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JLPT - Japanese Language Proficiency Test -

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Who here has taken the JLPT (Nihongo Nouryoku Shiken)?
What levels have you taken? How many kanji do you know?
How did you get ready for the JLPT you took?

Let's discuss the JLPT in this thread.

* Frisbeetarianism is the belief that when you die, your soul goes up on the roof, where nobody can retrieve it.*

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I didn't take it (and it doesn't exist in this form anymore afaik), but we used materials from the Level 3 test for our regular language lessons and I did quite well - about 75% without preparation I'd say. That's after almost 3 years of taking university lessons and hundreds of privately-translated pages of manga. To be honest, my university sucks at Japanese, so almost everyone else in my course was even worse.

Did you take it? Or did you want to apply for it?

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Level 3 after three years is quite alright. I took it in 2003 and had no problem whatsoever. From what I hear (I work for a Japanese school, where I used to go in Highschool many years ago), 75% is quite a decent score as well.
You should look for your city's testing facility for next year's Level 3 exam, as it's quite useful for scholarships and the like.

I'm training for level 2 next year (I got sidetracked so I couldn't take it right away. It's not recommended to take level 2 the next year from level 3 anyway, but I'm now another year late due to several issues). I have no problem with grammar or listening, but I keep getting my ass handed to me in the Kanji section. And since lots of combinations are necessary and I wouldn't be able to take my dictionary with me to the test, there might be some trouble.

So I was pretty much looking to see if someone had any pointers on how to survive the kanji disaster that is 2kyuu.

Thanks a lot for answering.

* Frisbeetarianism is the belief that when you die, your soul goes up on the roof, where nobody can retrieve it.*

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I just hope I can take it somedays, I began japanese since 4 months only, know only 250 kanji but hope I can at least obtain level 2 in three years. work and work and work...

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Good luck.

Level 2 in three years is somewhat unrecommendable, though not unheard of. Contact me should you need anything japanese related.

* Frisbeetarianism is the belief that when you die, your soul goes up on the roof, where nobody can retrieve it.*

Ghost357

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???? A what test?

Everything happens for a reason, the key to life is to learn what matters most, is that your Answer?

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Japanese Language Proficiency Test.
For all of us interested in Japanese as a second or third language, this is the official way of testing. It's administered the first sunday of every year in most capitals. Some countries get several testing sites, (I myself have been to the Mexico City examinations twice).
There are four levels of the jlpt, ranging from four to one.
Level four is the most basic, and level one is brutally crazy difficult.
You can only take one each year.
For level four, you need like 240 kanji, and a very basic knowledge of Japanese grammar and vocabulary.
For level three, I think you need like 500 kanji, and enough knowledge of spoken Japanese to have a simple conversation or survive a business trip.
For level two, you need 1000 kanji, 6000 combinations in terms of vocabulary, and a very good grasp on the spoken language.
For level one, you need to be a demigod. I think all 2,226 officially accepted kanji come in that one. Plus you need to be fluent like a native speaker. You are NOT going to pass level one unless you've lived in Japan or somehow deal with spoken and written japanese every waking moment of your life for a couple of years. Plus you need to score 70%, instead of the usual 60%. It's hellish.

You can only take one test each year. For most college exchanges, you need level three, though two is recommendable. You are probably required to get level two for graduate school in Japan.

I was hoping to find fellow students interested in taking the tests, or people that have taken them, to exchange pointers. I'm especially looking for people that made it out of level two alive, as I'm taking level two in December of 2006, and I need all the training I can get. And I as well would offer my help to whomever is taking level four or level three, if it's needed.

* Frisbeetarianism is the belief that when you die, your soul goes up on the roof, where nobody can retrieve it.*

Ghost357

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I would like to take the test but I have to learn Japanese. -_-

Everything happens for a reason, the key to life is to learn what matters most, is that your Answer?

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My Japanese is self-taught but from reading your description on JLPT I would classify myself as Level 2. I can converse in Japanese and can read modern kanji in comics or novel. I have done unofficial translation for Japanese guests when I used to help local anime conventions years ago. Level 1? Not even close.

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Wow. Yeah, translators and such, especially when they're able to read a novel in Japanese, would be somewhere between level two and one. Mughi, you should take next year's examination, as it would have good curricular value and is a great way to prove yourself.
I would have to ask you how you got to your current knowledge of Kanji. What methods of memorization and understanding did you use? Do you have any special Kanji techniques?
Thanks.

* Frisbeetarianism is the belief that when you die, your soul goes up on the roof, where nobody can retrieve it.*

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Kanji are my weak point too... when I took my exams halfway through my study time (sorry, lacking the right word for it) I excelled in every part except kanji, where I only knew one composition ("benkyô" of all) and one single kanji, out of ten each. Got my "b" grade nonetheless, because everyone else was equally bad at it. Now I have Kanji wallpaper images that rotate, so I learn about one more a day.
Translating lots of manga for private use also helps memorizing often used kanji, because the author tends to use the same kanji over and over. Alas, it only helps for reading, not writing.

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Yeah, writing does seem to be most of my problem in Kanji. Reading is fast and easy to learn through various mnemotechnic tricks.
Where did you obtain those kanji-a-day wallpapers? The idea is great.
I myself have a Kanji dictionary and do a lot of Kanji exercises, which is helping a bit, but I still need a boost.
Thanks for the tip.

* Frisbeetarianism is the belief that when you die, your soul goes up on the roof, where nobody can retrieve it.*

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Quote by XerdoWow. Yeah, translators and such, especially when they're able to read a novel in Japanese, would be somewhere between level two and one. Mughi, you should take next year's examination, as it would have good curricular value and is a great way to prove yourself.
I would have to ask you how you got to your current knowledge of Kanji. What methods of memorization and understanding did you use? Do you have any special Kanji techniques?
Thanks.

Thanks for the compliment but what Japanese I acquired is by chance and luck. I didn't mean to make this long but I wanted to tell you this is how I acquired my Japanese. ^_^'

i was born in Okinawa, Japan, but at the time it was part of U.S. territory so English and Japanese were spoken side-by-side. I started my schooling in Catholic school which spoke English and at home spoke mostly Japanese. Suffice to say it was an ordeal to learn two different languages simultaneously.

When I was eight, the family moved to United States and I have not moved since. I always loved to read Japanese manga so when my parents found a small Japanese bookstore in San Francisco, I somehow managed to badger my poor father into giving me subscription to two weekly manga comics, Shonen Magazine and Shonen Sunday. These mangas have small hiragana text right next to kanji to help facilitate reading. Naturally, as a kid I read through hiragana to get the meaning of the story but over the years I subconsciously learned to recognize kanji letters because I was just reading for enjoyment. One day, I happen to pick up a Japanese novel and was surprised to recognize kanji here and there even though there were no hiragana text to help me. This is how I acquired my ability to read and understand monder kanji.

As you can see, since I was doing the reading as enjoyment and not under any pressure that I learned to read kanji.

After that I became active in my local anime club and did some translation for synopsis and did fan subtitle translation and did a stint as translator for Japanese guests for couple of anime conventions in California.

Now I'm retired from that and just enjoying anime for social gathering like now. :)

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Super!

A good story, and it still gives one good ideas on how to learn. Furigana makes people learn Kanji subconsciously by repetition. Thanks.

* Frisbeetarianism is the belief that when you die, your soul goes up on the roof, where nobody can retrieve it.*

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