Also, congratulations to everyone who passed, and good luck on the next one for everyone taking it again, whether at the same level or the next!
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I did not pass the N4 but I am not discouraged at all since I barely made any dent into any N4 material and did not study at all for the exam. I think Iāll just retake the N4 in summer and try for the N3 in winter, although I might be in Japan.
Does anyone know if itās easy to get a seat for the exam in Japan? I assume they might hold the exam in most of the cities in the country 
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Somebody posted in the July JLPT thread about that one new rule that gives Japan testing sites seats only to residents. If youāre only planning to visit as a tourist it might be harder than expected to take the test there
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I was just reading about that! Iām applying for the Working Holiday visa, Iām a bit worried because I have not found yet any information on whether that makes me eligible or not, as well as having to provide an address āthat very well could change before the test takes place ā. But, oh well, even if I canāt sit it I will at least get to practice the language everyday!
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If your visa is for a year, then yes you count as a resident.
If your visa is less than a year, probably not.
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Youāll get a residence card - which is what youāll need to apply according to the new regs, think youāll be all good
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A little late to the party, but I passed JLPT N2 last December 2025! 
I finished the entire Official Bunpro N2 Grammar Deck but not the Vocabulary Deck, but I still passed!
I feel like Bunproās Vocabulary Deck is more difficult than the actual level it claims ā but at least it overprepares you for the test. Thatās just my opinion, though. 
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Does anyone have any decent mock test recommendations for a level check? The Bunpro ones seemed a little easy at the higher levels when I tried them before - ideally would be after any actual past papers.
I used to use a dodgy Vietnamese site that had loads on there, but looks like the JLPT cops got to them and theyāve pulled their content down.
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I think (hope?) no one is going to share pirated material on here, esp bc it results in a ban from taking the JLPT if you are found out
Legit would be better of course. Itās a shame they donāt publish their past papers
man and i thought it was bad that i had the guy next to me in N1 not knowing how to ask in japanese to borrow an eraser which was very distracting, at least i actually got to hear/read all the questions!
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There are officially published JLPT mock test books.
They look like this and thereās 2 volumes for each level. The test questions are from old past exams.
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Not bad, just indicatorsā¦.but. WHY N1? Just to complete the set?
Iām sure this group has plenty of suggestions to help with the āfun thingsā.
Unless you need N1 for specific reason, sometimes itās more effective to use your time resources in other ways.
PS: I do still have an urge to ācomplete the setāā¦but Iāve drawn a firm line in the sand after N3ā¦ solo and specific pathway for MY Japanese.
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Curious as to why. And what your solo and specific pathway will be.
I passed N4 last Dec but not happy with my score. Not because theyāre low but because I feel like Iām good at taking tests yet I still havenāt mastered all the grammar points (esp those dang conjugations!), Iām forgetting stuff and I still have a hard time listening and speaking/using those grammar points. And yes, I know I am better than a year ago and I am aiming to take the N3 this year. But I am just disappointed that I canāt retain grammar lessons as well as Iād like to and speaking is still at a basic level.
So I have thought of getting to N3 and focus on listening and speaking more than taking on the next level after that. Of course, this is just me thinking out loud at this momentā¦
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I liked that JLPT gave me a very concrete study path, and tbh I enjoy the thrill and stress of taking the test in a semi-masochistic way. I like that thereās a yearly event where the effort Iāve put in throughout the year culminates. I also like that it eventually puts a number to quantify my āJapanese abilityā (though I know this number is problematic and not really a good representation of my ability, especially given how even though I have a good N2 score I still feel like itās pretty hard for me to understand even N3-N4 level natural speed audio).
I still want to take the N1 this year because I like the experience, but I hope this year to be able to reach a better score just by using the language 
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I passed my N4!
But after being really pleased with my result on the N5 in July, I found the N4 to be harder than I was expecting.
My listening score was around 50%.
And now Iāve learned that the JLPT study time curve is not flat. Itās not even linear. Itās geometric!
And there was me thinking Iād just do another level every 6 months. How naiveā¦
But anyway, glad to have passed! Will be leaving a bigger gap before N3.
Edited to add: figures sourced from How Many Hours Needed to Pass JLPT?
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Does this chart mean, for example, you would need about 1500 hours of study time for N3 after completing N5 and N4, or 1500 total? (As in if youāve already passed N4, you need another ~750 hours to complete N3)?
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For me, N3 was a useful study path and Iām happy I did it, but I felt N2 would take me to loftier places than I needed
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Each bar on the chart represents the estimated study time required for that level alone. In other words, you have to work through each of these bars fully and individually.
Somehow I thought Iād just do 500 hours study for each level! But the reality is that every level requires approximately 1.7 times the amount of study as the previous level.
Now I understand why some people decide to stop after N2 or N3.
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Erm, I think 4000 hours for a passable N1 certificate is possibleā¦, so those hours there is actually the time it took for a new learner to achieve that level, not the cumulative sums.
If it took 10,000 hours for one to get N1, then there will be no āspeedrun N1 in a yearā guys around.
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