I just got into Japanese seriously but registered for jlpt n5 a long ago for about 5 months ago but i didn’t took it seriously. but i want to pass it seriously please help me!!! guide me (i just know hiragana and katakana) i can study for 5+ hours!! just wanna pass it and mention the resources also thank you
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there’s this really cool Japanese learning (web-)app, it’s called https://bunpro.jp 
it should get you there!
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You don’t really have time to do WaniKani, in 28 days you will at most finish 4 levels, which would not cover all N5 kanji, but waste your time on the higher-level ones.
Go to wkstats and note all the kanji that you need to learn (79 total). Get an Anki deck or something to memorize their meaning and readings.
At the same time, speedrun Bunpro N5 grammar (more importantly) and vocab decks. That means you need to do 126 grammar points and 1100 vocab. Roughly 5 grammar points and 40 words a day.
Get practice tests and practice the heck out of them. (I haven’t personally used it, but in a similar post, people highly recommended https://jlpt.migii.net/en/) Probably follow some textbook along with Bunpro studies. Based on your performance on the practice tests, supplement studies with more reading or listening as needed.
N5 is definitely doable, but it will be rough tbh.
So I’ll come in here and share my two cents. Read every single sentence bunpro gives you, it is great and listen to them.
I know it is kind of sinful to throw other paid sites on here, but if you are serious, skip wanikani. It’s slow and goes out of its way to teach you strange or mostly unused kanji, unless you have a fascination with the kanji 了, skip wanikani. Use something like Renshuu or Anki. both have free versions that should get you through N5 kanji pretty easily. (though I personally would recommend learning by grade level and not by jlpt level due to real japanese books being based on grade level and not jlpt level)
For question practice, you have two options that are good, I think. one is JPdrills(paid for the most part) or japanesetest4you (free-for the most part.) Out of these two, I feel JPdrills is better, though I don’t have paypal so I cannot fully test JPDrills.
a big point to remember is the JLPT actually has a pretty low score requirement to pass. I think it was 50% on all and 180/300 to pass? something like that, it’s quite low. So if there’s a grammar point that’s too strange, like the longer forms of しなきゃ (JLPT N2 level, I am, but I cannot remember the full way to type it. lol.) don’t sweat it too much. N5 is more about the very very basics.
Best of luck!
I mean… While there isn’t really a point to getting anything below N2 I can understand doing it simply for the achievement of having it, rather than anything really important.
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Yup! As I said, makes sense for motivation.
I get you look at learning a language learning that is far from your native language; give it your all or don’t even bother. But everyone has their own path. No matter how long it takes; whatever works for you is the only thing that matters.
The N5 certificate is necessary (or at least recommended) to get a visa for a language school if you’re 25 or older — so it’s not completely useless.
You can also submit a private language school certificate showing 150 hours of study, but in my country, those courses only offer 2–4 hours per week on weekend mornings.
On top of that, they cost around $600–700 more than just taking the JLPT.
I read your comment, and it’s really stuck with me for a few days. I have to disclose that it really made me angry at first, for reasons I’ll get into. I walked away as I’m not into online arguments with strangers. It’s your opinion and you’re entitled to it.
Then I realized that it might put other people off from attempting JLPT so I’m going to try and counter it as best I can in order to give people another perspective.
Some context; I’ve taken and passed in the 90th percentile both N5 & N4. I’m currently studying for N3 this year.
I took them as motivation to continue, and also to have something to show for my efforts.
It feels good to be able say “I’ve accomplished X” than simply “I’ve studied for X years and I reckon my level is around this”. Also, yeah I’ve put them on my linkedin profile, alas I’m still waiting to be snapped up by Sony or Softbank and whisked off to Toyko (*joke)
Motivation is ALL important, it’s THE most important thing to ensure success. It can’t be overestimated. Having tangible milestones on this learning journey is an incredibly important thing; so many students fall by the wayside.
Those were the two factors that lead me to wanting to take JLPT.
What I’ve gained from studying JLPT?
Well, I’ve understood and closed the gap between “what I thought I knew” (from studying using the usual resources WK, BP etc), and “what I needed to know”.
What I needed, not necessarily to simply pass the tests but to do well at them, was to grasp more of the nuance, the contrast, the nitty-gritty; to REALLY know the content, to know EXACTLY what something is saying, not “I get the gist, I kinda know what this means”. My understanding of Japanese has deepened and strengthened from being challenged; ‘pick the answer, whats correct here’.
I didn’t know how much I didn’t know until I studied to ace JLPT.
So I have worked hard, am working hard on passing my next challenge. I’ve put a lot into it, a lot of time, most probably more time than needed. I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished.
So you might understand my annoyance at comments like;
Disagree for reasons above.
Disagree, it’s hard to me to grasp. Happy for you if it isn’t.
A final point; I study alone. In my experience there’s a lovely camaraderie between JLPT takers (just pop into any thread on those taking it) - it makes me feel less alone, that there’s a shared experience.
This extends into test day; both times has been an unforgettable experience. Chatting to people in the room about your shared passion. It’s a very diverse group of people, age, gender, color. Meeting the 14yr girl in the lift with her mum taking N4 when I was taking N5. No way! N4 You’re so cool, I’m jealous I told her. Her mum whispered her thanks as her beaming daughter got off at their floor.
I vividly remember standing in the N4 queue in 2023; looking to my right, at the queue of nervous N5 takers waiting, giggling, nervously fidgeting, they’re so cute! Then looking to my left at the N3 takers nearest me, their steely determination; further across the N2 and N1 takers. Yeah that’s where I want to be one day, they look so cool.
After the tests, the release of nervous energy, the chatting about the tests, which bit was toughest, what are your future plans, wait you’ve got a job over there already? that’s so cool. You can feel the positive energy, drink it in.
So yeah, I read alot of threads about “should I take JLPT, is it worth it?” and I made my own decision.
People need to make theirs too. Opinion is divided. But there’s a lot more to it than “Employers don’t care about anything lower than N2”
Anyway, there’s my perspective. It’s not sent with any ill-intent. cheers
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JLPT is great motivation, that’s mostly what I use it for. I’m taking N1 in December and while the certificate (if I pass) will be useful for my future goals, the one specific reason I’m taking it is to motivate me to study more. It’s very easy to get complacent in your studies, but having a hard deadline of “you need to be able to do this by this date” is extremely powerful, I find. For context, I took my first JLPT exam (N2) in 2017, passed (not by much), and went years without studying after. Now I have plans that involve needing to know much more Japanese than I currently do, and planning to take the exam really has kicked me into gear in my studies. I’m not sure what else would have the same effect.
Also, yes, I definitely agree when you said that Japanese is hard to grasp. As a native English speaker, literally everything I knew about language and sentence structure had to be thrown out the window before I started to grasp Japanese, and that was far from a quick process.
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