Recently, I've seen a lot more native Japanese speakers RUclipsrs and RUclips random street interviews in Tokyo asking Japanese native speakers to answer questions from these JLPT tests. My guess it would be equivalent to asking native English speakers to take an English grammar test and answer which grammar or sentence structures are written correctly. Such as no sentence fragments, no run on sentences, when to capitalize a word, and correct usage of punctuation marks etc...
I've just looked at some Grade 1 Eiken example tests and I reckon a vast number of people I know (I live in England) would struggle with this, to be fair.
I'm trying to encourage myself to try the IELTS exam but honestly it's kind of scary 😅 especially the writing part of the test and how expensive it is here in Brazil. I'd like to try JLPT too, but it's way too far away from where I live to try it.
@@Pembologto be fair these test are so pedantic that it basically tries to override all instincts when it comes to language now eiken at a grade 1 level it might be concerning if you struggle alot
This was a lot of fun to watch. I was surprised to find out that I actually got the gist of the listening exercise, despite not being even near N1 level! I'd love to see more language content
Every N5 always has both 八百屋 in it and one listening excercise where they mix up books and long things because book is "hon" 本 but "two books" is "nisatsu" (二冊). They test if you confuse it with "nihon" （二本) which is not two books, but "two long things".
What are 八百屋? From context it seems like a counter or something, but jisho and yomichan only describe it as a greengrocer and other things that from context you certainly seem to not mean. Always curious to learn more terminology
As I commented before: To really teach Japanese traditional culture foreigners need to know when the Japanese person is talking indirectly as well as to know how to say what you want to say to a Japanese person in an indirect manner. That is as important as learning which Japanese word corespondents to the same word in another language.
I'd argue that knowing which word corresponds to another in English becomes less important as you progress because after hearing it in so many context, you can have a mental representation of what it means approximately. You will ve able to translate it naturally to English without necessarily learning the exact translation. If you're referring to traditional learning (like at school) then that philosophy is way more important I suppose.
From what I learned from this video, you have to be very serious about these tests. But by brushing up on your knowledge of the Japanese language you will be a very effective teacher. We have ESL here (English as a Second Language) that some teachers get certified in here. Your language has 3 different means of writing. We still struggle with only one alphabet.
I always appreciate learning from you about your perspectives on your home country. Your enthusiasm is inspiring! Japan has such a rich culture and a beautiful language. I look forward to learning even more from you, and I wish you the best of luck in your studies as a language instructor! 頑張って下さい!
Shogo san, I think you should make a whole video of how to spot when Japanese speaking indirectly and how to respond to it. And also how to read the air in Japan. This will be beneficial to a lot of foreigners who are new to Japan and not aware of Japanese culture.
These exams will always give questions to catch people out. I am currently studying to take the N3 exam in December. I signed up in order to motivate myself to study more and finally make progress to a more upper intermediate level. But it is hard to sometimes find the time to really study. I started learning when I was 9… over 20 years ago now. Never consistently, but since I paid quite a bit of money for the exam, I’m more consistent with learning - especially with kanji. It’s rewarding to be recognising more kanji, for example in Kimono Sunao’s videos. 😅 surprisingly my listening skills are probably not as bad as I think since I got the gist of the N1 question… 😂
Don’t waste your time with N1. Maybe half of N2 grammar is useful. You’re better off watching Japanese content with no subtitles after N3. Don’t get sucked into the reading material for the upper levels either. They’re pretty much useless for real world scenarios.
@@joesavag Yeah, I'd say you only want to bother with the JLPT if you plan on getting some kind of job that requires it (translator, working a Japanese office job as a foreigner, etc). Like the ACT exists for getting into colleges, the JLPT exists as a work exam for getting into Japanese-related jobs and isn't useful for much outside of that. I would recommend just getting a tutor or making native Japanese friends to practice with
@@ozzi9816 Yea the tests are totally worth it so you can get a job with a Japanese company and work 12 hrs a day with unpaid overtime and then go to karaoke with the boss.
Thank you for this video! I'm currently studying Japanese and it's a very challenging BUT very interesting language. Come to think of it, if I take a language exam of my native language, I will NOT get a perfect score for sure !
Prepping for the N1 in a few weeks, I actually find the online practice questions to be quite a bit easier than questions from real, Previous exams. Especially the listening portion. The one shown in this video was downright straight forward compared to how it can be!
I have been following this channel for quite a while, and it is my favourite when it comes to japan! especially the today's conclusion parts are so useful when i want to quickly get a brief idea of the subject,thank you for those
Hi, Shogo! I'm just seeing this video now, but congratulations on signing up to learn to teach Japanese! I'm excited for you and wish you all the best on this journey.
Enjoy the learning process! I signed up for the December exam and chose N4 - because I had previously learned JP for 3 years, but then had a looooong break. So I had to set up a goal for myself to revise a bit, but I also didn't want it to be so difficult that it would be daunting. Sooo... wish me luck, I guess 😅
@@ashjoyner8032 the results will be available online in late Jan/early Feb apparently, but it felt more difficult than I assumed it would be 😅 We'll see, but in fairness it did help me kick-start getting back into learning 🙂
Oof... I did N5 like 5 years ago, and found it managable, even as a selftaught. However, I couldn't spend a lot of time learning japanese since then until just recently. Those last 4 months I learned nearly a 1000 Kanji, and could even read most of the stuff, even though it took me a bit longer. I haven't brushed up on my grammer at all :P and I am really bad at placing the particles as well, as well as the order of sentences. Sometimes it just feels like the order is switchable.
I know abiout and have heard some of the questions in jlpt test. but this is the first time is see someone doing it and it is definitely interesting to see someone actually attempt to do it!
I started Katakana some weeks ago and I did not find thaaaat haard. I can understand how the system of writing works pretty well, but absorbing all of the katana? Oof, that's the hardest thing. I still did not absorbed all the Hiragana, but I feel I'm able to read something already... Even though I still lack a bigger vocabulary to actually understand what I'm reading, and still takes me a while to read a simple sentence. In the end, I believe the secret to study Japanese is the same as with any other language: study, practicing and constant exposition.
As someone who's currently preparing for the C2 German exams (the German equivalent of Japanese N1), more than a third of native speakers would end up failing if they hadn't studied beforehand. For example, I just failed the C2 listening portion last month, but I had to answer questions about an interview over nanoparticles and how companies have to try and make sure they don't leech into the water systems from our clothing and such. The difficulty of these tests is no joke. On the flip side, I have to understand nanoparticles, but lord help me if a kid comes up and talks about boogers or something totally mundane that never comes up in German classes. 🤦♀️😅
@@blaizegottman4139 German classes are definitely the way to go, if you've got the time and money. That's the only way I had a real chance to make noticeable progress.
@@OmarLivesUnderSpace C2 is the highest CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) level, which is used for all European languages. Someone who has a C2 in German, or French, or English has the same language equivalency as someone with a N1 in Japanese. It's classified as "near native like use of the language". So don't tell me that the C2 is not German, nor that it's unequivocal to N1 Japanese. These German tests have literally been a huge focus of my life for the past year. I think I know what I'm talking about.
