From N4 to N3 in 5 months [JLPT in London July 2026?]

Japanese Language
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Hey! I’ve been studying Japanese seriously for 1.5 years now, both through online classes, WaniKani (now level 30) and various Anki decks. I sped through the classes (skipping ahead twice), and I finished all N4 content earlier this month. I continued immediately with the N3 lessons.

I also took an N4 practice test on Bunpro this weekend and finished with 89%, so I’ve retained most knowledge alright, too.

I am also going to language school for 2 months in October/November in Japan, and I made it my goal to finish N3 before I went. BUT I was looking at JLPT locations and realised I’m in London during the July JLPT test. This made me think “hmm what if I register for the JLPT N3 exam in July this year”. It would give me 5 months to prepare from now, and I already know about 1/3 of the vocab and 1/4th of the grammar points, I would say.

I created a Bunpro account this weekend so I could set up a schedule of 2 grammar points + 10 N3 vocab words a day, which would mean I will hopefully finish all N3 grammar and vocab in ~4 months. I will also need to work on listening (my weakest part of the N4 practise test), but I plan to listen to more podcasts at N3 level more, too.

Does this plan sound doable? From N4 to N3 in ~5 months, knowing I’ve already gotten most of the kanji down?

Also, has anyone taken the JLPT in London last year?

Any tips to prepare for the N3 JLPT in addition to just covering all the grammar/vocab?

It sounds like a wild goal, but I’m also motivated to put in the time to finish everything, so I’m hoping for some good advice!

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If you keep studying in that manner, I’d say you shouldn’t have any issues.
(But please keep in mind that kanji is usually the smallest part of the exam…)

Read books! (Yes these things with just text in them, no pictures :winking_face_with_tongue:)
From N3, the reading portion will increase significantly, plus it will help you to see grammar and vocab in the wild and to learn where it’s naturally being used. If you don’t know what to read, you can check out learnnatively.com and look for easier books.

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You’re absolutely right, I need to read more. I do read study books and manga, but I still get a little overwhelmed when I get see large portions of Japanese text (like, my brain automatically tunes out…) so hopefully reading more will help with that. I’ll try and make the time to include maybe a page or so every day?

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I absolutely get that feeling! (And the good news is, reading more will indeed help!)

We also have book clubs here on WaniKani, there is the [Seeking Nominations] Beginner Japanese Book Club // Now Reading: 骨ドラゴンのマナ娘 (they read manga and books) and the Intermediate Japanese Book Club // Now Reading: 怪人二十面相 (Jan 4th), and you are strongly encouraged to ask questions regarding the understanding or anything, really, in the club threads. Even if you read a past book club pick, there will still be people around to answer your questions (or there are similar questions and answers already).
The Intermediate Club is now in week 4, so you could try and trail behind the club if you want, and maybe catch up even at some point? :blush: Or just pick a book that interests you. That’s really the most important thing to make you stick with it :+1:

That’s a good goal to start with, and then you can see how it goes and adjust accordingly. I’m sure you will be up to speed in no time.

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I had taken a casual look at Bunpro some time ago, but did not get into it intensively.

It sounds like you’re planning to use a “jump into the middle” approach, focused on N3 content, without having started at an earlier point (N5? N4?) and proceeding through that earlier material before approaching the N3 material.

Do I understand that correctly?

I’d be interested in hearing your comments about how practical that may be (after you’ve had a bit of direct experience with it).

I’m not planning to take the N3 (I’m at a rough N4 level but missed the passing grade by 3 points when I took the test a few years ago), but nevertheless I’ve started using N3 as a guide to my studies, simply because I can treat it as an organized approach to learning new vocab and grammar (because there are lots of available textbooks and supplementary material categorized by JLPT level).

Also, it sounds like you may not have taken an actual JLPT test before, although you have evidently done some practice tests. Having detailed advance familiarity with the JLPT test organization and question patterns is an important component towards passing the test, so I’d recommend including as much sample testing as possible in your study schedule, with time pressure being as important as the content.

Curious about the details of your planned language classes in Japan, if you don’t mind sharing that.

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If you can get your hands on Shinkanzen Master N3 reading textbook and some practice tests, I think it’s possible if you put in the work.

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It sounds like you’re planning to use a “jump into the middle” approach, focused on N3 content, without having started at an earlier point (N5? N4?) and proceeding through that earlier material before approaching the N3 material.

