Japanese Language Proficiency Test

I've never taken the JLPT. The military has its own test, the DLPT (Defense Language Proficiency Test), that I have to take yearly to show my continued Japanese proficiency, and to continue getting my bonus pay (currently, US$400 a month for knowing Japanese at my level). ^^

I wanted to take the level 3 test this year but I missed the deadline back in October...

There are rumours that the Nouryoku Shiken will be taken twice a year instead of just once, so I'll keep studying my kanjis xD

Taking level 2 tomorrow! Still doing past test papers and it's easier than I thought it was.. but still hard T_T

nice sunny day out Danny! reminds me I need to edit some photos for my "a day in Richmond/vancouver post o-o"

before taking the test i should start studing japanese seriuosly :p

Never taken it before but I am planning to do it next year.

taking level 1 tomorrow. not confident enough to pass, but yeah it does help as a goal.

Took level 4 and 3 a few years back- planned to take level 2 this year but missed the deadline for registration><

Nihongo o benkyo shimasu...

O_o This explains that banner that's been posted in front of my university! Good luck to all those taking the test. I will soon take the same test someday XD

I won't be taking it anytime soon.

But I have some friends who are taking International Studies, so I wish my luck to them.

I need to try to learn the language...

Oh the irony, my English final is tomorrow though it's technically Saturday here while it's Sunday there.

I never heard of it before but its nice to know. I wish all of those who are going to the exam tomorrow Good Luck! :3 You'll need it!

i havent taken it (i cant even really speak japanese yet).
and if you didnt have to take it because of a japanese ba, i wonder if I will have to take it myself. (Planned Linguistics Japanese/English emphasis major)

Ah, forgot it was coming up so close.

I took the JLPT Lvl2 (the second hardest) years ago, but failed by 1 point (out of a total of 400!). Haven't taken it again. I did consider going for it this year, but by the time I checked registration was closed for this December's test.

Perhaps next year I'll finally get the Lvl2 out of the way, or even the Lvl 1 if I feel adventurous enough.

Never heard of this. I'm checking it out ^^
But 900 hours of study sounds very scary to me..

my little bro will take the test tomorrow, in the lv3. he studyng japanese for 2 years now, maybe he can pass the test. i wish good luck for everyone!!!

Got JLPT 2 many years ago and tomnorrow I'm going to level 1. Good news is I got myself a book of past exams but had no time to study at all. Yeah, nothing at all. If I don't get it this year (high probability) I might try next year.

Having JLPT level 2 hasn't helped me at all, but I haven't studied at all either so I feel it's almost fair.

I will take level 3 tomorrow, I think I can pass but I'm afraid if there is not enough time for response.

I'm deffinatly aiming to go for the level 3 not tomorrow but probably the next exam date, then my next goal will be to aim for level 1 as like you says its great to have something to work towards keeps everybody motivated.

wow seems like i am the only taking lvl4 this year...
orz..
ganbaritai desu, hopefully pass and next year level 3 kara desu...

taking level 3 tomorrow, which reminds me that i need to revise over 50words I don't know...and kanji as well T_T

For anyone doing it tomorrow, 頑張ってね

I heard starting next year they're gonna make it a total of 5 levels.
taking level 3 tomorrow. I should have taken it last year but missed the day. sadly I'm not good enough for level 2 yet, so level 3 here I come
wish me luck xD
level one after 900 hours of study. If I study 2 hours a day, that's 450days. and my class is 2x a week, that's 129 week, which is 2-half years. Heck I've studied for more than 3 years and not yet reached level 2! 難しい漢字で絶望した！！

(^_^)

Huh... so there are tests like this in Japan... there is an English proficiency test in Ontario where they give non-grade 9 students half days and make the grade 9 students suffer a stupid test where you write some crap. Heres the important part, you need to pass it. There are some students who may not possess a strong background in the English language and suffer because of this. Throwing this test at students and making them take it again the year after if they fail isn't a good indicator of how proficient you are at English... its just a big waste of money...

No reason to take lv1...? Well... it would look better, just something to toss around to impress people. Probably doesn't work when you're in Japan... ^^;

Thanks man, danny. I'm taking mine(JLPT4) tomorrow, wish me luck.

I'm not at all good enough yet still studying though. someday I'll be good at Japanese I'll learn it at my own pace ^-^

only lv4 here, got no time to learn & take the higher levels :(

In Czech Republic, there's not enough people learning Japanese to JLPT to be held here. So, I will have to go to Austria when I take JLPT. And for this reason, and for the money reason too, I decided not to take JLPT3 and wait until I'll be sure that I can pass JLPT2 and then take the test.

its been really fun learning jap , been taking it for a year, n yes, my 1st step to mastering it, taking lvl 4!

Never taken it as it was never offered in my country. Grr.

When I arrived in Japan this year the application deadline for this December was already over. I intend to take the level 2 next year in June, assuming I'm still here at the time. (For those unaware, from next year it will be offered twice a year... once in June and once in December. I think the June one is only in Japan and level 1+2, however.)