@@OmarLivesUnderSpace You said "C2 is not German". I never said C2 was ONLY German, but it's the only recognized certification system for German as a foreign language. That's why I specified "C2 German". I will admit that my knowledge of the Japanese tests is only what I've heard from others that have studied Japanese, but the comparison of the two is still valid. C2 in German is the highest achievable and recognized language competency certification, just like the N1 is for Japanese. That IS comparable. And, to bring this back to my original comment, they're both insanely difficult, the current anecdotal evidence being Shiro, a native Japanese speaker, and me, who has had native German speakers telling me that they'd have trouble with my exams. I also find it amusing that we're discussing fluency tests in German and Japanese, but you choose to attack my English instead. Real big of you.
@@OmarLivesUnderSpace I just realized that my autocorrect changed Shogo to Shiro in a previous comment. That one was completely unintentional and I do apologize for my phone's inaccuracies.
The JLPT does not measure your ability to communicate in Japanese. JLTP N2 and N1 have very rare expressions and grammar that will not increase your ability to communicate with others.
Exactly no spoken Japanese section at all it is just a test of very specific reading comprehension. There are RUclips video of passing these test in couple of months just using dozens of sample tests and selected vocabulary.
I'm not sure the test is designed as a functional measure of your ability to naturally exist with the Japanese language in Japan. I see it more like an academic benchmark. In the Japanese learning community there is a decent amount of elitism and I can see why N1 may not actually be a further demonstration of your ability to express yourself, and is more of an academic deadlift to prove you have the brain and the education. I don't really like that, but Japan will be Japan.
I am sorry that I can't agree with you. N1 and N2 grammar and expressions definitely used a lot in life, even in daily life conversation. But, it is indeed true that it will be sufficient to communicate with others just using N3 stuff. N1 and N2 are just the right (or even the basis) level for you to read novels/watch movies/have a deeper conversion with Japanese, especially your seniors. It is just the same as C1/C2 level in English is just right for you to read books/ watch movie without subtitles/ etc. However, a "full mark" is just a "perfection", but it does not really show the difference between nearly full mark (say ~170/180) and full mark.
@@makoto_lys For real. I read light novels and watch the news after studying the Japanese on and off for around 10 years. I believed the myth that “the japanese in N1 is rarely used”, but when I tried a few practice N2 and N1 exams, I was shocked at how much of what I encounter regularly in native material was covered. I wish I had gone for the N1 sooner, but I plan to do so next year. Can’t wait! 😃
This video really motivates me further with learning Japanese. I've been learning Japanese for 5+ years off and on and am a devout follower of this channel (Of course!
It actually not as bad as it sounds because it a static test and much of it you can guess right if you you use several full past test as reference, like the last question mentioned on N1 he talked about after work drinking party if you know what that means you already narrow down the answer to 2 so it really testing you on limited amount of Japanese but a high level. Also it should be mentioned that if you want to work in Japan most of the time all you need is N2 and there is also no spoken part on the test.
With N1 and N2 on the reading questions, it feels like for the "what is the most important thing the author was trying to say" questions can be pretty tricky since it's easy to read the article and come away with your own message that is different from the intended message since there are multiple points made throughout the passage. The key to those seem to be to pay the closest attention to what is said in the first and last sentences more so than the ones in the body. An example that I have seen in one of my study books is one where the author talks about how writing benefits you. My initial answer was that the main point was that it helps you grow because you are shown your inner self (which is mentioned in the passage) but the correct answer was that it helps you become able to work in society, which just seemed like an odd message from my perspective so I initially disregarded it as a potential answer.
Back when I as a non-native speaker of English took the Graduate Record Examination to attend graduate school in the US, I had an above average score in the linguistic part. Given how many of the GRE takers are likely to be native speakers, that says something about the mastery of the finer aspects of English language even of native speakers - and even of native speakers educated enough to apply for graduate school.
The JLPT tests a lot on test-taking skills, rather than language skills I feel. I recently passed the N2 but I can barely speak Japanese and I definitely don't know all the "N2-level kanji/vocabulary". The reading part is often more expecting you to be able to find information in the text rather than understand the text. I also feel like the listening parts are way easier than the rest of the exams. The N2 listening part was shockingly easy, especially if you've been exposed to a lot of Japanese audio material like anime, podcasts or youtube videos. Even the N1 listening, I feel like I would've passed it a few years ago with only slight difficulty. Also note that the passing requirements are very lenient! For N2, you only need to have gotten 20/60 points per section, with 90/180 in total. I passed while having scored 23/60 for the language knowledge section (38%) because I scored very high on the listening part (54/60). For other language exams this would've obviously resulted in me immediately failing, because they have much stricter passing requirements.
I've heard from a few people that even with an N1 certificate, they were still unable to have conversations in Japanese and were only able to pass tests 😥 I think you have to have a lot of practice speaking with natives to get more fluency, and also you have to consume a lot of everyday japanese content, otherwise, you may only know how to answer quiz questions...
A lot of Koreans and Japanese score really well in English exams (be it SAT, IELTS or their own national English exams) but don't speak English well haha... It's similar I suppose. I always learn languages best from watching movies/animes/dramas... when I took JLPT, I always scored best in Listening (in fact I would not have passed N2 without Listening section). And I speak Japanese well enough to have worked in a Japanese company where my colleagues were all Japanese. It's their entire 'read the room please' culture that did me in... coz I most probably have ASD / Asperger's / high-functioning autism. I didn't realise I have that when I was applying for that Japanese company.
@@nastyayoyo4963 yeah agreed, and can't be helped I suppose... Japanese people with high functioning autism probably still have to work just the same, although probably having to hide their disorder to not be labeled as not normal 🥲 I hope you do great in the company you work for though 🙏 hope it's not too hard on you And I hope to one day soon attain N2 level (I'm just barely N5 right now 😮💨)
That is highly unlikely because N1 is about junior/senior high school for a native speaker. If you can understand N1 level Japanese, you can understand daily conversations without any issue.
Really interesting to see how challenging the exams can be, thank you for this video! I admit, I tried to learn Japanese briefly as a teenager, but never got further than hiragana, and some basic vocab and grammar. I really want to commit to learning at least one language other than my native English on a proficient level, to where I could be a translator, or at least someone who can freely communicate in that language. Other than Spanish, Japanese would be the next language that I have the most background in and history in listening and understanding the vocal tones. I know that exposure to a language at an earlier age helps with developing a proper accent for speaking the language like a native. I am really curious. Shogo, If you could press a button and instantly learn any other language on an extremely proficient level, which would you chose and why? You should make a short about this! I love your channel so much. I have always had a great curiosity and respect for Japanese culture, and I appreciate all that you have taught us. This wouldn't be possible without your dedicatedly smart translation skills.
Absolute respect for still doing reactions in timelapsed footages You know, a lot of RUclipsrs don't do reaction when they know the footage they are in is going to be timelapsed
I got the fifth question right. I’m not a fluent Japanese speaker (or a native), but I do enjoy languages. I plan on getting proficient in reading, writing, and then speaking. Iseke.
