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Exam · Method · Study plan
How to pass the JLPT
A good total is not enough.
You can score 100 points on the JLPT N2, ten above the pass mark, and still fail. The test sets a floor for every section, and one weak section sinks a strong total. In December 2025, two in three examinees did not pass. This guide explains how the JLPT is scored, how long each level takes, which study methods hold up in research, and how to build a plan that ends on exam day. Every figure is sourced.
JLPT applicants in 2025 across the July and December sessions, the most ever recorded678
1.94M
applicants for the July 2026 test (preliminary count), the largest July session on record9
943,671
of December 2025 examinees passed, all levels combined8
33.9%
people learning Japanese at schools and institutions in 143 countries and regions, according to the Japan Foundation’s 2024 survey18
4.0M
Know the exam
What the JLPT actually tests
The JLPT tests reading and listening, scores them on a scaled 180-point range and sets a minimum for every section. Those five rules decide how you should study. Learn them before your first flashcard.
Sessions
Twice a year, in early July and early December. The next test is on Dec. 6, 2026. Some cities abroad hold only one session.11
Score
0 to 180 points: three sections at N1 to N3, two at N4 and N52
Skills tested
Reading and listening only. No speaking, no writing.3
¥7,500 in Japan. Abroad, each host institution sets its own.1612
01
Reading and listening, nothing else
The JLPT has no conversation and no composition section, and its own CEFR table states that it does not cover speaking, writing or interaction. Every question is multiple choice on a machine-scored answer sheet. You recognize the right answer; you never produce it.310
02
Scores are scaled, not counted
A JLPT score is not a count of right answers. The test uses scaled scores based on Item Response Theory: they weigh which questions you got right and keep results comparable from one session to the next.3
03
Every section has a floor
Passing the JLPT takes two things at once: the overall pass mark and a minimum score in each section. At N1 to N3, the minimum is 19 out of 60 in each of the three sections. At N4 and N5, it is 38 out of 120 in language knowledge and reading, and 19 out of 60 in listening. Miss one and you fail, whatever your total.2
04
There is no official word list
Since its 2010 revision, the JLPT has published no lists of vocabulary, kanji or grammar, because it aims to measure how you use the language, not what you memorized. Every “N3 list” online is an estimate, ours included.3
05
Full past papers are not published
The JLPT does not release complete past papers. Its two Official Practice Workbooks (2012 and 2018) each hold roughly one full test per level, built from real questions used since 2010, and sample questions are free on the official site. Beyond those, timed mock exams are the closest rehearsal.313
Scores and pass rates
What it takes to pass each level
From N4 up, roughly one JLPT candidate in three passed in 2025. The table shows why: official timings, pass marks, section minimums and pass rates for both 2025 sessions.
Scores out of 180. Pass rate: December 2025 in bold, July 2025 below.1278
Level
Sections and time
Pass mark
Section minimums
Pass rate
N1
Language knowledge and reading: 110 min
Listening: 55 min
100 / 180
19 / 60 in each of the three sections
29.8%July 2025: 28.0%
N2
Language knowledge and reading: 105 min
Listening: 50 min
90 / 180
19 / 60 in each of the three sections
33.0%July 2025: 33.9%
N3
Language knowledge (vocabulary): 30 min
Language knowledge (grammar) and reading: 70 min
Listening: 40 min
95 / 180
19 / 60 in each of the three sections
31.2%July 2025: 38.0%
N4
Language knowledge (vocabulary): 25 min
Language knowledge (grammar) and reading: 55 min
Listening: 35 min
90 / 180
38 / 120 in language and reading, 19 / 60 in listening
34.6%July 2025: 36.8%
N5
Language knowledge (vocabulary): 20 min
Language knowledge (grammar) and reading: 40 min
Listening: 30 min
80 / 180
38 / 120 in language and reading, 19 / 60 in listening
50.2%July 2025: 50.8%
The CEFR level printed on your score report
Since the December 2025 test, successful JLPT candidates see a CEFR reference level based on their total score. At N1 to N3, a narrow pass is always labeled one level lower: an N2 passed with 95 points shows B1, not B2. The label is for reference only and does not change the result.10
N1100–141B2142 and upC1
N290–111B1112 and upB2
N395–103A2104 and upB1
N490 and upA2
N580 and upA1
Choose your level
Which level should you take?
