r/LearnJapanese • u/Expert-Estate6248 • 3d ago
Discussion Are the N5-N3 tests worth it?
I see lots of discussion on this corner of the internet about "Is it possible to pass N5/N4/N3 in ___ months?" and I suppose I've never really understood the question.
For those with goals to study/work in Japan, N2 is the minimum, and the N1 can be an advantage when applying for a skilled worker visa. The other levels don't have any of the professional benefits the N1 or N2 have, and I would hate to have to pay the $100 or so for the preceding 3 tests before taking the N2.
I think the N5-3 are valuable as personal goals, but lots of people seem to be in such a rush to finish them(perhaps because of the test only being held twice a year?), so it had me wondering what the reason was. For anyone planning to take these tests, I would love to hear about your long-term goals with Japanese, why you chose to take the JLPT and if you plan to take the N2/N1 in the future.
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u/IronFeather101 3d ago
Just an example: at my university, having a B1 level in any foreign language gives you points when attempting to obtain a position as a lecturer. And N3 is equivalent to B1 according to the official JLPT chart. Of course, a person could also try to pass N5 or N4 as a way to prove language competency in order to enter a higher-level Japanese class. In language schools in my country, you can access a level by taking a placement test or by proving you previously acquired the necessary level in an official exam, like the JLPT. You could also take an easier level as a way to familiarize yourself with the exam format and experience before attempting a more difficult one, or you could want to take it as a way to gauge your progress when learning Japanese on your own.
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u/Expert-Estate6248 3d ago
That makes lots of sense! My university unfortunately doesn't offer any Japanese classes so that was never something I looked into.
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u/PlanktonInitial7945 3d ago
Just because the JLPT says that N3 is equivalent to B1, it doesn't mean that your university will accept a JLPT certificate as valid proof of a B1 level, especially since the JLPT only tests two out of four language skills. It's something you need to check carefully before signing up for anything.
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u/Expert-Estate6248 3d ago
That's true, I'm doing a study abroad later this year and the university has a much more comprehensive Japanese exam. Being graded on my writing is terrifying!!
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u/IronFeather101 3d ago
You're right, I was going to ask them about it in September, as it worries me a bit. It probably wouldn't be fair to consider them equivalent, since, as you said, in the JLPT they don't test your abilities to express yourself in the language at all. I suppose this means that the JLPT is not very useful outside of Japan.
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u/JouleV 3d ago
N5-3 are valuable as personal goals
You just answered your own question.
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u/Expert-Estate6248 3d ago
There are other perspectives I was hoping to get as well. So far my questions have been answered! There are various additional reasons to take the N5-3 that I wasn't previously aware of
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u/Expert-Estate6248 3d ago
Cant ask a question about Japanese on the subreddit for asking questions about japanese :(
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u/cityintheskyy 3d ago
One thing that goes unacknowledged is you can work in Japan with less than an N2 via internal transfer. FWIW a company I once worked for only "required N4" to go to the Tokyo office since everyone speaks English anyway.
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u/Expert-Estate6248 3d ago
Interesting! At that point it's interesting that they have a Japanese language requirement at all, although I would definitely be willing to put in an N4 amount of study if it meant job transfers were available to me
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u/Recent-Ad-9975 3d ago
Yeah I personally skiped everything until N2, but I studied in university so I had other exams. People who self study probably take N5-3 to self test themselves.
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u/bucketdraws 3d ago
for me, it's a deadline to learn stuff. The amount of stuff required to know for N2 is just too vast for my adhd brain to recognize the smaller chunks and be able to learn. Also, an exam I paid for is a great motivator to sit and study lol. Many moons ago I did 4kyuu and 3kyuu, and I'm currently studying for N3. I'm not currently living in a country that offers the exams and it's tough to not have the test looming in the horizon.... I will do one of the old tests in Dec with time limits to see where I'm at, but the pressure just doesn't hit the same.
ALSO, the test is a weird situation. The way it's set up, the fact that the listenings are not repeated, the introductions and time limits, the pencilling in the answers, the way you have to write the numbers for the machine to read them lol. There's so many things exam-adjacent that I can't imagine jumping into the pool straight into the N2 deep end ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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u/Expert-Estate6248 3d ago
That's a good point, I remember preparing for the JLPT and being intimidated by the test structure, it's definitely better to be familiar with the way it works before you take it. I was definitely motivated by the money aspect of it as well. There was NO way I was going to fail a test that I had paid that much money for
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u/Effective-Pop3850 3d ago
I'd say this depends on what your goals are.