Since I travel a lot to Japan to sing, ( I haven’t since the pandemic…CANNOT WAIT TO GET BACK THERE!) I decided to take Japanese language class. I got a C- 😒 It was easy to distinguish the characters (hiragana, katakana and kanji) but 😮💨 trying to learn the kanji had me wanting to throw the whole class away!🤣🤣🤣 I’m excited to jump back in! ❤💪🏾
If you can, get children's books as they have the readings above the kanji and use simple sentences. It will help you to figure out which one to use, as some kanji can have many ways it can be read.
If you haven’t you should try the eikan 1, ielts and toeic tests. All are difficult. A top band in ielts is centred at native fluency. Most of the vocabulary in eikan 1 isn’t used by natives and only 2 people in japan have a perfect score in toeic. One of which is half Australian. It’s not about what you know but techniques and patterns to direct you to the correct answer quickly in these test.
Taking the N5 in 3 weeks and I am so scared 😭 I've only ever taken a language exam once in english and I got sooo scared aswell and blanked out and it was scaarryyyy
Wow thank you for sharing this topic. I'm taking the N2 test in two weeks, here in US. I'm excited and also a little nervous about the reading and listening parts. That N1 listening question about why the teacher was mad seemed easier than the practice listening I've done for N2 haha.
The US government had at least one test where they graded your listening, reading, and speaking, on a scale of 1-5. Most native English speakers weren't 5s, on that test.
Im preparing for N3 in two weeks, the most difficult part for me is remembering vocabulary and listening, but kanji is surprisingly easy for me, I guess I am more of a visual learner, but cant remember sounds as easily :(
thats just how it works, for some reason, a native speaker cant get the best score in a language test of their own native language. i am a native english speaker and i took the Cambridge general english test and somehow scored a surprisingly low 17/25 (68%) 😂
I think there are so many things we take for granted in our native languages. I mean my native language is Tagalog and if given a hard test in Tagalog, I might even fail or make so-called casual mistakes. We have also seen English speakers take English exams done in Japan or Korea and still fail despite that language being native to them.
I felt validated when you mentioned katakana can be difficult to learn. I thought it was just me struggling with katakana as a non-native with faulty memory😅
To answer your question about how long it would take a student of the language in getting to N1… It really depends of course on how much time a day you dedicate…..it takes commutatively about 3,000 hours (I researched this a few years ago so I may be a little off on that number) of study to get to N1…..it may take someone 3-7 years of studying depending on how long a day they dedicate….I’ve been currently studying for only 2 years and 6 months (around)….but I have been studying anywhere from 8-12 hours every single day….for the entirety of my time…since day 1….so at this point I have gone all the way through N1 kanji and am currently studying N1 grammar….but yeah….as a lot of people watching this video should know….learning Japanese, specially if you do not know any other Asian languages…..requires an incredible amount of dedication….otherwise you won’t get far unfortunately…of course, it’s worth noting a lot of my studying time is done consuming content I like in Japanese such as Anime, light novels, JDramas, games, manga etc so it makes the 8-12 hours more bearable :)
I learned katakana (not the language though) and it was easier for me to remember more than hiragana, because it uses more straight sharp lines and somewhat my brain see such lines are "organized" but with hiragana things looked random and it was hard to memorize. There were few katakana syllables that I got mixed up; but oh well, now that I didn't practice much I've forgot a big deal of katakana
Wow, I guess my listening has gotten a lot better than I realized. I barely scraped through N2 listening back in 2016, but didn't have any trouble with the N1 problem at the end here... I haven't really felt like I've been improving, but I guess it was pretty gradual.
I was able to pick up Hiragana pretty quickly but still struggle with Katakana, there are a lot of confusingly similar forms and features. I've found training to at least recognize the symbolic meanings (readings are a whole different matter) of N5/N4 level Kanji to be quite a bit easier and I never expected that to be the case.
I'm sure that you'll learn everything you have to learn, but keep in mind that, first, language learners struggle with different things than native speakers (and make different kind of mistakes. Case in point, I don't know a single non-native speaker who confuses to, too, and two, and very few who confuse then and than), and second, people with different native languages would find different things challenging. Also, language tests aren't exactly representative of everyday speech and require a lot of skills that you'd need while studying something but not in everyday life (like trick questions that test your attention to detail and basically your overall attention span). There are specialised test preparation courses for a reason. Also, I failed N2 years ago because Kanji requirements were crazy. I understand spoken Japanese as well as any other dub hating weeb, and both hiragana and katakana were pretty easy, but kanji just break my brain.
It’s since a long time ago I’m trying to pass N1, but online check test it’s easier compared to the real one, furthermore you have just a short time to answer
I'm Japanese studies college student from Indonesia and JLPT is one of the mandatory condition for me to graduate from university. Especially N3 (medium level?). CMIIW When I was in high school, my teacher recommends me to try JLPT N5 level but I rejected it. Then entering my college life especially on December 2018, I tried JLPT N4 level but until now, I don't know my result because I forgot the password 😂 On December 2019, I tried JLPT N3 level but I didn't passed due to my depression that I felt around that year. Pandemic come attacking world and JLPT cancelled for almost 2 years and 4 months ago in July, I try again JLPT N3 level but I didn't passed again but the funny thing is, I missed *3 points to get passed* . I repeat, 3 points! Hilarious right? 😂 And on 4th December (Sunday), I'll attend the JLPT N3 again for the 3rd time. Hope I can passed this time everyone and Shogo-san!
My German teacher would always remind my anglophone class that none of us would ever pass the top English language proficiency test. That would be for scholars of the English language! The top levels don’t equate to fluency, they surpass it. Most regular speakers would not even do well on the mid tier tests, though, either.
Not sure if there’s a big community wondering about this but you should do an episode about traditional Japanese fishing, I’ve heard that only the samurai class could fish using the tenkara technique. Is this true?
It must be like super correct japanese then. More correct than most japanese people actually know. Like asking an English speaker what this (;) means or this (~) means. I have no idea yet somehow they're sometimes essential english tools. There's plenty more examples including some english words I don't know as a native English speaker (Ononatopoeia) or something of the sort. It's not that you cannot speak the language it's that there are corners of these large languages not usually used but do indeed have their uses so you just don't know them.
Let's ask Shogo friends / Do a tea ceremony / And its importance... All haiku aside, please do a video on this topic if you haven't yet. The importance of a tea ceremony and what it represents and how to do one. For all the content ありがとう
The JLPT test seems surprisingly simple, even for N1. You only need to read each question and choose from 4 possible answers, which gives you a theoretical 1 in 4 chance of guessing the right answer. In practice, 1 of the answer choices is usually very far off, which means you really have 1 in 3 chance of being correct. In principle, someone with the bare minimum knowledge could pass the test by random chance, simply by rolling the die and choosing the answers at random. The more prepared they are, the more likely they are to guess correctly, and the fewer guesses they will have to make. I'm not saying that the exam is easy. What I'm saying is that it's not as hard as I imagined it to be. It's a simple multiple choice question with no essay portion and not even an interview portion. In the listening portion, the people speak clearly and at a relatively slow pace compared to radio talk shows, for example. And even if you didn't get it the first time, you can listen to it again. Because there's no interview section, you could in theory pass even the N1 exam and still be poor at communicating verbally in the language. The JLPT is supposed to test your knowledge in the language, so it's quite puzzling why they don't have an essay portion and an interview section in order to test your real knowledge in the language. It's one thing to guess the right answer in a multiple choice question. It's a completely different ball game having to hand-write a 2-3 page essay in Japanese making and defending a pov on a topic given at random, and with severe time constraints.
