I’m taking N2 next week. I havent prepared as much as I would have liked because I’ve just recovered from a flu that I had for 3 weeks
I’ve decided to cram in a practice test a day as well as a lot of practice questions from shinkanzen master reading and listening, as well as the 500 practice questions book.
Today I did my first practice test which was on Todaii Easy Japanese. It was hard and stressful but I got 102/120 for language knowledge and 54/60 for listening. Does anyone know how close the todaii practice tests are to the real deal?
Also, does anyone know any good online practice tests that I can do? I’ve printed one from the JLPT website that I found online and will do that this week.
I’m so nervous! I hate tests. Why did I do this to myself
I’m doing N1 - haven’t done any prep, and not going to start now. I no-prepped N3 and N2, and y’know - I feel N1, so hoping to just vibe my way through the test. I also hate tests - but the less effort I put into it the less upset I’ll be about failing.
This is why I haven’t taken the JLPT since N3 in 2019. I’m sure I could pass N2 and maybe N1 (listening would be a struggle), but I just can’t be bothered. If I wanted a strong pass I’d have to study though since my knowledge from reading wouldn’t align with all the social and business aspects of the JLPT.
I’m also taking N2. This is my first time taking JLPT (and probably last time, since I’m just doing this to challenge myself and don’t really need to pass)
I’ve only worked on kanzen master series and 500 tests. Kanzen is slightly difficult and challenging for me, and compared to those, 500 is a lot easier.
I’m not sure the actual exam is closer to which one (I guess to Kanzen) and honestly I DON’T want to know , because if it turns out the actual exam is any more difficult than Kanzen I’m done for . So my plan for the last week is to trust my knowledge and work on my confidence and avoid tests I’m not able to answer correctly.
Nice idea. I’m vibing my way through vocab and grammar because I hate studying those things. Reading and listening study is mostly practice questions so it’s not so bad, and I don’t mind the study. Good luck on the N1
Yeah thats fair enough. I think I do it because otherwise I’d slack off and hardly study Japanese. I’ve got a habit of getting distracted and starting to study other languages instead…
I haven’t really studied business Japanese, I’m hoping to just wing those sections.
Good luck! I’m only doing kanzen listening and reading. I’m hoping to wing vocab and grammar.
I can see how practice tests might hurt confidence. I think i will take the day before the test off and just read easy mangos that day.
Just make sure that, like whatever your schedule: the day before, relax, get a good night of sleep and start this as relaxed as you can. Nothing kills results more then nervousness and a bad night before an exam.
And for the future: if you manage to feel you have completed your preparations way before the test, doing some relaxed repetition and having a good feeling about the whole process is something that will generally not only guarantee passing grades but generally top of the class performances.
This comes from the experience of having had success in acquiring two languages, making me a fluent in JP, ENG & GER.
Since I’m a self-learner, I’m just as a gauge to see if how I’m progressing.
Otherwise is a bit hard to tell. Sure now I can read more, but it’s hard to put a percentage or number on it.
While doing that I passed N3 by accident due to my strong listening score though.
As for prep, I’m not doing anything special. I’m reading when I feel like reading, listening to audibooks when feeling like listening, etc. My N3 pass was when I did the less prep, probably because I took it in a very relaxed manner.
At some point, I guess there’s just no point in studying anymore. I don’t think I did anything that counted as study for the past 5 years either.
Ah, no, actually, I did some flash cards to learn bird and insect names a couple of years ago.
How else would I know those 朱鷺 and other 孑孒. (That was just for fun, though; I don’t think that knowledge has served me in any way so far; even going to the zoo, everything is written in katakana anyway)
I feel like your situation is a bit different from mine given our relative skill levels.
Considering how much I still look up when reading and how reading books over level 34 or so is still a struggle, I probably could stand to do some studying. I just lack time and energy for it.
Well, try to create some simple routine? Like for example, together with your morning coffee, you go through some kanji or vocab cards? When you encounter some especially complex sentence that you did tackle despite its difficulty - and maybe even think it is especially interesting now that you understand it - maybe just try to write it down by hand for yourself?
There is a lot of small things we can do to continuously keep improving. I mean I’ve been “generally fluent” in Japanese for quiet some time now, but I still continue with Kanji until I got every single one required for Kentei 1 under my belt. And I too sometimes write down sentences I find particular interesting, because who knows, maybe at some point I feel confident enough to start writing in Japanese as well? Dunno :3
All I can say is: if you keep at it, even routines that don’t consume a lot of time will carry you a long way over the years. And there is no need to rush things.
I’m taking N1, and I haven’t studied specifically for the test at all. I think I’ll probably do fine based on a few friends at a similar level to me who also passed recently. That said, I tried to pick a harder novel to read last week as ‘prep,’ and I do plan to study an N1 grammar list over the next few days. That’s the one section of the test I feel like cram studying will actually make a difference in, and I find grammar kind of fun to dive into from time to time.
Well, I’ll be driving 6 hours to my closest testing location and sleeping in a cheap motel the night before, so wish me luck!
I lived somewhere else when I took the N2, and I actually drove 4.5 hours to the test site Sunday morning, took the test, then immediately drove 4.5 hours back home. So compared to that I should have a more relaxed day this year
Man, you’re both either super dedicated or crazy. I would never travel that far to take a test. I hope you’re at least getting a vacation out of that travel.
I’m complaining, but I actually enjoy long drives (and I kind of enjoy tests too, if I’m being honest.) And by driving up the day before I’ll have some time to visit fun places in the big city, including a Japanese bookstore(!), so it’s not all bad.
Good luck tomorrow to everyone who is taking the test
I feel like I know enough to pass because of practice tests going well. If I fail it’ll be because of nerves, or because my sleep lately has been terrible (I’m still recovering from a bad flu I had a month ago).
Either way next year I’m going to focus on consuming lots and lots of native content!!
, because if it turns out the actual exam is any more difficult than Kanzen I’m done for 
. So my plan for the last week is to trust my knowledge and work on my confidence and avoid tests I’m not able to answer correctly. 
