Here is my JLPT N3 Grammar List. I would be lying if I said I knew exactly what will appear on the N3. Unfortunately, JEES no longer releases this information (and I personally suspect that it changes slightly from year to year). That said, please do not give up and leave passing to chance. This list is my best guess for what you should study and I believe it reviews most (if not all) of the grammar you need for the N3. Each entry comes with examples to help you better understand and prepare for the test. Also checkout our JLPT resource page to find other useful resources to help you study. This list only includes new patterns for the N3. During the test you will also encounter grammar patterns from the N4 and N5, so be sure to refresh your grammar skills with my N4 Grammar List and N5 Grammar List!

Download

  • N3 Grammar anki: Access the anki deck from ankiweb.net. This is the recommended format with full examples and furigana.
  • N3 Grammar pdf: Download the pdf version
  • N3 Grammar csv: Download the csv version encoded in SJIS or UTF-8

Where can I get JLPT practice tests? Do I have to buy the practice workbook sold by Bojinsha? Where can I find listening, grammar, vocabulary, reading questions in the actual test format? These are probably the most frequent questions I get.

Download Two Free JLPT Practice Tests

No, you do not need to purchase anything. JEES (Japan Education Exchanges and Services, the creator of the JLPT) has released two practice tests for all JLPT levels (N1, N2, N3, N4, N5). Simply go to the official JLPT test site. Download tests: https://www.jlpt.jp/e/samples/sampleindex.html Yes, it is that easy! On the above page you will see two big buttons, one blue and one orange. There are currently two full-length practice tests available. One was released in 2012 and the other in 2018. Both practice tests are made up of actual questions that appeared on past JLPT exams. download JLPT practice tests Click on either of the buttons and you will be able to download a full-length practice test, complete with....

1. Vocabulary, Grammar, and Reading Questions

download JLPT vocab, kanji, grammar practice questions PDFs for vocabulary,…

This post will teach you how to conjugate verbs for the JLPT N4 using simple rules for each conjugation. No large tables to memorize! This post has only the new conjugations that I recommend you learn for the N4. If you have not already done so, I strongly suggest you review JLPT N5 verb conjugations.

Japanese Alphabet Rows

Japanese learners should already be familiar with the following table, which is just for reference. It shows the Japanese alphabet organized in the usual manner. For a more detailed explanation of the table and how to use it, please see my post on JLPT N5 verb conjugations.
あ-Row
い-Row
う-Row
え-Row
お-Row

JLPT N4 Verb Conjugation Rules

Here are the new verb conjugations I…

Below I will explore how the JLPT levels N1-N5 compare with college-level Japanese study. I am specifically thinking about a Japanese undergraduate major in the western world. I have modeled the class requirements after those typical in the U.S. because this is where I did my undergraduate studies. Outline

JLPT Requirements

Generally accepted JLPT requirements are shown in the following table.
Table 1: JLPT Requirements
Level Vocabulary Kanji Study Hours*
N1 10,000 2,000 900
N2 6,000 1,000 600
N3 3,800 650 450
N4 1,500 300 300
N5 800 100 150
*: Classroom hours only. Although never explicitly stated by JEES, I firmly believe this number does not include time spent doing homework or self-study. A…

This is my JLPT N3 Kanji List. Each character comes complete with on- and kun-readings, meanings, and relevant examples from N3 (and sometimes lower levels) vocabulary. This list contains only new characters for the N3. Be sure you are current with all your N4 and N5 kanji as well with my N4 Kanji List and N5 Kanji List. I highly recommend that you upload all the N3-N5 lists into your SRS flashcard software so you can commit them to long-term memory and know them forever. Astute readers will notice that the total kanji count for my N3-N5 kanji lists is about 750 characters. This is slightly higher than the generally accepted guideline of 650 characters. Why does my list have so many more characters? JEES (the creator of the JLPT) no longer publishes required vocabulary, kanji, or grammar lists for each JLPT level. That means we have to make an educated guess about what content will appear on the test. I would rather learn 100 extra kanji and have a good shot of passing the test rather than trying to guess the exact 650 kanji on the JEES N3 master list. If you find any errors or characters…

Here is my JLPT N4 Grammar List. Each entry comes with examples to help you better understand and prepare for the test. Short explanations for the usage are given where I feel they are needed. Also checkout our JLPT resource page to find more in depth explanations and other information for your studies. Remember that language is a cumulative skill, so be sure to refresh your N5 grammar skills with our N5 Grammar List!