I've been told by many people that it's a rather illogical way to grade one's Japanese, and from what I've heard I agree with them - I mean, I'm quite sure I could pass level 2... but ask me to come up with those sentences in conversation, or write the kanji and I'll fumble all over.

But even so, I think it's great way to check how your Japanese is progressing, I do past papers all the time from here: http://www.51gzw.com/ or here: http://jp.hjenglish.com/papers.aspx

Would love to take JLPT when I can, currently learning basic Japanese. Only gotten as far as learning all the hiragana and a bit of Katakana. Have some Japanese vocabulary and knowledge of sentence structure, but any contact with Japanese language will only result me in recognising certain words now and then.

Hope to take JLPT level 4 next year. Oh and I would like to ask, I heard JLPT 4 is too easy and a waste of time and that it is better to start at level 3, but I'm not sure. Can anyone give advice?

good luck to all!! im taking lvl 2 tmr ^^

I passed level 4 last year, and I was going to do level 3 tomorrow, but I didn't do enough studying for it (much less than last year), and just had a very busy week at work, I'm gonna skip this year, and do it next year.
Good luck to all the rest who are going.

hey Danny, isn't it dangerous to have so many overhead cables along the street?
Does it ever bother you?

hmm, i'll make sure to put the JLPT on my long term 'to do' list.

Good luck to all taking the test =]

wish i could. not very fluent in it, and wish to those people good luck in taking the test.

I want to take it next year, but currently checking on which level I am. Probs lvl 3.

"Personally didn't find that having the JPLT lv2 helped my career in anyway"

Then why do it... =P
Then I just learn japanese on my own, as I did with english ^^

yeah taking lvl 1 tomorrow >_<

I passed lv4 many moons ago.. and never really studied again for long time.. been a year in Japan aleady, sadly hasn't been studying more of it ^^; target myself to further study my japanese and maybe take lv2 next year *finger cross* :X

I am nowhere near that I am still learning the basics.

Good to know that the JLPT wasn't very useful for you in job-related matters. I was going to do it this year but several work and family related matters all crashed down on me in October (and will continue until middle of next year, it seems) and it just wasn't the right time. At this point, I'm guessing next year I can do it.

Wow. I am impressed with the number of people taking the upper levels of this test! That's awesome you guys! Nice work! Gambarou ne! I haven't taken level 4 yet. I feel I don't know enough Kanji; although I pretty much study on my own and practice with my wife. I don't go to Japanese language school. I plan to lake level 4 next year.

gonna take the test next year~

good luck to all who will take the test this year^^

I'll do Tomorrow the lv3 but iIm not very confident about it. I Should be because I have been studing Japanese for arround 6 years but studing by myself I don't have the preasure of studing and have been advancing very very slowly

I do not know if I will be taking the test or not...

Will be going to jlpt 4 tomolo. Just trying my luck. ^^;

Tomorrow I'll be taking the Lv.4 Test... I fell kinda anxious cause it's my first time... But I'm pretty confident anyways XD

Maybe later, I don't think I'm ready yet..
Heck, my Kanji is zero..lol..
And I need to improve my reading first.^_^

Haven't tried it yet - was debating with myself and ended up missing the registration deadline. My Japanese sensei says I should be able to pass the Lv. 3 at my current proficency level, but since I'd never taken it before I was wondering if I should go for Lv. 3 or play it safe and try Lv. 4 first.

Looking over the past papers now - wish I'd seen them before. Thanks to the people who posted links!

I have yet to take mine but I feel I need at least one more year of intense language courses! Buuu ~..~

i'm soooo gonna take its next year -hopefully- if nothing goes wrong =x

I'm not sure if here,in my hometown, there's a JLPT

DAME DA! My JLPT3 is in 8 hours time zomg. 絶望した！

I am studying for the JLPT level 1 test right now :)
For the main part, I hear you need to pass at least level 2 for a japanese company to have chance of you being hired. So I decided...might as well study level 1, its very fun to learn kanji characters and vocabulary. Very fun language to learn

not yet but planning to take in the future :D

I would have to study the language again before I would even try.
I have forgotten too much due to lack of practical usage. T_T

I will take it one day

Ah, I might try to take a Japanese class next year to start learning the language better. I only know a little bit, and cds only help so much. >_< I've been finding quite a few helpful sites though so, hopefully that will help me a little too.

Ahmmmmmm. I want to learn. XD

The JLPT isn't that useful as it has no oral component. As a person who studied the JLPT, I can read/listen just fine, but I am terrible at speaking as a result. I often can't find words when I try to speak, even though I technically "know" the words already.

The JLPT is really a way for some to quantify their success in studying Japanese.

I'm not taking the test this year, but I might be ready for 1kyuu next year... Or not. Maybe in 2010, then.

hmm my japanese skills deterioriated quite a bit probably coming out of university, though I was never really that great at it anyway lol. I never could speak it very well...