As a foreigner that had never tried to read kanji until 3 years ago, I can tell you that without having been raised in a kanji-based education system, the time one would need to pass an N3-N2-N1 JLPT with an essay section, would be downright absurd. Especially since many Japanese told me they do not know how to write many N1 and some N2 kanji. I do agree that the JLPT is not there to test your proficiency, as there is no speaking, but it is just a form of evaluation craftily constructed to make you feel miserable, destroy your confidence and inform you of how much irrelevant Japanese is out there that you will most likely never use. Also, I do also feel that the practice material online or from previous JLPT is WAY easier than the actual test. This said, even given 4 choices, even when narrowing it down to 2, if you do not understand the context or the tone of the sentence given you are done for, and this happens way too many times. And I cannot fathom why they try to make you fail using exceptions over truly testing the most used knowledge of that level.
@@Aupirit The JLPT tests your proficiency, but it tests your overall comprehension, not your production skills. It took me about two years to learn all the jouyou kanji following Heisig’s method, but I had already had about 600 under my belt before that. I don’t know, I think kanji is best learned in context. It’s best to learn them by just reading as much native material as you can. The jinmeiyou also becomes easier as you encounter and familiarize yourself with more Japanese names. As for the JLPT testing irrelevant material, why do people say this? I regularly read light novels as well as the occasional classic from Aozora Bunko (with the help of Rikai or Yomichan of course 😅) and pretty much everything on N1 is used regularly. The vocab is specialized but they’re words every native speaker knows in their language (think “courtroom”, “prosecutor”, “oxidation”, “engineer”, “guard”, “sanctions”, etc). They don’t pop in normally in conversations, but that doesn’t mean they’re not common words - and you definitely need to learn them if you actually want to be literate. As for the grammar, yes you won’t normally find them in everyday convos, but you will find them in literature, songs, poems, etc. Quick example: both 如き and ですら (which I both hear from polite characters in anime) are used in the opening song for Call of the Night. Basically, everything on N1 is used in various contexts from day to day, even if they’re not specifically used for spoken language.
passing and getting a perfect score are two different things: ask any native english speaker to pass toeic with 100% accuracy for all "abilities measured"
I'm also N1 holder and I want to say N1 Paragraph is unreasonably long .. after such a long paragraph how someone can remember whole the story and answer the question at once right after your first read ? and also there's so many outdated kanjis they use in N1 exam which is not in n5-n1 kanji list ? this is the most interesting part of exam because why theres outdated kanjis that we are not learning in kanji list for foreigner people ? Even the native japanese cannot read sometimes and they just giving us so many question marks about it ...
5:29 How did nakaKAwa become nakaGAwa 😭😭😭😭 this also happens i see KAkure becomes GAkure 😭😭 pls someone help im no where near N5 after studying 2 years 😭
I'm sure this is a very interesting video, but after 5 mins all I've got from it is that it's a bunch of questions & you answering them & ALL of it's in Japanese. If you had explained what the questions MEAN & what the various possible answers are & then gone on to explain WHY answer X is the correct one it would have been far more interesting. Sorry Shogo. (Still going to "LIKE" this video as I'm sure viewers who understand spoken Japanese will find it very interesting.)
Just asking, how is 挑む a difficult word? I first encountered it way before I even took N3. Just had to look up the serepare characters of 挑戦(a basic word) and there you go :)
it's not a difficult/uncommon word at all. it's in the top ~3000 in anime/VN/LN word frequency lists. 挑戦 is slightly more common at top ~2000. you would be expected to know these around N3, but its not unrealistic to know them before.
I did the N5 in 2019 and passed it. It was hard, but doable. On Sunday I will do the N4. Wish me luck ^^ P.s: Never do a Cambridge test! If you don't read EVERYTHING you will miss so many points there! They want to f*ck up your score, so they put in one little word, that changes everything xD I did the CAE last month (don't know, if I passed it, yet xD)
Is there a blind test for blind ppl? Because I'm basically blind i can't read or write but I understand grammer and advanced n1 Japanese. So listening is great... so if I take a test where they read the questions for me I would not fail xd P.s im not blind
Seriously, after passing the N1, the chances of encountering some of those obscure grammar patterns out in the wild are pretty slim. The average Japanese person doesn't use them in everyday writing/conversation.
You encounter them a lot in literature. If you want to read and enjoy contemporary Japanese literature and not just anime/manga and dramas, I definitely think it’s worth it to learn enough to pass N1.
Recently, I've seen a lot more native Japanese speakers RUclipsrs and RUclips random street interviews in Tokyo asking Japanese native speakers to answer questions from these JLPT tests. My guess it would be equivalent to asking native English speakers to take an English grammar test and answer which grammar or sentence structures are written correctly. Such as no sentence fragments, no run on sentences, when to capitalize a word, and correct usage of punctuation marks etc...
Like Ask Japanese?
@@TheOtakuDude The other Japanese RUclipsr channel, That Japanese Man Yuta , did the same thing as well.
That's very interesting
It wouldn't be advanced as getting correct punctuation, etc. It's also multiple choice so they just need to pick the option that 'looks best'
shogo has to to be one of the best people to learn japanese from because hes so nice and helpful
Yeah He's great
@@OmarLivesUnderSpace why
@@harrisonandrews9964 why-man
Don’t worry Shogo, despite being a native speaker with a degree in English language, I couldn’t get a full score on Eiken either. 😅
😅
I've just looked at some Grade 1 Eiken example tests and I reckon a vast number of people I know (I live in England) would struggle with this, to be fair.
@@Pembolog Thanks. (I didn’t FAIL it or anything. Just could get full points.)
I'm trying to encourage myself to try the IELTS exam but honestly it's kind of scary 😅 especially the writing part of the test and how expensive it is here in Brazil. I'd like to try JLPT too, but it's way too far away from where I live to try it.
@@Pembologto be fair these test are so pedantic that it basically tries to override all instincts when it comes to language now eiken at a grade 1 level it might be concerning if you struggle alot
This was a lot of fun to watch. I was surprised to find out that I actually got the gist of the listening exercise, despite not being even near N1 level! I'd love to see more language content
I got a ad about Japan as well
Every N5 always has both 八百屋 in it and one listening excercise where they mix up books and long things because book is "hon" 本 but "two books" is "nisatsu" (二冊). They test if you confuse it with "nihon" （二本) which is not two books, but "two long things".
What are 八百屋? From context it seems like a counter or something, but jisho and yomichan only describe it as a greengrocer and other things that from context you certainly seem to not mean. Always curious to learn more terminology
@@simone8172 It is greengrocer, but it's reading is unpredictable and you need to memorize it
As I commented before: To really teach Japanese traditional culture foreigners need to know when the Japanese person is talking indirectly as well as to know how to say what you want to say to a Japanese person in an indirect manner. That is as important as learning which Japanese word corespondents to the same word in another language.
