I been seeing that n2 and n1 grammer are not very common; should i bother as i can focus on other stuff instead, like immersion or kanji?
Yeah, I recommend immersion and Kanji before learning n1 and n2 grammar.
It depends on what your purpose for learning is. If you are not planning on being in Japan for a meaningful amount of time, then it might be ok to stop at N2 or N3, but if you are going to be here for 3 months or more then it might be useful to learn some of the higher levels. I hear 尚 just about every day for example and it is in N2 grammar on BunPro. Just because its not common in casual settings, doesn’t mean you won’t encounter them at some point. Also, you’re more likely to hear these higher level points when encountering store staff for example. I think its better to learn all of them at least once, even if you don’t do a lot of reviews for them. Then at least you’ll have an idea of what it may be or if it is grammar or vocab when you encounter it in the wild.
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It’s common enough that I see/hear and use it on a daily basis. It’s not as common as N5-N3 though however that is the bread and butter so appears in basically every sentence. N1 is less useful if you don’t plan on reading much or don’t live in Japan, admittedly. If you get good at Japanese you’ll have to pick it up one way or another though.
It isn’t an either/or thing. If you’re at the appropriate level then you should be in contact with the language anyway.
If you’re around N2 then you probably know your own study preferences better than anyone else so at the end of the day you can do whatever you think is best (and change your mind later, if need be). Good luck!
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N2 grammar, at minimum (I haven’t studied N1 yet), is used often when I read Japanese books or pamphlets or emails. I think it’s worth it to study it. That said, I wouldn’t spend all my time on studying just grammar. Reading, listening, and kanji are important aspects of learning Japanese. Depending on your goal, so is shadowing and speaking practice.
I even do writing practice, but I admit I’m a rare case, at least among non-Japanese around me, and it does slow me down somewhat … but I also live in Japan and I think knowing as many aspects of Japanese language and culture is a nice thing.
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