Can You Pass JLPT At Home?

Japanese Language
#1

While I was sorting out some stuff, I found an old link that sent me to some JLPT samples.

I never took any JLPT test but out of curiosity, I wanted to try one and see how it feels. I honestly don’t have any interest in the certificate so passing the real exam doesn’t make a real difference to me.

Here is how did it(I am not sure if everything is right).

PS: I picked the JLPT N5 2018 version.

I did the vocabulary first: https://www.jlpt.jp/samples/sample2018/pdf/N5V.pdf
I got a 33/35(33 right answers, 35 total answers).

Then grammar: https://www.jlpt.jp/samples/sample2018/pdf/N5G.pdf
I got a 22/26.

Then reading: https://www.jlpt.jp/samples/sample2018/pdf/N5R.pdf
I got a 5/6.

From what I understood, grammar and reading are supposed to be together.
So we have, 27/32.

Finally, listening: https://www.jlpt.jp/samples/sample2018/pdf/N5L.pdf
I got a 20/24.

PS: I found a listening script but I guess you don’t have it when you take the exam so I didn’t use it :joy:

Okay, great. I think I understood how it works overall(correct me if I am wrong). I tried to do it in “real conditions” and it was actually fun because I never tested my Japanese before. It was also cool to have a look at the answer sheet after I finished to figure out where I messed up. Sometimes you know the answer but you fail because you weren’t focused enough.

So now, I have two questions. How close is this to the real JLPT? I really want your opinion here. Give it a look and tell me how it was compared to the real stuff. I mean if it’s like 90% close, I would rather pursue this method and try the N4 one. If you did the same thing as me, feel free to share your own experience.

The other question is “how is the final score calculated”? So I found this but I didn’t understand it completely.

For N5, vocab’ & grammar & reading are all together. In my case, I get like 60/67. However, they say it should be X/120. Is it like (60/67) x 120 = 107/120 and therefore for listening 50/60? This is assuming they all have the same ratio.

I also saw that the score for every part has to be over a certain threshold. When it says “sectional pass marks”, is getting 38/120 passing? Isn’t that very low?

Sorry for the rant, it was quite the experience for me even though it wasn’t as fulfilling as the experience many of you had. Thanks in advance!

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#2
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#3

plantron’s unsettling smile while linking this. dude.

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#4

It’s actually more complicated than I thought lol. That being said, I get the idea now. Thanks!

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#5

Based on your answers correct I think you would definitely pass N5, at least.

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#6

I didn’t listen to the audio, but the written part is the real deal; probably the actual 2018 test from whatever session.

#7

Yeah, the section requirements are not strict. Doesn’t stop some people from failing for that reason though.

#8

I can see that, especially at the higher levels. However, I expected the requirement to be at least close to half the points(like 50/120 minimum). I don’t know why I always expected the test to be really hard. Now I see why some people pass like N2 with just 1000 Kanji.

Thanks a lot for confirming. Now I can check my Japanese level once in a while without a problem :smiley:

It would be problematic if I can’t even pass N5 while being level 36 haha.

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#9

That’s about how many kanji can appear on N2. So that would be a very prepared person…

Kanji is a relatively small part of the whole test, so some people at level 60 might struggle if they haven’t stayed on top of other areas of Japanese.

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#10

Well if you hadn’t done any grammar you most definitely would not pass :stuck_out_tongue:

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#11

I have to admit I started studying grammar a bit late. I will finish Genki II in a couple of weeks and try the N4 samples. If everything goes as expected, I will start a new “Tobira” thread and go for that N3 level.

I think it would suck if I am not at least N3 level when I get 60.

#12

There have already been a few Tobira threads, and one pretty recently. Seems like either op didnt follow up much or just not enough people are interested here…

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#13

I know, I have already seen most of them, that’s why I am planning to make my own one. I finished every challenge I started on this forum so it’s time to get a real finished Tobira thread :smiley:

#14

Could you link an answer sheet for the tests you did?
I thought I’d give it a go myself, but I can’t find any answers to see how I did.

#15

If you get one of the official practice test books it’s easy to figure out your score! Just make sure to pay attention to how many points each question is worth when you grade yourself.

I missed that aspect when I graded myself for the first time and I was very confused as to why my score didn’t add up!

I haven’t taken N5, but what you took looks similar in format/content to what I saw when I took N4.

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#16

Hey thanks for sharing this. I signed up to take the N5 exam which is in a few days. I am trying to do some last minute studying and I didn’t want to buy actual practice books because they’re expensive. So this will help a lot.

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#17

It is the first line in my thread that takes you to the sample sheets. Click on the orange button and you will find exams for the different JLPT levels. Keep scrolling until you find it at the end(sample answers, answers, listening script).

@nednettinc Yes, thanks to @plantron 's link I got that. But I don’t really need the exact real score, as long as I get more than half the points in every aspect I should be fine I think.

Honestly, I would rather invest in a textbook because I don’t care that much about JLPT but how can you guess your score with the practice book? Do they tell you how many points each question is worth or? I thought the way they calculated the whole thing was a bit complex.

@PoppyKon Yeah I think that’s your best bet and it’ll give you an idea about how ready you are. If you have time, you can always use “Bunpro” as well.

#18

Thanks for the advice. I will learn the grammar from Bunpro and practice using that grammar on LangCorrect. Hopefully it will make me ready for the exam

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#19

Yup, like questions 1-10 are worth 1 point, questions 11-20 are worth 2 points, etc

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#20

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