In this post, I’ll talk about some JLPT vocabulary strategies that helped me when taking the test. Please see my post on JLPT test sections if you are unfamiliar with the different question types in the vocabulary section. If you are a seasoned SAT veteran, you may recognize some of these strategies or used variations of them on the SAT. First, let me give some overall pointers to keep in mind during this section.

Overall Strategies

Study Before The Exam

Yes, this sounds obvious. It is. When it comes to vocabulary, the best way to improve your score is by learning more words. The only way to do this is by studying beforehand.

Don’t Waste Time. Guess And Move On.

When it comes to the vocabulary section, you either know the answer or you don’t. If you know the answer, you don’t need to use any strategies to eliminate choices, just bubble in the correct answer. It is easy to get caught up in one question as you deliberate between two choices. If you find yourself looking at the same question for more than a minute, remember that it is only one question. There are many more on the…

In this post I’ll give you some JLPT grammar strategies that I used when taking the test. Before getting into some strategies for each question type, here is the biggest pointer.

Study Before The Exam

The best thing you can do to get more questions correct in the grammar section is to learn all the grammar patterns before taking the exam. I know this is not a strategy you can employ during the test, but it is the most effective way to get more questions correct. I think that grammar gives you the most bang for your study time. Unlike vocabulary, where there are thousands of words and kanji to remember, there are only a few hundred grammar patterns. This means that it is possible to learn all the patterns that will appear on the test. Just load these into your anki deck and study them along with any kanji/vocab you have. (See my top 5 JLPT study tools for more about anki or get the deck I used to study for the N1.) Now, I’ll go over strategies that are specific to each question type below. If you are unfamiliar with the sections of the test, check…

For many people the reading section is the toughest section of the JLPT. You will encounter a few different question types (see JLPT test sections for details on each question type) and having a couple of good test taking strategies in your toolbox can go a long way towards getting a few more questions correct and boosting your overall score. Before I get into some strategies that are specific to each question type, I want to give a couple of overall strategies.

Overall Strategies

1. Watch your time.

It is easy to get caught up in one difficult reading passage. You need to remember that there are many passages and questions in this section. If you spend all of your time on one passage, you won’t have enough time to devote to the other ones. I like to start this section by flipping through the test booklet to see how many questions/passages there are total. This allows me to get a rough idea of how much time I should be spending on each question. I then look at my watch--yes, you need to bring a watch to the test because there won’t always be a clock to look at--at…

Depending on the JLPT level, you will encounter 4-5 types of questions in the listening section. Having an effective strategy to tackle each question type beforehand will give you a better chance of answering more questions correctly. I make no guarantee that these JLPT listening strategies will actually raise your score, but they worked for me. Before I get into detailed strategies for each question type, I want to say that many people associate the listening section with listening only. But I have found taking notes and crossing off wrong answers to be very helpful. Many questions have nothing written in the test booklet...you only get a blank "ノート" space. Mines looks like chicken scratch when the section is done. In trying my best to catch every detail in the conversation, I often forget what was said in the very beginning. Also, I like to write "1 2 3 4" for each question to represent the choices. As the answers are spoken during the test, I cross off obviously wrong ones. This helps me when I need to guess. I don't have to try remembering if choice 1 or 2 was wrong because I can clearly see it on the…

One of the most important things you need to understand in order the pass the exam is how JLPT scoring works. Without this understanding, how can you devise a good test taking strategy or study plan? For those like me who read the official test website and still couldn't figure it out, I'll explain what a passing score is below and give you some tips on where to spend your time.

Minimum Passing Score

Test questions at all levels can be broken into 4 major focus areas: vocabulary, grammar, reading, and listening. (Check out my post about the different question types for more information.) These focus areas are grouped into sections for scoring. The following table shows how the focus areas are grouped per JLPT level.

Level	Points Per Section				Total Possible Score	Passing Score
	Vocabulary	Grammar	Reading	Listening
N1	60		60	60	180	100
N2	60		60	60	180	90
N3	60		60	60	180	95
N4	120			60	180	90
N5	120			60	180	80

In…

Read the official website and still don't understand the JLPT format? I'll give an easily understood description of each JLPT section. The test consist of 4 major focus areas: vocabulary, grammar, reading, and listening. Each area is further segmented into by question type. After reading the official page most people are still left with a "Huh? So what kind of questions can I expect?" I'll give an easy to understand explanation below. Of course you should also see (and use for practice) the sample questions provided on the official website. The N3-N5 levels have 3 timed sections: vocabulary, grammar + reading, and listening. The N1-N2 levels consist of 2 timed sections: vocabulary + grammar + reading and listening. This provides more flexibility in how you use you time during the N1-N2, but means that you need to manage your time well.

JLPT Format

Vocabulary

There are usually a handful of questions for each type listed below.

• Kanji Reading: Choose the reading for the underlined kanji.
• Orthography: (N2-N5 only) Choose the kanji for the underlined word written in hiragana.
• Word Formation: (N2 only) Fill in the blank where the blank…