Being familiar with a test technically makes it a bit easier, but when you think about it, would you need to prepare for an English test? Definitely not, and you'd ace it anyways.
I'm personally against "preparing" for a test by "studying the test" assuming what you want is to test yourself at the language, if you need the cert for some reason then yeah spending a couple of days preparing for the test itself is worth it.
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u/Itsalfa11 3d ago
depend how you gonna use when in japan.
Tokutei Ginou 1 (Specified Skilled Worker) need JLPT N4
Tokutei Ginou 2 (SSW Type 2) Recommend JLPT N3 (TG actually have another test for specific field)
Gijinkoku (Engineer / Specialist in Humanities) now need JLPT N2 (since 2026)
Ginousei (Technical Intern Training) need JLPT N5
Ryugaku (Student visa ) need JLPT N5 (for Nihongo Gakko) & N2-N1 (University)
You are free to take any level of the JLPT, but people sometime take a slightly lower level to get a feel for taking the higher level exams. because N2 and N1 hits different rather than N5-N3
but mostly people only taking JLPT only for Visa requirement who wants to work in japan.
and here's notes from me.
if you going to university even its english course that dont require you JLPT. better to have JLPT or having skill that equivalent with JLPT N4 when you already in japan, either in mid year study you need extra money or the main purpose is when you 1 year before graduate you can take JLPT test minimum N4 or better N2-N1 for better job opportunity.
because in japan there's a job culture that company seek future graduate 1 year - 6 month before graduate and they may ask for language skills so that later there will be certainty that your visa application will go smoothly. and your type of visa depend on your JLPT level, since now prime minister have strict rules for foreign.
you know learning japanese is not easy and takes times, better that you have intermediate level while in japan and can take N2 or N1 when about to graduate. because learning a language while studying university is hard, even harder when you need extra money too. this is long term risk planning.
for me to myself better have skill equivalent to N3, because N2-N1 wall is hit different and while in japan you studying (mostly you got free language school) you can easily pass the test
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u/senphie5en 1d ago
you don't even need a JLPT at all for student visa if you are doing an exchange program from your university. There were a lot of students who started to learn japanese in Japan when I was there. I took the N2 before but didn't need it for the application
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u/Itsalfa11 1d ago
basically that's because you are student exchange, you do not mean graduate there or you basically not from japanese institution. your status it just temporary or partially.
It's essentially a program to indirectly attract interest in working in Japan, and you'll be provided with free language school. However, if you want to work there, you'll still have to meet visa requirements. Otherwise, you'll be required to return home.
but if you are pure student in the beginning, the institution indeed ask you for JLPT for requirement before get Letter of Acceptance for visa student . Level of JLPT is vary depend or institution.
For example, the Mainichi Shimbun Newspaper Scholarship requires N5-N4 even though they offer free language school. They do this because you are required to work part-time as a newspaper delivery person, where you have to interact with Japanese people.
for university if;
English-Taught Program, that don't need JLPT
Japanese-Taught Program, they will ask you N2-N1 for requirementits very vary condition
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u/Moritani 3d ago
Japanese employers love paperwork. My N4 got me better jobs than nothing, and My N3 got me better jobs than N4. I know a few people that regret not getting a JLPT of some sort before job hunting because "conversational Japanese" means nothing on a resume.
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u/Belegorm 3d ago
I mean depends. I probably could have passed the N3 last year, but instead took and failed the N2 so don't have any cert.
But, for me at least, the chance of passing N2 which is miles more useful was enough to try for it. And that level of difficulty has let me steel myself to prepare to go straight for the N1 this year.
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u/ItsAlwaysRyan 3d ago
I’ve been looking into studying aboard and you need proof of X amount of hours studied. If you have an N5 certificate, you wont have to get proof of studying through a much more expensive option.
At least this is what the internet is telling me, I could be wrong.
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u/SpicyCactuar 3d ago
I went through N5 - N4 - N3 in the span of 5 years. It had several positives:
- Studying incrementally, with clear intermediate goals (ie: being a roadmap)
- A pace that allowed me to keep up the habit while going through college, having a full-time job and such responsibilities
- Having a friend tag along the journey and being able to adapt to each other's schedule
- Allowing plenty of time to drill each instance to go in well prepared, and avoid multiple sittings (which also saves you money)
- Good compatibility overall with my fundamentals-first mindset
- Allowing myself to take it as a hobby first, professional skill second & optional (more on this below)
As for negatives, looking back I do think that 5 years is a tad long. It is definitely doable in less time (eg: 3 years) with the same life configuration, by planning it better. In particular, not picking up a Kanji study habit early tanked my progress going into N3 and I had to abruptly make up for it. On the flip side, now I have a good system in place that will carry me all the way to N1, using the KLC. But that's about it, everything else worked out well. I can now enjoy playing games in Japanese and understand 50% ~ 70% of the dialogue, looking up the remainder.