The JLPT has five levels, from N5, the easiest, to N1. Each is defined by what you can read and what you can follow by ear. Start from where you are, not from where you would like to be.
N5
The basics
A first milestone after the kana and a few hundred words.
Reading
Typical expressions and sentences written in hiragana, katakana and basic kanji.
Listening
Short, slow conversations about daily life and classroom situations, picking up the information needed.
N4
Everyday life
Everyday basics: slow conversations and simple texts on familiar topics.
Reading
Passages on familiar daily topics written in basic vocabulary and kanji.
Listening
Conversations encountered in daily life, provided they are spoken slowly.
N3
Independence
The step from textbook Japanese to the Japanese of daily life.
Reading
Written material with specific content on everyday topics.
Listening
Coherent everyday conversations at near-natural speed, including who is talking to whom.
N2
Professional
A level many employers and universities ask for.
Reading
Clearly written newspaper and magazine articles, commentaries and simple critiques.
Listening
Conversations and news reports at nearly natural speed, in everyday and varied settings.
N1
Nuance
Demanding professional and academic Japanese: news, lectures, editorials.
Reading
Logically complex or abstract writing such as newspaper editorials and critiques.
Listening
Conversations, news reports and lectures at natural speed, in a broad variety of settings.
Level descriptions summarize the JLPT’s official description of each level.43
There is no level prerequisite: you can sit N4 without ever taking N5. The JLPT suggests reading the level descriptions and trying the sample questions. Our rule of thumb: if a sample feels comfortable, aim one level higher. One exception for 2026: in Japan, the test is in principle limited to mid- to long-term residents and special permanent residents, so short-term visitors must sit it abroad.31317
Need a level for a visa, a license or a job in Japan? Our visa guide lists the requirements, route by route. Why take the JLPT?
Study hours
How long it takes
The JLPT no longer publishes study-hour estimates. The last official figures date from the test used until 2009: about 150 hours for today’s N5, 300 for N4, 600 for N2 and 900 for N1. They remain the best baseline available.
Official criteria of the old JLPT (until 2009), next to the matching level today5
Today
Old test
Study hours
Kanji
Words
N5
Level 4
150 h
about 100
about 800
N4
Level 3
300 h
about 300
about 1,500
N3
Created in 2010
No figure
No figure
No figure
N2
Level 2
600 h
about 1,000
about 6,000
N1
Level 1
900 h
about 2,000
about 10,000
The same hours at your daily pace, studying every day
Level
15 min a day
30 min a day
60 min a day
N5150 h
about 20 months
about 10 months
about 5 months
N4300 h
about 3.5 years
about 20 months
about 10 months
N2600 h
about 6.5 years
about 3.5 years
about 20 months
N1900 h
about 10 years
about 5 years
about 2.5 years
Regularity beats intensity. Thirty minutes a day adds up to 3.5 hours a week, and spaced reviews hold up far better over time than one long weekend session.
Schools publish their own figures, and they vary with the learner. One Tokyo language school estimates 1,050 to 1,270 hours for N1 in general, and 3,900 to 4,500 hours for learners who start with no knowledge of kanji. Your native language, and whether you already read Chinese characters, matter more than any average.21
For English-speaking diplomats, the US Foreign Service Institute places Japanese among its hardest languages, with 88 weeks, or about 2,200 class hours, to reach professional proficiency. That goal includes speaking, which the JLPT does not test.20
In Aaronsan you choose 10, 15, 20 or 30 minutes a day, which sets 8, 12, 16 or 24 new cards daily. Reviews always come first, so your time goes where your memory needs it.
What to learn
What each level asks you to know
No official JLPT list has existed since 2010, so every number here is an estimate: the old test’s targets, and an exact count of what Aaronsan teaches at each level.
