I’m hoping to tackle N2 this year. I did really well on N3 and I’ve had even longer to study for N2 so I’m hoping I’ll be a bit less nervous since I’ve been through the process once now but I’ll still probably be on pins and needles up until december and then again until the results come out. I’m hoping listening will be easier this year since I’ve gotten a lot more practice in on it but who knows!
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This is exactly correct 
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Thanks for letting me know! Guess Ill be applying out of insurance…
Hoping for N2 in December but I am really not sure yet. I will decide for sure again at the last minute…
149 days until the exam. It is enough time if I can get serious and actually study…
I’m planning to sit the N4 in December 2026.
I’m good with the kanji, grammar and vocabulary are going well, but I really struggle with the listening.
As someone said upthread, I’m at the weird in-between stage of being too good for the n5 listening videos but not good enough to go full-on Japanese.
I find Mochi Sensei’s youtube videos to be the most helpful at the moment.
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Trying N2 this December. Somewhat confident but who knows 🥲 not panicking at least (YET) so I’ll take that win. The test is still 140ish days away so with the right math and consistent effort, it shall work out!
I try not to worry and instead am now reading the light novels still sitting on my “later” pile after a year with less free time.
Let’s do this, everyone! ᕦʕ •ᴥ•ʔᕤ
I believe in us
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Ok I’m curious - the N3 to N2 gap is bigger than N2 to N1? What is the reason for that? Not trying to be confrontational, but that is really interesting.
@Jrgreenw I would say N3 > N2 has a big gap, in as much as it requires the biggest shift in learning. It’s a sudden increase in the volume of vocab required from ~3,000 to 6,000 and requiring over 1,000 kanji. Most importantly it demands fast reading speeds too.
Numerically, N2 > N1 is the biggest gap. N1 requires around twice the vocab of N2, and twice the kanji of N2, and even faster reading. However if you can already study for the N2, you probably have a good idea of how to study for the N1.
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And then on the test day, you think to yourself, “man, my preparations for N1 is 全然足りない!”
But still, this is a bit of an odd things to say, but when it comes to N1, dont expect regular Japanese there, the listening has it own set of vocabs and idioms that is not being used in any other places.
I feel like, at the higher level, preparing for the test format is also a much higher priority than n3 and below.
There is no way n3 to n2 is bigger than n2 to n1, basically n1 vocab and idioms are unlimited. They can used all types of archaic expressions and you just have to accept that you did not know it though.
What people estimate to pass n1 is about 10k-ish vocab, but that will just barely made it (100/180) maybe, for higher passing score 150+, I dare say that 18-20k word is the upper limit. While with 6k to 8k vocabs, you can do well in n2.
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Just registered for N1 in Hamburg this December. Reading and listening at the required speed will probably kick my ass, but it will be good to have a concrete goal to work towards and get a feel for how much of a gap there still is.
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I’m going to try for the N3 in Japan for the first time. I only got to do the N4 last December back in my home country so kinda nervous about the whole thing
Woohoo, just got confirmation that I have a seat for the N3 test in December.
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Wow, where will you take the exam, it is so early? In my country the registration usually come after the official result of the last exam come about.
Dusseldorf, Germany.
I’m from The Netherlands myself, but we have no test in December unfortunately.
I’m still very much a beginner. I would love to take the N5 test in December. Still a long road for me though 
Dang, hold on. We need to apply this early? I can’t even tell where to sign up for Düsseldorf. Are their applications closed already?
Registration opened today in Germany (per Mail) and I prepared everything to throw in the mailbox tomorrow morning.
Trying for N2 after passing N3 last december with a 118/180.
At my current pace of 10 vocab, 1 grammar per day I will most likely barely finish N2 by exam day.
Might not pass and thats ok since I will most likely already have a job secured in Japan before the test happens anyway.
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The website now says it’s fully booked indeed;
https://vhs.duesseldorf.de/programm/sprachen/japanisch/1/kategorie/Pruefungstermine/1366
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I’ll be going for N3 this December! I’m going pretty aggressive into grammar and vocabulary right now. If anything sinks me, it’s probably going to be the listening… but I’ve still got around five months to prepare myself.
Studied abroad in Japan last year for a semester, fell in love with the country and want to move back long term eventually. Will be a good stepping stone, hopefully I pass!
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