Started to learn japanese seriously 1.5 months ago, and mastered the introduction and basic lessons from about.com, the Hiragans and i had some pretty intense japanese lessons with applemilk1988. Maybe next year i´m trying take real lessons on my university and then maybe off to the JLPT...

I remember hearing about that test before. I'll have to see if I can take it next year after I take an actual Japanese language class.

I have 2 friends in Japan taking the JLPT today. I was going to take level 4 test this year, but slacked off on my studies (did not take any classes the past 6 months). Will start up again in January. Will try for level 5 next December.

Woohoo, thank you danny, tomorrow i will take the lvl4. So one step nearer to my dream^^

I'm taking Level 1 tomorrow. I'm not too confident since there's so much grammar I've never used in my life. =_=

Going out to take it now.. starts in one hour T_T

that could have been me but I missed the deadline

Had thought about taking it some time ago but, would have to make my way down to London and find the test centre.

Good luck people!

Pardon me for asking, but BA is short for Bachelor of Arts, right ?

As for the revised JLPT test, when will it be implemented ? I've been reading a few JP blogs that there will be a major overhaul of the JLPT test, making it somewhat more easier to pass the level 2 to level 1 tests, as most foreigners complained that there is a wide gap in difficulty between levels three to two.

Japan Probe has an article on it, i've heard...

Planning on being able to tackle this next year, I now have a Japanese language school in my area so will start studying hard soon.

JLPT3 next year is the plan :3

I think I should get my procrastinating butt back in full gear studying Japanese on my own, and maybe try and take some kind of class somewhere for it, then give it a shot next year.

Well I've haven't picked up the language yet, but hope I will someday soon...good luck to all taking the test...

well knowing other language help a lot nowadays...

Good luck to all test takers..

4:40am here, just woke up to get ready for the trip to the JLPT test. It's over 4-hour trip to the test location by train (and 30 minutes of bicycling to the train station first) so I'll pretty much be using my whole Sunday on this. ^^ Taking the lv4 (newbie) test by the way and not feeling confident at all. ^^ There's no way to actually study Japanese were I'm at or even find books/material about Japanese in my language, so I've basically just studied using the internet and almost all the materials have been in English. ^^;

Hey Danny!!! A little while ago after reading your article of how you learned japanese and tips on how to do it, I got two books to help myself learn, Japanese for Everyone and A Guide to Remembering Japanese Characters! I'm still not the best (and I can't take the JLPT where I am), but I plan to study japanese hard and go to California (I think) to take the test next year. I plan on going to Japan once I finish high school.

Thanx Danny! :D

Must be really difficult. I'm only on my 2nd hour of study and I only got to memorize 16 hiragana characters X_X

In the Chicago area, it seems like the most popular textbook series is "Japanese for Busy People." Anyone else use this one? It's a Kodansha publication and comes with a CD. There is a Kana version and a Romanised version. I started with the Romanised version a few years ago but then moved on to the Kana version after learning Hiragana and Katakana. Now I'm learning Kanji too.

I was looking at this site last weekend-- seems kinda good! http://www.jlptstudy.com/

I am taking JLPT4 tomorrow. I havent practiced japanese in months so i am kinda nervous (_ _);;;;

I'll take next semester for the JLPP, since I have no experiences on taking JLPT from the comments from the previous takers, this is one of a challenge.

Just took the 3-kyuu at Hiroshima Univ today!

just took level 2 in nagoya today. that was tough!

I think Japanese guys had to make an English Spelling Test too :P
I have an English friend who hates Japanese guys 'cause they spell his name very bad: his name is Llod, many Japanese guys he meet for work spell it "Roiddo" LOL :D

Well now I know what it is. Maybe it's something to strive for. I'm only about 10 hours in to my Japanese language learning.

Half the student in my dorm took it today. I decided to skip seeing how much I've been slacking this year.

I'll probably go for it next year.

I think I am in for next year! Self-study is kinda scary, I really dunno where I am landing on ^^;

Yes, i struggled through the test yesterday .... need to practice more for next year i know that much!

I'm aspiring to go to Japan in the future so will take up Japanese classes in future...

Never took it, and don't see myself taking it for a long time. Good luck with everyone taking it (especially people going for lvl 1).

Once I learn enough I will go and attempt it. As of right now, I am still just a beginner. Maybe rookie even. T_T

Im confident i'll be able to pass the test even if it is self-study. Ive learned alot about the language and hope to take it someday soon.

Hmm, I wonder where I rank, I am able to listen, speak, read and write, but still not sure what level I can do those at...
As I am now, I can speak more than a tourist, read both Hiragana and Katakana and a little bit of Kanji (say 15) and write as many characters as I know.

Hmm, the test is over. For those taking 4kyu next yr, please don't underestimate the test and don't trust those "past year questions" on the internet. I got the feeling I'm gonna learn the hard way this yr... orz

OMFG >___< im going to have to take this in under 5 years T____T NOOOOO!!!! This is like the OSSLT here in Canada which stands for Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test...GAHHHHH and i just wrote it last year....IT WAS LONG T______T but not very hard though =3