Items taught in Aaronsan’s core JLPT path, counted on September 23, 2026. Totals are cumulative from N5.
Level
Words
Kanji
Grammar points
Phrases
Mock exam questions
N5
1,0651,065 in total
103103 in total
81
292
225
N4
1,2692,334 in total
183286 in total
131
298
190
N3
2,9865,320 in total
344630 in total
112
379
210
N2
2,4967,816 in total
362992 in total
186
367
198
N1
4,44012,256 in total
1,6052,597 in total
178
366
210
The old test gave rough targets: about 100 kanji and 800 words for today’s N5, 300 and 1,500 for N4, 1,000 and 6,000 for N2, and 2,000 and 10,000 for N1. The JLPT stopped publishing lists in 2010 and stresses that it tests use, not memorization.35
For reference, Japan’s official list of kanji for general use, the Jōyō kanji, has held 2,136 characters since November 2010. Reading at N1 draws on most of them.19
Across every level and nine professional tracks, Aaronsan holds 2,093 decks and 85,934 cards, including 208 kana cards. Field vocabulary (care, hospitality, IT and more) is kept out of the table above.
Test yourself instead of rereading. Spread your study out instead of cramming. Both are free. The hard part is doing them every day.
The short version of decades of memory research2224
Method
What the research says works
Memory scientists have compared study techniques for decades. Two stand out, testing yourself and spacing your reviews; several popular ones do not. Each finding below sits next to what Aaronsan does with it.
01
Test yourself instead of rereading
What research shows
In a classic 2006 study, students who were tested on a text remembered more of it two days and a week later than students who reread it. Rereading won only on a test five minutes later, and it made students more confident. A 2013 review of ten study techniques rated practice testing as one of only two with high utility.2225
In Aaronsan
Every card asks for an answer before revealing it: choose, type, listen or say it aloud. Seeing a word is not the same as knowing it.
02
Space your reviews
What research shows
A review of 317 experiments found that spreading study over time beats massing it, and a 2008 study of more than 1,350 people showed that the best gap between reviews grows with how long you need to remember. FSRS, the open-source scheduler Aaronsan uses, is benchmarked on about 727 million real reviews from 10,000 flashcard users for how accurately it predicts forgetting.232426
In Aaronsan
Aaronsan schedules every card with FSRS and grades your answers itself: a miss brings the card back soon, a success pushes it further out. A card counts as stable once its next review is 21 days or more away.
03
Stop highlighting and rereading
What research shows
The same 2013 review rated rereading, highlighting and the keyword mnemonic as low utility: their benefits were small or narrow, and for the keyword mnemonic they faded over time.25
In Aaronsan
Word lists become questions. Memory tips and examples appear after you answer, as support, never as a substitute for recall.
04
Train listening every day
What research shows
Listening is scored as its own section, with its own minimum, at every JLPT level: a strong reading score cannot make up for it. You cannot slow the recording down or go back.2
In Aaronsan
Audio on every word, 710 decks where you pick the meaning of what you hear, and a passive-listening player that counts toward your daily streak.
05
Repeat what you hear
What research shows
Shadowing, repeating a recording just behind the speaker, improved sound perception in a 2016 classroom study, and listening comprehension in the lower-level group. The study was small and involved Japanese students learning English: promising, not proven.27
In Aaronsan
Shadowing decks play a reference sentence for you to repeat, and pronunciation scoring rates a word out of 100. It will not raise your JLPT score directly; it covers the speaking the exam leaves out.
06
Rehearse in exam conditions
What research shows
A test shows you what you don’t know yet, which rereading hides. The JLPT publishes sample questions for every level, so the format doesn’t have to surprise you.2213
In Aaronsan
A mock exam for each level: timed blocks, each recording played only once, a score out of 180 and a check of every section minimum. The result names the section to work on.
Study plan
A plan that ends on exam day
Work backward from the session you are aiming for. The steps are the same at every level; only the length of the middle changes.