I'd argue that knowing which word corresponds to another in English becomes less important as you progress because after hearing it in so many context, you can have a mental representation of what it means approximately. You will ve able to translate it naturally to English without necessarily learning the exact translation. If you're referring to traditional learning (like at school) then that philosophy is way more important I suppose.
From what I learned from this video, you have to be very serious about these tests. But by brushing up on your knowledge of the Japanese language you will be a very effective teacher. We have ESL here (English as a Second Language) that some teachers get certified in here. Your language has 3 different means of writing. We still struggle with only one alphabet.
I always appreciate learning from you about your perspectives on your home country. Your enthusiasm is inspiring!
Japan has such a rich culture and a beautiful language. I look forward to learning even more from you, and I wish you the best of luck in your studies as a language instructor!
頑張って下さい!
These proficiency tests have a reputation of being challenging even to native speakers.
Shogo san, I think you should make a whole video of how to spot when Japanese speaking indirectly and how to respond to it. And also how to read the air in Japan. This will be beneficial to a lot of foreigners who are new to Japan and not aware of Japanese culture.
These exams will always give questions to catch people out. I am currently studying to take the N3 exam in December. I signed up in order to motivate myself to study more and finally make progress to a more upper intermediate level. But it is hard to sometimes find the time to really study. I started learning when I was 9… over 20 years ago now. Never consistently, but since I paid quite a bit of money for the exam, I’m more consistent with learning - especially with kanji. It’s rewarding to be recognising more kanji, for example in Kimono Sunao’s videos. 😅 surprisingly my listening skills are probably not as bad as I think since I got the gist of the N1 question… 😂
Don’t waste your time with N1. Maybe half of N2 grammar is useful. You’re better off watching Japanese content with no subtitles after N3. Don’t get sucked into the reading material for the upper levels either. They’re pretty much useless for real world scenarios.
@@joesavag Yeah, I'd say you only want to bother with the JLPT if you plan on getting some kind of job that requires it (translator, working a Japanese office job as a foreigner, etc). Like the ACT exists for getting into colleges, the JLPT exists as a work exam for getting into Japanese-related jobs and isn't useful for much outside of that. I would recommend just getting a tutor or making native Japanese friends to practice with
@@joesavag Nah, I plan on taking N1 next year. Worth it.
@@ozzi9816 Yea the tests are totally worth it so you can get a job with a Japanese company and work 12 hrs a day with unpaid overtime and then go to karaoke with the boss.
Thank you for this video! I'm currently studying Japanese and it's a very challenging BUT very interesting language. Come to think of it, if I take a language exam of my native language, I will NOT get a perfect score for sure !
This is wonderful content and beyond encouraging. Thanks for posting.
Prepping for the N1 in a few weeks, I actually find the online practice questions to be quite a bit easier than questions from real, Previous exams. Especially the listening portion. The one shown in this video was downright straight forward compared to how it can be!
I am from Kenya, and I already have trouble understanding Swahili. So I feel your pain.
Congatulations Shogo that in December You will start going to School to become a Japanese Language Instructor! Be the best in Class and make us Proud!
👍
I have been following this channel for quite a while, and it is my favourite when it comes to japan! especially the today's conclusion parts are so useful when i want to quickly get a brief idea of the subject,thank you for those
Hi, Shogo! I'm just seeing this video now, but congratulations on signing up to learn to teach Japanese! I'm excited for you and wish you all the best on this journey.
Enjoy the learning process! I signed up for the December exam and chose N4 - because I had previously learned JP for 3 years, but then had a looooong break. So I had to set up a goal for myself to revise a bit, but I also didn't want it to be so difficult that it would be daunting.
Sooo... wish me luck, I guess 😅
How did the test go? Did you pass it?
@@ashjoyner8032 the results will be available online in late Jan/early Feb apparently, but it felt more difficult than I assumed it would be 😅 We'll see, but in fairness it did help me kick-start getting back into learning 🙂
@@ashjoyner8032 aaaand passed 🥳
With a better score than I thought, so my system works for me after all 😁
Oof... I did N5 like 5 years ago, and found it managable, even as a selftaught. However, I couldn't spend a lot of time learning japanese since then until just recently. Those last 4 months I learned nearly a 1000 Kanji, and could even read most of the stuff, even though it took me a bit longer. I haven't brushed up on my grammer at all :P and I am really bad at placing the particles as well, as well as the order of sentences. Sometimes it just feels like the order is switchable.
I know abiout and have heard some of the questions in jlpt test. but this is the first time is see someone doing it and it is definitely interesting to see someone actually attempt to do it!
I started Katakana some weeks ago and I did not find thaaaat haard. I can understand how the system of writing works pretty well, but absorbing all of the katana? Oof, that's the hardest thing. I still did not absorbed all the Hiragana, but I feel I'm able to read something already... Even though I still lack a bigger vocabulary to actually understand what I'm reading, and still takes me a while to read a simple sentence.
In the end, I believe the secret to study Japanese is the same as with any other language: study, practicing and constant exposition.
As someone who's currently preparing for the C2 German exams (the German equivalent of Japanese N1), more than a third of native speakers would end up failing if they hadn't studied beforehand. For example, I just failed the C2 listening portion last month, but I had to answer questions about an interview over nanoparticles and how companies have to try and make sure they don't leech into the water systems from our clothing and such. The difficulty of these tests is no joke.
On the flip side, I have to understand nanoparticles, but lord help me if a kid comes up and talks about boogers or something totally mundane that never comes up in German classes. 🤦♀️😅
And I'm half German and I would love to learn to speak it
@@blaizegottman4139 German classes are definitely the way to go, if you've got the time and money. That's the only way I had a real chance to make noticeable progress.
@@OmarLivesUnderSpace C2 is the highest CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) level, which is used for all European languages. Someone who has a C2 in German, or French, or English has the same language equivalency as someone with a N1 in Japanese. It's classified as "near native like use of the language".
So don't tell me that the C2 is not German, nor that it's unequivocal to N1 Japanese. These German tests have literally been a huge focus of my life for the past year. I think I know what I'm talking about.
@@OmarLivesUnderSpace You said "C2 is not German". I never said C2 was ONLY German, but it's the only recognized certification system for German as a foreign language. That's why I specified "C2 German".
I will admit that my knowledge of the Japanese tests is only what I've heard from others that have studied Japanese, but the comparison of the two is still valid. C2 in German is the highest achievable and recognized language competency certification, just like the N1 is for Japanese. That IS comparable.
And, to bring this back to my original comment, they're both insanely difficult, the current anecdotal evidence being Shiro, a native Japanese speaker, and me, who has had native German speakers telling me that they'd have trouble with my exams.
I also find it amusing that we're discussing fluency tests in German and Japanese, but you choose to attack my English instead. Real big of you.
@@OmarLivesUnderSpace I just realized that my autocorrect changed Shogo to Shiro in a previous comment. That one was completely unintentional and I do apologize for my phone's inaccuracies.
