I know a lot of people suggest skipping the N5 test and starting with N4 but, if I have the time in July, I think I’d like to try my hand at N5 anyway even just to see where I am. I know I still have a lot of vocab to go.
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I did the N5 test many years ago and don’t regret doing the lower level. It gives you a feel for the format of the higher levels and if you’re a touch hubristic about how much you understand (not to mention how fast you can read) it’ll school you well without killing you lol.
I’m going to take N4 this July, since I finally got off my ass and started learning grammar properly. 
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@SudoNymm
That’s good to hear. I also thought trying for N5 would make the test format less stressful overall than skipping to a higher level and not know exactly what to expect.
I wish you luck on your N4 studies for this July!
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I wanted to try out the lower levels to see what the testing format is like first hand, but personally it isn’t practical. Closest testing center is 4 hours away and only in the winter. I’d likely have to go through those mountain ranges in icy conditions 
the jlpt isn’t necessary for me rn for a job or anything, so I’m just enjoying the ride. After enjoying it through several novels/etc I’ll eventually sit the N2 for my first test and hopefully get a fancy piece of paper that tells me I haven’t been a poser this entire time. heck you imposter syndrome
But good luck to everyone taking it this summer! Remember, you’ll either pass or get told exactly what you need to focus more on. So the experience is a win-win 
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Hi all! Happy new year!
I’m planning to take N4 in July and then N3 in December. Shaping up to be a big year!
I feel more comfortable with grammar now (thanks Bunpro!) but really need to improve my listening and vocab this year. So I’m planning to start reading some basic materials and also watch some simple tv series.
Good luck everyone!
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If you haven’t heard of Shirokuma Cafe then definitely get into that for your listening practice, it’s great.
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Cheers! Will definitely check it out. Thanks
If the testing site is convient to you, sound great. You could take a mock exam like JLPT N5 Practice Test to get some benifits.
The two most common reasons to take n5 are:
It proves intrest in Japanese. A job with little actual Japanese requirements (like ALT) are happy to see n5 becuase it shows that you want to learn Japanese, more than that you are any good at japanese.
It’s a goal to work toward. While bunpro does have steps and levels, a deadline helps alot of people with movitvation.
I passed n5 with Genki 1 and lingo deer (a duolingo equivelent). I passed by the skin of my teeth without bunpro, anki, kanji, immersion or any listening besides the CD that came with genki (which I kept in my car CD player for the 6 months before the test)
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Gonna try for n4 in July. I think of n4 is about Japanese Major in University level of Japanese.
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I’ll throw myself out there as an example of this; having a hard and fast date (that I am NOT in control of, because if I set my own dates my brain goes “Oh I know that lady, she’s all talk”) really helps me to keep up my study schedule.
Plus, like others have said, there’s no harm in taking the N5 to familiarize yourself with how the test is run, or to get used to test-timing again if it’s been a while since you took one. There’s plenty of reasons to skip the N5, sure, but there’s also plenty of reasons to take it if it’ll help you out
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If the major is Japanese then I think a bad student would be around N2 and a good student should be comfortably N1 when graduating. I guess it depends on the university but this is just from what I know anecdotally from meeting professors and people who majored in Japanese (slight selection bias because they all live in Japan). A 3-4 year university extra-curricular language course would probably end around N4 level though, again just from what I know anecdotally.
As a side note, the ridiculously slow pace some university Japanese courses go is absolutely criminal in my opinion, especially as in many cases people are paying a fair chunk of money to be there. It’s hard to say if it is the fault of the students or the course (likely both) but if you’re studying Japanese full time with minimal other commitments, as most Japanese majors would be, then it is a travesty to not be somewhat okay at the language by the end. My honest opinion is that it’s a complete racket at most universities.
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I think it really depends. At most Canadian universities at least, you don’t really major in Japanese — it is usually part of a larger Pacific and Asian curriculum, where students usually take only one or two Japanese courses a semester, mixed with history, culture, etc.
I’d say most students graduate around mid-N3, potentially low N2 if they have study abroad experience or have specifically studied for JLPT.
This is anecdotal, but from talking to other graduates from the states (for example, University of Washington) this is also the case for them.
I can’t speak for programs that are specifically for Japanese. Just wanted to chime in and say that in Canada at least, it is very difficult to find a purely “Japanese” major.
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My college Japanese majors got to the end of “an intergrated guide to intermediate Japanese”
I’ve heard on blogs and forums that It’s unlikely to pass n3 without any immersion- as in classes and no self study.
Why pay a university to teach you Japanese when you could save a bunch of money and get a tiny little language school to do it just as well tbh.
I almost made the mistake of doing a degree in Japanese language (there was a whole major available here). I’m glad I didn’t.
I’m studying at the University of Bunpro 
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I’m planning on taking N3 in july, possibly N2 in december. but I’ll see how I feel I do on the N3 test before that second statement.
I’ll put my goal out there too. I’ll take N2 in December 2024. My Japanese is all over the place so I need some focused JLPT study I feel. Some areas I have a really rich amount of vocab and others I can barely summon the right verb. Grammar is very sketchy, I can always manage to make myself understood just not very eloquently.
I did learn to drive here in Japan (up thread it mentions the amount of hours to learn to drive in Japan) it wasnt an intensive course and took about three months during evenings and weekends. The 26 classroom hours were a killer. Perhaps, I’ll get lucky and get a driving related reading article on the test.
I minored in Japanese at uni many years ago and I’d say it fell into the absolute racket type course. There are so many online resources now, I’d not formally study Japanese in that way again.
Really, I’ve sunk so many years into this, I think now I’d like to have some certification to show for it.
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N2 in July. I must be crazy, but I’m gonna do it regardless. Let’s go take that walk.
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Gonna try n2 in December. It’ll be my first test and I’ll probably bomb it real hard
Unless…?
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Just my own two cents: if you can, take N3 in July 2024 if you can first (unless you already have N3).
It will be a nice stepping stone for you if you are confident of getting N2 in December 2024, and if you’re not confident of getting that, it will be a nice fallback to rely on
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