Day 1
Before
Pick a level and a session
Read the official level descriptions, try the sample questions, then choose July or December. Leave yourself a margin: the tables above are averages, not promises.413
As soon as registration opens
Before
Register early
You register through the host institution in your country, usually about three months before the test, and seats are limited. In Japan, applications for the Dec. 6, 2026, test opened Aug. 24 and closed early on Sept. 3, four days before the Sept. 7 deadline; JEES had warned it might close early because of venue capacity. Find your city on the official list and apply in the first days.1217
First months
Months
Build the base, a little every day
Kana first, then kanji, words and grammar in small daily doses. Short daily sessions beat long weekend ones, and reviews keep going even on busy days.
Middle months
Months
Let reviews do the heavy lifting
As your card count grows, reviews take up more of each session. That is the system working: the ideal gap between reviews grows with how long you need to remember, and exam day may still be months away.24
8 to 10 weeks before
Final weeks
Start timed mock exams
Sit a full mock every week or two. Read your section scores, not just the total, and put extra time into any section close to its minimum.2
Last 2 weeks
Final weeks
Consolidate, don’t cram
Keep your daily reviews, slow down on new material and sit one last full mock at the same time of day as the real test. Listen to Japanese every day, even in the background.
On the day
Exam day
Manage the clock
Bring what your host asks for, starting with the test voucher. In reading, look at the question before the passage and never let one item eat your time: at N1, vocabulary, grammar and reading share a single 110-minute block. In listening, answer at once and move on.1
About two months later
After
Read your results
July results go online in late August, December results in late January. Passing candidates see a CEFR reference level, and the certificate never expires. Missed by a few points? Your section scores show exactly where to start again.15103
Common mistakes
Six ways to fail the JLPT, and how to avoid them
The most frustrating failures are the preventable ones. They follow a handful of patterns, and each has a fix.
01
Watching the total, not the sections
Remember the N2 score of 100 that failed. A single overall percentage hides the section that sinks you, and listening, which has its own minimum at every level, is the easiest one to leave behind when you study mostly from books and flashcards.2
The fix Track each section separately, and listen every day from the first week.
02
Running out of time in reading
At N1, vocabulary, grammar and reading share one 110-minute block. Reading word by word leaves the last passages unanswered.1
The fix Time yourself on full mocks and read the question before the passage.
03
Discovering the format on the day
The question types are specific: choosing a kanji reading, ordering the parts of a sentence, picking the best reply to a short line. Meeting them for the first time costs minutes and confidence.13
The fix Work through the official samples and at least three timed mock exams.
04
Aiming for the pass mark
A pass by a few points leaves no room for a bad morning, and since December 2025 the CEFR level on your report depends on your score: an N2 at 95 shows B1, at 112 it shows B2.10
The fix Our advice: aim for a comfortable margin in mock exams, around 20 points above the pass mark.
05
Stopping reviews
Skip a week of flashcards and the reviews pile up, which makes the next session feel like a wall.
The fix Keep a small daily minimum. In Aaronsan, reviews come first in every session, before any new card.
06
Registering too late
Seats are limited. In Japan, registration for December 2026 closed Sept. 3, four days early, and popular test sites abroad can fill up quickly.17
The fix Note your host’s opening date and apply on the first day.
Where Aaronsan fits
An app built backward from exam day
Aaronsan has one job: to get the kanji, words, grammar and listening of your level into long-term memory before exam day. Let’s start with what the app does not do; each feature below serves that one job.
All of N5, free
Every N5 deck, hiragana and katakana, unlimited kana writing and pronunciation scoring, with no time limit. N4 to N1 open with Premium.
A schedule you never manage
The FSRS scheduler decides what comes back and when, and grades your answers for you. You open the app; it already knows what to review.
The whole path, N5 to N1
2,093 decks and 85,934 cards, in the order hiragana, katakana, kanji, vocabulary, grammar and phrases. Each level ends with its mock exam.
Listening on every card
Audio on every word, 710 listening decks, shadowing, and a passive-listening player for commutes and chores.