The JLPT does not measure your ability to communicate in Japanese. JLTP N2 and N1 have very rare expressions and grammar that will not increase your ability to communicate with others.
Exactly no spoken Japanese section at all it is just a test of very specific reading comprehension. There are RUclips video of passing these test in couple of months just using dozens of sample tests and selected vocabulary.
I'm not sure the test is designed as a functional measure of your ability to naturally exist with the Japanese language in Japan. I see it more like an academic benchmark.
In the Japanese learning community there is a decent amount of elitism and I can see why N1 may not actually be a further demonstration of your ability to express yourself, and is more of an academic deadlift to prove you have the brain and the education. I don't really like that, but Japan will be Japan.
I am sorry that I can't agree with you. N1 and N2 grammar and expressions definitely used a lot in life, even in daily life conversation. But, it is indeed true that it will be sufficient to communicate with others just using N3 stuff. N1 and N2 are just the right (or even the basis) level for you to read novels/watch movies/have a deeper conversion with Japanese, especially your seniors. It is just the same as C1/C2 level in English is just right for you to read books/ watch movie without subtitles/ etc.
However, a "full mark" is just a "perfection", but it does not really show the difference between nearly full mark (say ~170/180) and full mark.
Literal cope
@@makoto_lys For real. I read light novels and watch the news after studying the Japanese on and off for around 10 years. I believed the myth that “the japanese in N1 is rarely used”, but when I tried a few practice N2 and N1 exams, I was shocked at how much of what I encounter regularly in native material was covered. I wish I had gone for the N1 sooner, but I plan to do so next year. Can’t wait! 😃
This video really motivates me further with learning Japanese. I've been learning Japanese for 5+ years off and on and am a devout follower of this channel (Of course!
The problem with JLPT and NAT is that you have to understand nuance and context just to get the correct answer.
That seems complicated
It actually not as bad as it sounds because it a static test and much of it you can guess right if you you use several full past test as reference, like the last question mentioned on N1 he talked about after work drinking party if you know what that means you already narrow down the answer to 2 so it really testing you on limited amount of Japanese but a high level. Also it should be mentioned that if you want to work in Japan most of the time all you need is N2 and there is also no spoken part on the test.
Love the videos, Shogo. Keep it up!!!
With N1 and N2 on the reading questions, it feels like for the "what is the most important thing the author was trying to say" questions can be pretty tricky since it's easy to read the article and come away with your own message that is different from the intended message since there are multiple points made throughout the passage. The key to those seem to be to pay the closest attention to what is said in the first and last sentences more so than the ones in the body. An example that I have seen in one of my study books is one where the author talks about how writing benefits you. My initial answer was that the main point was that it helps you grow because you are shown your inner self (which is mentioned in the passage) but the correct answer was that it helps you become able to work in society, which just seemed like an odd message from my perspective so I initially disregarded it as a potential answer.
Back when I as a non-native speaker of English took the Graduate Record Examination to attend graduate school in the US, I had an above average score in the linguistic part. Given how many of the GRE takers are likely to be native speakers, that says something about the mastery of the finer aspects of English language even of native speakers - and even of native speakers educated enough to apply for graduate school.
It easy to hide incompetence in esoteric language, that why it so prevalent.
The JLPT tests a lot on test-taking skills, rather than language skills I feel. I recently passed the N2 but I can barely speak Japanese and I definitely don't know all the "N2-level kanji/vocabulary". The reading part is often more expecting you to be able to find information in the text rather than understand the text. I also feel like the listening parts are way easier than the rest of the exams. The N2 listening part was shockingly easy, especially if you've been exposed to a lot of Japanese audio material like anime, podcasts or youtube videos. Even the N1 listening, I feel like I would've passed it a few years ago with only slight difficulty.
Also note that the passing requirements are very lenient! For N2, you only need to have gotten 20/60 points per section, with 90/180 in total. I passed while having scored 23/60 for the language knowledge section (38%) because I scored very high on the listening part (54/60). For other language exams this would've obviously resulted in me immediately failing, because they have much stricter passing requirements.
Learning a new language or even becoming fluent is never easy. Just consistency and years of practice.
I've heard from a few people that even with an N1 certificate, they were still unable to have conversations in Japanese and were only able to pass tests 😥 I think you have to have a lot of practice speaking with natives to get more fluency, and also you have to consume a lot of everyday japanese content, otherwise, you may only know how to answer quiz questions...
A lot of Koreans and Japanese score really well in English exams (be it SAT, IELTS or their own national English exams) but don't speak English well haha... It's similar I suppose.
I always learn languages best from watching movies/animes/dramas... when I took JLPT, I always scored best in Listening (in fact I would not have passed N2 without Listening section). And I speak Japanese well enough to have worked in a Japanese company where my colleagues were all Japanese. It's their entire 'read the room please' culture that did me in... coz I most probably have ASD / Asperger's / high-functioning autism. I didn't realise I have that when I was applying for that Japanese company.
@@nastyayoyo4963 yeah agreed, and can't be helped I suppose... Japanese people with high functioning autism probably still have to work just the same, although probably having to hide their disorder to not be labeled as not normal 🥲
I hope you do great in the company you work for though 🙏 hope it's not too hard on you
And I hope to one day soon attain N2 level (I'm just barely N5 right now 😮💨)
That is highly unlikely because N1 is about junior/senior high school for a native speaker. If you can understand N1 level Japanese, you can understand daily conversations without any issue.
@@yo2trader539 you can pass the N1 test without actually being at high school level Japanese...
@@yo2trader539understanding and being able to speak/reply are two entirely different skills.
I'm glad for you! Have fun in class!!
thanks so much! I appreciate the content
Really interesting to see how challenging the exams can be, thank you for this video! I admit, I tried to learn Japanese briefly as a teenager, but never got further than hiragana, and some basic vocab and grammar. I really want to commit to learning at least one language other than my native English on a proficient level, to where I could be a translator, or at least someone who can freely communicate in that language. Other than Spanish, Japanese would be the next language that I have the most background in and history in listening and understanding the vocal tones. I know that exposure to a language at an earlier age helps with developing a proper accent for speaking the language like a native.
I am really curious. Shogo, If you could press a button and instantly learn any other language on an extremely proficient level, which would you chose and why? You should make a short about this!
I love your channel so much. I have always had a great curiosity and respect for Japanese culture, and I appreciate all that you have taught us. This wouldn't be possible without your dedicatedly smart translation skills.
Absolute respect for still doing reactions in timelapsed footages
You know, a lot of RUclipsrs don't do reaction when they know the footage they are in is going to be timelapsed
Thanks for the video! It's informative because I've been curious about the content of this JLPTN Test!
I got the fifth question right. I’m not a fluent Japanese speaker (or a native), but I do enjoy languages. I plan on getting proficient in reading, writing, and then speaking. Iseke.
Since I travel a lot to Japan to sing, ( I haven’t since the pandemic…CANNOT WAIT TO GET BACK THERE!) I decided to take Japanese language class.
I got a C- 😒
It was easy to distinguish the characters (hiragana, katakana and kanji) but 😮💨 trying to learn the kanji had me wanting to throw the whole class away!🤣🤣🤣 I’m excited to jump back in! ❤💪🏾
Better of learning words associated with the Kanji and not the other way around.
