I’m taking the n5 for the first time this year. I could probably take the n4 at the point where I am, but I don’t feel like I’m ready for it. It’s up to you to decide what level you feel your at.
2 Likes
i was going to take the n4, but the jlpt is fully booked where i live >:|
1 Like
Not this time around, unfortunately. I’m not prepared or confident enough to tackle N5 just yet, but I’m aiming for next December if possible.
2 Likes
I’m…almost done with my N4 review materials, so I feel like I’ll probably be going into N3 with not much N3-geared studying complete. ¯l_(ツ)_/¯
3 Likes
I thought I’d sign up for N3 so I can give this test a try without too much trouble.
The more I study, the more I realize that N3 is pretty hard. If I wanted to just try out the test, I should have gone for N4. But I doubt I would have learned as much in that case.
And to think I was initially going to try for N2. LOL
Anyway, I think N2 is going to be December 2020. And depending on whether I pass or not and with what grade, I might sign up for N3 again in July. But I might not. It’s not actually worth much in terms of what I want in life.
3 Likes
I’m in the exact same position 
I haven’t covered all of N3 grammar yet but the more I get into it the more I feel like I’m totally not ready for this. I actually know a lot of the grammar passively or can infer the meaning of it from context because I’ve been reading a bit lately. But when I have to actively use it I’m completely lost.
On top of that I skipped N5 and N4 so this is my first JLPT and I have no idea what to expect
3 Likes
Same, this is my first time too and I’ve skipped right on to N3. But I’ve taken several mock exams to prepare for it. Highly recommend the JLPT Official Practice Workbooks (they’re free) to get a feel for the test.
5 Likes
Oh, thanks. I didn’t know there were free mock exams.
Just looked at them and they look like the ones in the studying app I’m using. On average I only get about half of them right D:
3 Likes
I got my test voucher for Toronto today!
7 Likes
Was a bit bummed out that I couldn’t register for this year’s JLPT. Missed the registration 
1 Like
Can anyone who has used the Shinkanzen Master series, specifically the reading book, tell me how they went about it?
I finally cracked open mine and I actually really like it but I have no idea how to really use it. I just did all the reading passages/questions for the first section on comparatives and felt like that was a good enough amount for the day.
I’m so used to grammar and vocab where, after I read it/take the quiz, I’ll add the vocab to my SRS program or find more example sentences for the grammar points. But for this I feel like I’m just going to: go through each section reading and answering the questions as best I can, then look to see what I got right/wrong, and then go back over the paragraph again, this time with the solution in mind…and then move on?
It feels like there won’t be as much use doubling back or reviewing with this book as it is with the others.
How are other’s experiences with it?
4 Likes
For the Shinkanzen reading book, that’s how I use it as well. I think the main point of that book is to show you the different kinds of questions (e.g. information retrieval from a flyer etc.), the different lengths of texts, the styles of the questions and the reasoning behind them (I think in your level there are e.g. texts with contrasting opinions and the like, so you can learn what type of answer they are after for those, etc.)
What I do when I get an answer wrong, I try to figure out why that happened and to take some learning from that. Was there vocabulary I did not know? → Make sure to practice that. Did I misunderstand a grammar point? → Go over it again and add it to my deck. Did I run out of time? → Try to read faster, or practice more reading. Something like that. So it’s more a derived thing that comes out of studying this book, it kinda trickles down to the other sections if needed.
6 Likes
I didn’t know nihongo no mori had a vocab section! I’ll add that to my study resources at some point! 
It’s really getting close now, huh… Almost didn’t realize.
2 Likes
I did my first ever practice portion of a JLPT. I did the vocab section from the practice questions @Saida had linked to for N3. Of the three sections, only section three (contextually-defined expressions) was hard. In the five sections, I got 8/8, 6/6, 5/9, 5/5, and 4/5, for a grand total of 28/33.
It took me 21 minutes out of the 30 allowed, which is good if this is roughly the number of questions on the actual test. Otherwise I could be in trouble for time, despite the questions themselves being easy. Does anyone know if 33 questions is roughly the size of the actual test for this section?
I’ll try the other sections over the next week, and then maybe I’ll buy the workbook if I found the exercise valuable. It’s just a shame I can’t order them on Amazon for two day shipping. 
6 Likes
Oh, apparently it is on Amazon. Amazon has it overpriced as usual, and backordered (no surprise). Or I could order it from Amazon Japan cheaper. It’s just a shame I didn’t know about this to order last time to save on shipping. Guess I’ll decide whether to bother based on how the other sections go in the online practice test.
I usually look at this JLPT bootcamp page (mainly for time management, but it also lists the number of questions in each section). For the N3 vocab section it lists 35 questions, if I did not miscalculate. So that sounds like you’re good to go 
Edit: I just took the vocab section of that test myself, and I guess that the information on the JLPT bootcamp page is outdated, because the test website explicitly states
The practices tests consist of same number of questions as an actual test. The questions are derived from the actual 2010 and 2011 JLPT N3 tests.
So I take it that 33 is the magic number here
For the record, my results were 5/8, 5/6, 6/9, 4/5 and 3/5 - in total 23 / 33, much better than what I had expected! I got into “JLPT hurry mode” when doing the test, so I finished in 17 minutes.
5 Likes
Alright, I did the grammar and reading sections (took a short break between, but timed them together). I went over by 5 minutes, which means I shouldn’t count the last two questions. On grammar I got 22/23. On reading I got 15/16 (13/16 if you exclude the two I timed out on).
I’m actually really surprised by how easy the grammar section was. I feel like there was barely any actual N3 grammar, but maybe for the grammar points I know really well I just don’t know how they’re classified. Plus I suppose the test is cumulative in a way, so not every question will explicitly be about N3 grammar points.
P.S. I hate the questions with four blanks where you have to arrange the words to make a coherent sentence. Even though I got all four right this time, they are time killers for me. Maybe on the actual test I should limit myself to a quick glance at each of those questions and skip them if they’re not obvious (and of course go back to try again if I have time).
Can someone tell me how the time limit works for the listening section? I think it’s 40 minutes total, but is it actually a set time per question? If so, how long per question? Also, do they only play each dialogue once?
6 Likes
Iirc you go through it once and hear all sections only once, for some sections you get a bit of time to read it through (the 2 questions in one sections), but once you’re done you don’t get time to read through your answers
1 Like
The sound file that is on that site I linked is pretty much the running length of jlpt listening section. The pauses between questions are built into the file, so no need to turn on a timer. You only get to hear everything once, though
5 Likes
Extremely same. Even in my native language.
3 Likes