Mock exams in exam conditions
A mock exam for every level, with timed blocks, a score out of 180, section minimums and a history of your attempts.
A level you earn, not one you claim
Aaronsan marks a level as passed only when three proofs line up: enough of the level is stable in memory, your retention holds, and you have passed a mock exam at that level.
Kanji by hand
Trace kanji or write them from memory, stroke by stroke. The JLPT does not test handwriting, but writing a character is a good way to tell look-alikes apart.
Knowing when to stop
An energy gauge suggests a break when mistakes pile up, before tired reviews turn into guesses. Answers are saved card by card.
One account, every screen
Web, iPhone and Android share the same progress: a review started on the train carries on at your desk.
Meanings in your language
The app runs in seven languages, and word meanings are translated into your native language, from French to Vietnamese, not only English.
How many hours does it take to pass each JLPT level?
The last official JLPT figures, from the test used until 2009, are about 150 hours for N5, 300 for N4, 600 for N2 and 900 for N1. Schools publish higher estimates for learners with no kanji background, and the US Foreign Service Institute budgets 2,200 class hours for professional Japanese. Your starting point matters more than any average.52021
Can I pass the JLPT N5 in three months?
At a steady pace, yes. The old official figure of about 150 hours comes to roughly 1 hour 40 minutes a day for three months, or five months at one hour a day. Learning kana in the first weeks and listening daily make the difference.5
Do I have to start at N5?
No. The JLPT has no level prerequisite: you can register directly for the level you want. Worldwide it is open to non-native speakers of Japanese; in Japan, the 2026 tests are in principle limited to mid- to long-term residents and special permanent residents.317
Does the JLPT test speaking or writing?
No. The JLPT includes no conversation or composition test, and its CEFR reference covers reading and listening only. If you need spoken Japanese for work, practice it separately.310
My JLPT total was above the pass mark. Why did I fail?
Because one section fell below its minimum: 19 out of 60 per section at N1 to N3, or 38 out of 120 and 19 out of 60 at N4 and N5. The minimums apply whatever your total.2
Which textbooks should I use for the JLPT?
There is no official list, and full past papers are not published. Many learners pair a general course such as Genki or Minna no Nihongo with an exam series such as Shin Kanzen Master, Sou Matome or Try!, and use spaced repetition every day for memorization. The two Official Practice Workbooks, built from real past questions, show the actual format.313
Is an app enough to pass the JLPT?
Not on its own. Self-testing and spacing were the only two techniques rated high utility in a 2013 review of ten common study methods, and a good app delivers both. The exam also demands reading stamina and a solid grasp of grammar, so pair Aaronsan with reading practice, a textbook or a class, and timed mock exams.25
When do JLPT results come out, and does the certificate expire?
July results go online in late August, December results in late January; paper documents follow by mail, later abroad. The certificate never expires, though some employers or schools ask for a recent result.153
How and where do I register for the JLPT?
Through the host institution in your country or city, listed on the official JLPT website. Each host sets its own dates, fee and number of seats. In Japan, the fee is ¥7,500, registration is online, and in 2026 it was in principle limited to mid- to long-term residents.121617
Is there a computer-based JLPT?
Not as of September 2026. The JLPT is still a paper test with a machine-scored answer sheet, and no computer-based version has been announced. JFT-Basic, a different test accepted for some visas, is the one taken on a computer.3
Are there JLPT accommodations for candidates with a disability?
Yes. Candidates with a disability, an illness or an injury can request arrangements such as braille or large-print booklets, extra time, a separate room or hearing aids. The request goes through the local host before its deadline, with supporting documents.14
Does passing N1 or N2 mean I am fluent?
It shows you understand written and spoken Japanese at that level. It says nothing about speaking or writing, which the test does not cover. On the CEFR scale printed on score reports, N1 reaches C1 at most, and only from 142 points.1020
Aaronsan is an independent study app. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by the Japan Foundation or Japan Educational Exchanges and Services, which administer the JLPT.
Test dates, fees and rules can change. Always confirm with the official JLPT website and your local host before registering.
Exam · Method · Study plan