Download

  • N4 Grammar anki: Access the anki deck from ankiweb.net. This is the recommended format with full examples and furigana.
  • N4 Grammar pdf: Download the pdf version
  • N4 Grammar csv: Download the csv version encoded in SJIS

JLPT N4 Grammar List

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Grammar Usage Notes Meaning Example1 Example2 Note

This is my JLPT N3 vocabulary list. Each word includes the meaning, reading, etc. Due to time restrictions I have not yet been able to create example sentences for all the words. I am working on these, so please stay tuned! Each entry was created and checked to ensure accuracy, but I am not perfect. Please contact us if you find any errors/omissions or have a suggestion. Thanks!

Download

  • anki: Download the anki deck from ankiweb.net. This is the recommended format. The default view is for the front of the card to show the words that should be known in kanji (i.e. words made of kanji from the N3, N4, or N5) without the furigana.
  • pdf: Download the pdf version
  • csv: Download the csv version encoded in S-JIS
  • JLPT N3 Vocabulary List

    なまadj-no,adj-na,prefraw; uncooked; fresh; natural
    のんびりのんびりadv,adv-to,vscarefree; at leisure
    文字もじnletter; character
    がらn,sufpattern; design
    梅雨つゆnrainy season (early June to mid-July)
    がっかりがっかりadv,adv-to,n,vsbe disappointed; dejected; feel let down
    マイクマイクn(abbr) microphone
    一言ひとことn,vssingle word; brief comment
    不満ふまんadj-na,ndissatisfaction; discontent; displeasure
    不足ふそくadj-na,n,vsinsufficiency; lack; shortage
    世の中よのなかnsociety; the world世の中に色々な人がいるThere are many different kinds…

    This is my JLPT N4 kanji list. Each entry includes examples of the kanji in action using relevant JLPT vocabulary (see the N4 vocabulary list). I have also eliminated on-yomi and kun-yomi that I believe are too obscure to appear on the JLPT. Don't want to waste precious study time. The way I have found to best study kanji for the JLPT is to learn the meaning and a few compounds/words that the kanji appears in. That is, you should be able to look at the kanji and recall a few JLPT vocabulary (one for each on-/kun-reading). I believe this is superior to just memorizing the reading. You still learn the reading indirectly through the vocabulary, but are also forced to review vocabulary. As always, I have put much time and effort into creating this list, but it is far from perfect. Please contact us if you find any errors/omissions or have a suggestion. Thanks!

    Download

    • anki: Download the anki deck from ankiweb.net. This is the recommended format.
    • pdf: Download the pdf version
    • csv: Download the csv version encoded…

    Download this JLPT N4 vocabulary list with examples. Each example was created by me to use relevant vocabulary and grammar from the N4.

    Download

    • N4 Vocabulary anki: Download the anki deck from ankiweb.net. This is the recommended format with full examples and furigana.
    • N4 Vocabulary pdf: Download the pdf version
    • N4 Vocabulary csv in utf8 or S-JIS: Download the csv version

    JLPT N4 Vocabulary List

    [include_an_upload filename='lists/N4_Vocabulary-rows.html']
    Kanji Kana POS Definition Example Sentence Example Sentence English

    Use the tables below to learn and review I-Adjective (I-Adj) and Na-Adjective (Na-Adj) conjugations for the JLPT N5. Compared to verb conjugations (see this article on JLPT N5 verb conjugations), adjective conjugations are relatively easy. The fastest way to learn adjective conjugations is to memorize two examples: one I-Adj and one Na-Adj. Then when you need to conjugate a new word, simply compare to the appropriate example.

    I-Adj Conjugation

    Plain Polite
    The Word はや
    Present 早い 早いです
    Negative 早くない 早くないです
    早くありません
    Past 早かった 早かったです
    Past Negative 早くなかった 早くなかったです
    早くありませんでした
    As the name suggests, all I-Adjs end with い. I think that all of the conjugations are pretty straight forward, so I'll point out a few things that I find interesting.

    I-Adj Plain Form

    Plain form conjugations are straight forward. Simply follow the example in the table above, replacing the い with the desired pattern (くない, かった, くなかった). One interesting thing to note is that the past negative form is a conjugation of the negative form. What I mean is that to get the past tense of an I-Adj, you replace…