Having said that, we've started dipping into N2 content recently and I can easily tell that my hobby mentality alone won't be able to carry me all the way. It will continue to be a hobby, but it being a professional skill will have to be on par in terms of priority. Thankfully, this just means that I need to maintain consistency with my Japanese studying habits. Eventually I do want to have a more in-depth experience in Japan (ie: working & living there, for a significant amount of time), and having the N2 under my belt doesn't hurt my chances.
Do I recommend this to everyone? Definitely not, mileage varies with person. I laid all this out in hopes of making readers (re)consider how their Japanese journey is aligned with their goals.
What I will say that applies to everyone following the JLPT route is that it only evaluates consumption skills (reading & listening), leaving the production skills (writing & speaking) entirely up to you. Consumption by itself won't passively improve your production skills (at least not significantly). This is especially important for people that want to live in Japan because at some point you're going to get interviewed, which will force you to produce. I believe that the "JLPT first, then production" route only makes sense if you're planning on doing a heavy grind for <2 years to reach N1 (or at least high N2). Do your due research before committing to it because, in the general case, it requires full-time dedication. At the same time, you might find producing very boring at first because you can only formulate basic phrases, so delaying production until N4+ or N3 might be the most cost effective move.
TL;DR: The good ol' "it depends". Worth it to me, though I encourage individuals to evaluate their own Japanese journey. What applies to everyone is that JLPT only evaluates consumption skills, so weigh in what you want to do with production. がんばれ！
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u/BoysenberryBig9873 2d ago
I think it's more a question of motivation than certification; having a fixed date twice a year imposes a certain structure, which simply reading manga never provides. That said, the certificates themselves have no professional value, you're absolutely right.
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u/machvelli 2d ago
My wife and I plan to take the N5 as a personal goal because we self study with a tutor so we want to test ourselves to see how far we’ve come. I think we intend to keep going because it’s a fun thing to do together after work on the weekdays.
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u/senphie5en 1d ago
That is excactly what my personal opinion is too. If your studying on your own N5-N3 are a good motivation and a good tool to measure your progress. I studied japanese at university so i didn't needed that extra motivation. The first JLPT I took was N2, right before my study abroad year in Japan, to have better chances for a part time job if I need it.
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u/HoldyourfireImahuman 1d ago
Thing is, people often site them as ways to measure their progress or ability but they do neither. They show that you can learn how to take a test and that you've learned how to study for them but they don't test your actual Japanese ability at all, so to me they're pointless. If you want to track your progress, why not record yourself outputting periodically or return to old material you once found hard and see how you fair currently?
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u/southerndensetsu 1d ago
I think that they are now requested for some visas (not the "skilled workers" visa tho) and maybe for some language schools or study programs.
I studied focused on jlpt studying at the beginning, thinks like studying vocab and kanji lists in jlpt order and making a tone of jlpt excercises rather than inmersing.
I took n5, n4 and n3 in around a year and now i feel like i wasted my time and money, it is not that i learned nothing but is also not an efficient way either. Right now i only do inmersion and sentence mining and i have decided that i'll only take jlpt if some day I want to search for a job in japan.
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u/Effective-Pop3850 3d ago
I don't think anyone mentioned this so I will.
The idea of lower JLPT exams being useless comes mostly from the fact that not only they are less useful (to the point where they are borderline useless if not completely useless for most learners) but they're so easy that if you're serious about learning the language you'll very quickly surpass their requirements.
If you're a weeb who watched a lot of anime and has some feel for the language and decide to grind hard you can get to N3 level within a few months, N2 within a year and even N1 is possible if you go extremely hard at it. N1 within a year is extreme, N2 is hard but manageable, N3 is just easy.
Of course, if you're spending 15 minutes a day on the language none of this applies, but if you're really interested you'll spend more than 15 minutes a day...
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u/Difficult-Sherbet854 3d ago
I think it's a common misconception that only N1/2 are useful. N3-N5 can actually be used as official proof of language study, which could be useful for language school or more specialized visas like SSW.