Do I understand that correctly?

Well, I already studied all N5/N5 material through other sources (my current classes + Anki decks + books) so I marked all N5/N4 grammar and vocab as “known” on Bunpro, and I started with their N3 grammar and vocab decks. They have separate “decks” per JLPT level, so it’s easy to start on a level without having done earlier level content through them specifically.

I also found an N3 Anki vocab deck which I will try to supplement with, and I make my own Anki N3 grammar deck with all the grammar points + example sentences (both EN-JP and JP-EN, so I’m encouraged to actively use it as well).

Does that answer your question?

Also, it sounds like you may not have taken an actual JLPT test before, although you have evidently done some practice tests. Having detailed advance familiarity with the JLPT test organization and question patterns is an important component towards passing the test, so I’d recommend including as much sample testing as possible in your study schedule, with time pressure being as important as the content.

Yeah, you’re right! That’s a very good point. The school I take classes with make their own study materials, and it’s highly focused on the JLPT type questions (i.e. the fill in the blanks, particles, and “what goes at the *” questions. So I’m pretty familiar with how those work. My main concern right now is my reading speed, so I will also need to find time to incorporate some more reading in my plan…

How was your N4 test experience? Do you wish you had done things differently to prepare?

Curious about the details of your planned language classes in Japan, if you don’t mind sharing that.

I don’t know much yet, my school here is taking care of most of it, and I’ll hear the details in February or March. But it’ll be a Japanese language school in Kobe, and I’ll be living in a dorm type of room and taking classes for 8 weeks I believe 3 days a week + homework! I’ll let you know more when I know more!

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I’ll definitely look into those, thanks! The school I take classes at makes their own books as well, so I do have a decent textbook, but I’m always interest in learning different ways. I see there are multiple Shinkanzen N3 books (Grammar, Listening, Vocab, Reading), do you recommend the “Reading” one specifically?

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Thank you!! I was motivated by your advice and picked up one of the Japanese manga I have, and I will try and read 30 mins before bed. I understood most of it, so it feels good! I know manga won’t be enough, but I thought I would try and ease myself into it… Maybe in a month or 2 when I finished all my Japanese manga, I’ll come hang out at the book club, thank you for the tip!!

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Yes, thanks. Being able to mark the N5/N4 material as ‘already known’ sounds like an interesting way to be able to focus on the N3 stuff.

I spent too much of my study time on kanji, with not enough time spent on grammar. Also, I did not spend enough time on ‘timed’ example test taking.

The JLPT is a strange animal - for example, you need to carefully budget your time and keep moving forward, not allowing yourself to get hung up or slowed down if you really don’t know the answer.

And the scoring of the test is a bit opaque - when I walked out of the N5 test I was dejected and certain that I had failed miserably, yet when the scores came back it turned out that I had passed it comfortably. Yet at the end of the N4 exam I was confident that I had passed, only to discover later that I came close but did not actually cross the finish line with “a win”.

Good luck with your studies, it sounds like you have the motivation and a workable plan to get where you want to go.

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Yeah, Bunpro has JLPT practice tests that are also timed, so I have some experience with it now that I did an N4 practice test. I went through it really fast because I was scared I wouldn’t have enough time, but I finished the reading/grammar part with 17 mins to spare haha. But I know the N3 reading is much more extensive, so I’ll definitely have to use timed practice tests to get a sense of how to pace myself.

I’m sorry you failed the N4 like that, that sounds rough… I hope you’re still having fun with your studies though!

And thank you!

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I recommend both the grammar and reading ones, but since your school has specific grammar textbooks, you can skip this. I do think that the reading one is amazing in helping with handling the reading portion of the test and also in reading articles in Japanese in the real world. I think with anki and wanikani, you won’t need to buy the vocabulary or kanji books.

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I think that it’s imperative to test yourself in the way the actual test works. In Japan, the test starts in the afternoon so I would say do your test at this time. Do a full practice test with the same time limits and breaks. Not everyone would agree but because I did this from the jump (since N4), I was not intimidated in the room and on the day. Of course there was anxiety, but it wasn’t as much as it would have been if I hadn’t tested myself in this way.

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Both of those tips are super helpful, thank you so much!! I ordered the reading book, and when I’m a little further in the N3 grammar and vocab I will try to do a practice test every week.

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