grammar and I’ve been just working on studying kanji and onomatopoeia mainly, since those are my worst parts. I did a practice test and got a near perfect listening score which gives me a bit of hope, but you can’t be too safe!

Good luck y’all!

5 Likes
#66

I’ve been hitting these hard: https://youtube.com/@sunandmoon2019

The explanations are helpful, and it’s easy to search the videos for your level.

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#67

I was unexpectedly dumped the day before Thanksgiving and am having a harder time focusing on studying, but I’m doing my best! My teacher has confidence in me, so I need to channel that. And I’m happy that I got to see family this week, so that helps.

I hope everyone else is able to continue focusing on their prep! :open_book: :pencil2: :notebook:
Don’t forget your pencils!

5 Likes
#68

Yeap, I’ve watched those (and pretty much every YouTube video on the subject), though I only watched them once. I’ll try it again. However, what’s confusing for me is that there are overlaps between the conditionals where two or three of them can be used in the same situation. In this case, I wished she showed more example sentences.

Anyway, I guess I’ll just need to practice them over and over until they click.

Thanks!

2 Likes
#69

There are some examples here, not sure if it will be enough to clarify.

2 Likes
#70

Oh, I haven’t checked that out. I already like the way it starts because that’s exactly how I, and I’m sure most people studying the Japanese conditionals, feel about it lol.

Thanks!

2 Likes
#71

On Anki I’ve now “finished” the 新完全マスター N2 vocab deck. I finished Bunpro’s N2 stuff a few weeks ago too. Now I’m basically just reviewing/reading every day. I also have a bunch of other random Anki decks I’ve finished and am just reviewing. The rest of my week now is just eating healthier, sleeping more, and reading a bit every day. I’m not concerned about listening as that was my highest score last time.

I thought about taking some more practice tests but, in terms of time management, I kind of wonder if reading over another practice test would be more beneficial. Reading was my lowest score in July and although vocab/grammar was low, I also wasn’t finished with the vocab or grammar yet.

2 Likes
#72

I know I will only take N5, but I’m panicking here, because I was so busy at work and work trip the last three weeks, I did not have time to do more review and mock test.
Arghhh.

4 Likes
#73

They are fairly interchangeable but with different nuance. I have never taken N3 but I highly doubt they would ever give you a question where you would have to choose between these four. That would be extremely unfair IMO. As long as you know the function of each one and know how to change the verb then you will be fine.

1 Like
#74

They might, but it won’t be a significant number of questions to were it would really hurt my score. That said, the 新刊全マスターN3 Grammar book drills you on these conditionals and it’s tough if you don’t know the nuances, which can alter the meaning of a sentence. For example, compare the following two sentences:

１)日本に行ったら、連絡してください。

２)日本に行くなら、連絡してください。

To someone who doesn’t know the difference, they both sound identical. However, in the first sentence the nuance is that, WHEN you go to Japan, please contact me. So you go to Japan first, and once there, you contact me.

The second one is more of what you’d expect, IF you go to Japan, please contact me (but contact me BEFORE you go to Japan). That’s the nuance with the なら conditional, which I think is more of a true conditional as it’s more hypothetical than たら.

And then you add the other two, and it’s just a whole bunch of conditions that need to be met. I wished there was some kind of easy way to learn them, but so far it seems that I just need to memorize tables like this one if I really want to master them:

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Or this one (which sometimes contradicts the first table…yay!):

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2 Likes
#75

Personally I think you’re overthinking it too much. Japanese people interchange these all the time with only minor difference in meaning, if any. I can only say that from personal experience the one you have to be really careful with when communicating to others is なら because it can come across as rude, as if you already know what they other person is thinking. The others have their nuance of course, but the N3 test is never going to test you like that. Not even at N2 or N1 level.

3 Likes
#76

Well, that’s good to know that even N1 is not that brutal. Thanks!

1 Like
#77

BTW, I just found out that the 2nd table is not completely correct (even though the explanations and example sentences on the website are). There are some mistakes, hence the discrepancies I mentioned between the two.

That said, the second table is correct. Also, the video where it came from is probably the best at explaining these conditionals, and offers examples and tests. This is the link to the YouTube video:

HTH!

4 Likes
#78

For those who have taken the JLPT test, I know that the test from N5 to N3 is broken down into 3 parts, did you use the same exam sheet and answer sheet for each of the sections or do they hand you a different one for each section?

I ask because, like I said before, I’m taking the N3 test on Sunday and I was wondering if I could fill in answers that perhaps I didn’t have time to fill in during the previous section due to running out of time.

Also, did the examiner tell you guys how much time left you had before the end of each section? How were you keeping time?

Thanks!

3 Likes
#79

You get a different one each section.

As soon as time is up the proctor will give a loud “FINISHED! PUT YOUR PENCILS DOWN!” announcement. If you keep writing past this announcement there’s a chance they’ll give you a “yellow card” which is part of their abstract rule system they seem to enforce at random and sometimes never at all. Basically as soon as time is up you have to put everything on the desk and not touch anything. Pretend you’re a criminal and the police just caught you.

They give you no time notices. Also, in some locations, I’ve noticed they actually remove the clocks from the walls as well. (WHY?!) You are allowed a small wristwatch provided it’s not a smartwatch, it doesn’t have an alarm, and it doesn’t have any other functions beyond just telling time. I suggest buying a cheap little analogue watch before the test.

That being said, since you can’t fill in stuff AFTER the time limit, the only chance for hail mary bubble-filling is BEFORE it. So a watch is basically necessary. I also recommend getting one anyway because not knowing how much time is left/has passed will drive you insane.

8 Likes
#80

Im doing N3 in Japan! I am pretty confident about the vocabulary and reading, but I am a bit worried about the listening… It goes very fast, sounds similar, not much time to think and goes on continuously for 40 minutes, but at least I only need about third if I do well on the reading.

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#81

Thank you so much for the detailed reply. I loled at the “ Pretend you’re a criminal and the police just caught you.”, I will do so.

Thankfully I have a nice analog watch, from the time before cell phones were common, so I shall use it.

Thanks again!

4 Likes