If you can, get children's books as they have the readings above the kanji and use simple sentences. It will help you to figure out which one to use, as some kanji can have many ways it can be read.
If you haven’t you should try the eikan 1, ielts and toeic tests. All are difficult. A top band in ielts is centred at native fluency. Most of the vocabulary in eikan 1 isn’t used by natives and only 2 people in japan have a perfect score in toeic. One of which is half Australian. It’s not about what you know but techniques and patterns to direct you to the correct answer quickly in these test.
Taking the N5 in 3 weeks and I am so scared 😭 I've only ever taken a language exam once in english and I got sooo scared aswell and blanked out and it was scaarryyyy
You can do it!!
@@LetsaskShogo thank you 😭 がんばります🙏🙏
I don't know enough to even take the N5 yet.
Wow thank you for sharing this topic. I'm taking the N2 test in two weeks, here in US. I'm excited and also a little nervous about the reading and listening parts. That N1 listening question about why the teacher was mad seemed easier than the practice listening I've done for N2 haha.
The US government had at least one test where they graded your listening, reading, and speaking, on a scale of 1-5. Most native English speakers weren't 5s, on that test.
We need a part 2 with N4~N2
Im preparing for N3 in two weeks, the most difficult part for me is remembering vocabulary and listening, but kanji is surprisingly easy for me, I guess I am more of a visual learner, but cant remember sounds as easily :(
I'm learning Japanese. This was revealing.
thats just how it works, for some reason, a native speaker cant get the best score in a language test of their own native language. i am a native english speaker and i took the Cambridge general english test and somehow scored a surprisingly low 17/25 (68%) 😂
6:45
As a hikikomori I really stragled with this one
Hello Shogo. interesting video
I think there are so many things we take for granted in our native languages. I mean my native language is Tagalog and if given a hard test in Tagalog, I might even fail or make so-called casual mistakes. We have also seen English speakers take English exams done in Japan or Korea and still fail despite that language being native to them.
I’m 50 year old Japanese and made same mistake as Shogo regarding wo and no
I really want to learn Japanese in the near future. I recently started communicating with a pen pal who's from Japan.
I would love to learn it so if I ever travel to Japan it would be perfect
Nice! How did you find your pen pal? I really wanted a friend.
I felt validated when you mentioned katakana can be difficult to learn. I thought it was just me struggling with katakana as a non-native with faulty memory😅
To answer your question about how long it would take a student of the language in getting to N1…
It really depends of course on how much time a day you dedicate…..it takes commutatively about 3,000 hours (I researched this a few years ago so I may be a little off on that number) of study to get to N1…..it may take someone 3-7 years of studying depending on how long a day they dedicate….I’ve been currently studying for only 2 years and 6 months (around)….but I have been studying anywhere from 8-12 hours every single day….for the entirety of my time…since day 1….so at this point I have gone all the way through N1 kanji and am currently studying N1 grammar….but yeah….as a lot of people watching this video should know….learning Japanese, specially if you do not know any other Asian languages…..requires an incredible amount of dedication….otherwise you won’t get far unfortunately…of course, it’s worth noting a lot of my studying time is done consuming content I like in Japanese such as Anime, light novels, JDramas, games, manga etc so it makes the 8-12 hours more bearable :)
I learned katakana (not the language though) and it was easier for me to remember more than hiragana, because it uses more straight sharp lines and somewhat my brain see such lines are "organized" but with hiragana things looked random and it was hard to memorize. There were few katakana syllables that I got mixed up; but oh well, now that I didn't practice much I've forgot a big deal of katakana
I followed along for the N1 listening question, and I got it CORRECT!!!😭😭😭😭 OMG I’M SO HAPPY!!
Im brazilian and tomorrow im going to do n4 exam
Wow, I guess my listening has gotten a lot better than I realized.
I barely scraped through N2 listening back in 2016, but didn't have any trouble with the N1 problem at the end here... I haven't really felt like I've been improving, but I guess it was pretty gradual.
I was able to pick up Hiragana pretty quickly but still struggle with Katakana, there are a lot of confusingly similar forms and features. I've found training to at least recognize the symbolic meanings (readings are a whole different matter) of N5/N4 level Kanji to be quite a bit easier and I never expected that to be the case.
I'm sure that you'll learn everything you have to learn, but keep in mind that, first, language learners struggle with different things than native speakers (and make different kind of mistakes. Case in point, I don't know a single non-native speaker who confuses to, too, and two, and very few who confuse then and than), and second, people with different native languages would find different things challenging. Also, language tests aren't exactly representative of everyday speech and require a lot of skills that you'd need while studying something but not in everyday life (like trick questions that test your attention to detail and basically your overall attention span). There are specialised test preparation courses for a reason.
Also, I failed N2 years ago because Kanji requirements were crazy. I understand spoken Japanese as well as any other dub hating weeb, and both hiragana and katakana were pretty easy, but kanji just break my brain.
I hope that one day I can pass N6 level exam. 😉
It’s since a long time ago I’m trying to pass N1, but online check test it’s easier compared to the real one, furthermore you have just a short time to answer
I would think the red circle means incorrect! So interesting! Why the difference??
It’s bananas that he can switch between Japanese and English so fluidly.
Gosh I would love to have you as my teacher!
*notes down the 'Where are you from?' gag*
Thank you, I'm taking the N5 in December, fingers crossed. 🤣
🇧🇷Brazil iuiu #1 greetings! (this video tiggered my ENEM exam trauma from the last sunday kkkk)
And that was just the practice tests, imagine a full 2-3 hour test.
I'm Japanese studies college student from Indonesia and JLPT is one of the mandatory condition for me to graduate from university. Especially N3 (medium level?). CMIIW
When I was in high school, my teacher recommends me to try JLPT N5 level but I rejected it. Then entering my college life especially on December 2018, I tried JLPT N4 level but until now, I don't know my result because I forgot the password 😂
On December 2019, I tried JLPT N3 level but I didn't passed due to my depression that I felt around that year. Pandemic come attacking world and JLPT cancelled for almost 2 years and 4 months ago in July, I try again JLPT N3 level but I didn't passed again but the funny thing is, I missed *3 points to get passed* . I repeat, 3 points! Hilarious right? 😂
And on 4th December (Sunday), I'll attend the JLPT N3 again for the 3rd time. Hope I can passed this time everyone and Shogo-san!
My German teacher would always remind my anglophone class that none of us would ever pass the top English language proficiency test. That would be for scholars of the English language! The top levels don’t equate to fluency, they surpass it.
Most regular speakers would not even do well on the mid tier tests, though, either.
For a moment, one of the N1 voice actors sounded like Dogen.
Not sure if there’s a big community wondering about this but you should do an episode about traditional Japanese fishing, I’ve heard that only the samurai class could fish using the tenkara technique. Is this true?
It must be like super correct japanese then. More correct than most japanese people actually know. Like asking an English speaker what this (;) means or this (~) means. I have no idea yet somehow they're sometimes essential english tools. There's plenty more examples including some english words I don't know as a native English speaker (Ononatopoeia) or something of the sort. It's not that you cannot speak the language it's that there are corners of these large languages not usually used but do indeed have their uses so you just don't know them.
Let's ask Shogo friends / Do a tea ceremony / And its importance...
All haiku aside, please do a video on this topic if you haven't yet. The importance of a tea ceremony and what it represents and how to do one.
For all the content ありがとう
where are you from--
THE ROOM!!
n a n i . . . ?
The JLPT test seems surprisingly simple, even for N1. You only need to read each question and choose from 4 possible answers, which gives you a theoretical 1 in 4 chance of guessing the right answer. In practice, 1 of the answer choices is usually very far off, which means you really have 1 in 3 chance of being correct. In principle, someone with the bare minimum knowledge could pass the test by random chance, simply by rolling the die and choosing the answers at random. The more prepared they are, the more likely they are to guess correctly, and the fewer guesses they will have to make.
I'm not saying that the exam is easy. What I'm saying is that it's not as hard as I imagined it to be. It's a simple multiple choice question with no essay portion and not even an interview portion. In the listening portion, the people speak clearly and at a relatively slow pace compared to radio talk shows, for example. And even if you didn't get it the first time, you can listen to it again. Because there's no interview section, you could in theory pass even the N1 exam and still be poor at communicating verbally in the language.
The JLPT is supposed to test your knowledge in the language, so it's quite puzzling why they don't have an essay portion and an interview section in order to test your real knowledge in the language. It's one thing to guess the right answer in a multiple choice question. It's a completely different ball game having to hand-write a 2-3 page essay in Japanese making and defending a pov on a topic given at random, and with severe time constraints.
As a foreigner that had never tried to read kanji until 3 years ago, I can tell you that without having been raised in a kanji-based education system, the time one would need to pass an N3-N2-N1 JLPT with an essay section, would be downright absurd. Especially since many Japanese told me they do not know how to write many N1 and some N2 kanji. I do agree that the JLPT is not there to test your proficiency, as there is no speaking, but it is just a form of evaluation craftily constructed to make you feel miserable, destroy your confidence and inform you of how much irrelevant Japanese is out there that you will most likely never use. Also, I do also feel that the practice material online or from previous JLPT is WAY easier than the actual test. This said, even given 4 choices, even when narrowing it down to 2, if you do not understand the context or the tone of the sentence given you are done for, and this happens way too many times. And I cannot fathom why they try to make you fail using exceptions over truly testing the most used knowledge of that level.
@@Aupirit The JLPT tests your proficiency, but it tests your overall comprehension, not your production skills. It took me about two years to learn all the jouyou kanji following Heisig’s method, but I had already had about 600 under my belt before that. I don’t know, I think kanji is best learned in context. It’s best to learn them by just reading as much native material as you can. The jinmeiyou also becomes easier as you encounter and familiarize yourself with more Japanese names.
As for the JLPT testing irrelevant material, why do people say this? I regularly read light novels as well as the occasional classic from Aozora Bunko (with the help of Rikai or Yomichan of course 😅) and pretty much everything on N1 is used regularly. The vocab is specialized but they’re words every native speaker knows in their language (think “courtroom”, “prosecutor”, “oxidation”, “engineer”, “guard”, “sanctions”, etc). They don’t pop in normally in conversations, but that doesn’t mean they’re not common words - and you definitely need to learn them if you actually want to be literate.
As for the grammar, yes you won’t normally find them in everyday convos, but you will find them in literature, songs, poems, etc. Quick example: both 如き and ですら (which I both hear from polite characters in anime) are used in the opening song for Call of the Night.
Basically, everything on N1 is used in various contexts from day to day, even if they’re not specifically used for spoken language.
It's confusing how correct answers are marked with red circles instead of green ones XD. Different color code, I guess. Than you, Shogo!
im interested in learning though idk about in person classes just yet. also i love the background music. what's it called?
Can you do more Katana videos please
passing and getting a perfect score are two different things: ask any native english speaker to pass toeic with 100% accuracy for all "abilities measured"
I'm also N1 holder and I want to say N1 Paragraph is unreasonably long .. after such a long paragraph how someone can remember whole the story and answer the question at once right after your first read ? and also there's so many outdated kanjis they use in N1 exam which is not in n5-n1 kanji list ? this is the most interesting part of exam because why theres outdated kanjis that we are not learning in kanji list for foreigner people ? Even the native japanese cannot read sometimes and they just giving us so many question marks about it ...
5:29 How did nakaKAwa become nakaGAwa 😭😭😭😭 this also happens i see KAkure becomes GAkure 😭😭
pls someone help im no where near N5 after studying 2 years 😭
it happens a lot. It's called rendaku. Check the wikipedia page it explains a lot
Congrats shogo san, are you going to give online classes??
I'm sure this is a very interesting video, but after 5 mins all I've got from it is that it's a bunch of questions & you answering them & ALL of it's in Japanese. If you had explained what the questions MEAN & what the various possible answers are & then gone on to explain WHY answer X is the correct one it would have been far more interesting. Sorry Shogo. (Still going to "LIKE" this video as I'm sure viewers who understand spoken Japanese will find it very interesting.)
I failed the Oregon and California driver's tests
Just asking, how is 挑む a difficult word? I first encountered it way before I even took N3. Just had to look up the serepare characters of 挑戦(a basic word) and there you go :)
it's not a difficult/uncommon word at all. it's in the top ~3000 in anime/VN/LN word frequency lists. 挑戦 is slightly more common at top ~2000. you would be expected to know these around N3, but its not unrealistic to know them before.
I did the N5 in 2019 and passed it. It was hard, but doable.
On Sunday I will do the N4. Wish me luck ^^
P.s: Never do a Cambridge test! If you don't read EVERYTHING you will miss so many points there! They want to f*ck up your score, so they put in one little word, that changes everything xD I did the CAE last month (don't know, if I passed it, yet xD)
3:42 i got it right 😂😅🎉
Is there a blind test for blind ppl?
Because I'm basically blind i can't read or write but I understand grammer and advanced n1 Japanese. So listening is great... so if I take a test where they read the questions for me I would not fail xd
P.s im not blind
I almost fail my native language subject while I did well on English.
**English is my second language
I'm a native Spanish speaker and I don't speak correctly and my grammar is horrible. I also speak English and japanese
As a native English speaker, I always have to remind myself that “red circle” means correct! 😅😂
It's OK
I can't get a full score on the JLPT N1
I can't even pass the JLPT N5!
😩😩😩😩 help me shogo-san!! 🙏 Omg
Are those katana behind you real blade?
Oh i really like this hahahaha
ı understand the n1 speaking part, thanks animes. but ı cant really read katanakana and can read a little hiragana and 0 kanji
Tbh Im German and I cant explain 90% of our grammar rules since I didnt have to know them for school
Seriously, after passing the N1, the chances of encountering some of those obscure grammar patterns out in the wild are pretty slim. The average Japanese person doesn't use them in everyday writing/conversation.
You encounter them a lot in literature. If you want to read and enjoy contemporary Japanese literature and not just anime/manga and dramas, I definitely think it’s worth it to learn enough to pass N1.