If you are gearing up to take the Japanese Learning Proficiency Test (JLPT), you are probably wondering which level to take, and if you are more of a beginner in the language, you might be debating if you should take the N5 or the N4 test.
Is there a big difference between JLPT N5 and N4? While both tests focus on classroom Japanese, the N4 test focuses more on a knowledge of Kanji while the N5 focuses on hiragana and katakana.
Want to know a little more about what sets these levels apart? Read on to figure out which level is a good fit for your skillset.
The Difference Between JLPT N5 and N4
The JLPT N5 and N4 are similar in many respects. Unlike levels N1, N2, and N3, N4 and N5 focus less on a real-world application of the language and more on the basic understanding of Japanese.
When there were only four levels of the JLPT before 2010, levels N4 and N5 were levels 3 and 4, respectively. The levels became N4 and N5 after the addition of a fifth level, N3, which was added in 2010. The N3 acts as a bridge between the classroom-oriented N4 and N5 levels and the real-world-oriented levels of N1 and N2.
Students who take the test at levels N4 and N5 are generally expected to be able to understand basic conversations when spoken slowly.
The key distinction between N4 and N5 is that the N4 test focuses on Kanji, while the N5 contains hiragana and katakana. In short, hiragana and katakana are syllabic alphabets whose characters are written to represent sounds, while Kanji’s characters represent a concept or word.
You will need to know roughly 200 more kanji and 700 more vocabulary words for the N4 than you will for the N5. N5 also contains furigana (the hiragana written form of Kanji to represent pronunciation), while N4 does not (Accredited Language).
Read on for an in-depth look at testing levels N4 and N5 and some advice on figuring out which one is going to be the best first for what you need.
Who are JLPT N5 and N4 designed for?
The JLPT levels N5 and N4 are for test-takers who want to demonstrate an understanding of basic Japanese. They will be able to listen to basic conversations as well as read simple passages.
Levels N4 and N5 are the lowest levels on the JLPT. While they won’t do much in the way of qualifying you for any credentials like levels N3, N2, and N1 will, the taking levels N4 and N5 can still help you understand where you are in understanding the language thanks to the Can-Do Self Evaluation List.
Using the Can-Do Self Evaluation List
The Can-Do Self Evaluation List summarizes how comfortable test takers are with a variety of tasks in Japanese.
The Can-Do Self Evaluation List is based on the data from actual test-takers. The list arranges a series of statements about tasks from most difficult to least. There is a Self-Evaluation List for each application of the Japanese language (reading, speaking, writing, and listening).
While the list shows that test levels N4 and N5 are typically taken by students who do not have as much confidence and understanding with their abilities, the list can still help students and teachers get a sense of where they can set goals as well as how their test results compare to those of their peers (Kawa Kawa Learning Studio). For more on the Can-Do Self Evaluation List, click here.
The Different Alphabets of the Japanese Language
As mentioned earlier, the level N4 of the JLPT is only going to contain Kanji, while the N5 will include basic hiragana and katakana (which is sometimes collectively referred to as kanamoji) as well as Kanji.
What gives? Why would the lowest level involve three different alphabets while the rest involve one? The answer has to do with the history and structure of the Japanese language.
How did we get here? Here’s a bit about how the Japanese language developed in such a unique way.
History Behind Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji
Japanese Kanji is actually based on an ancient Chinese-based writing model called manyogana. It was developed in the 5th century after the Japanese made cultural contact with the Chinese.
Because Chinese relies on monosyllables (words that are one syllable) while Japanese contains polysyllables (words that are more than one syllable), this model didn’t meet all the requirements that a fully developed Japanese writing style needed.
So, in the Heian Period (from the 8th to 12th century), the three language system that consisted of syllabic characters—or characters based on sounds like hiragana and katakana—as well as logographic characters—or characters based on concepts, like Kanji—was developed.
The three components come together to create one Japanese writing system. The use of hiragana to write Kanji pronunciation, known as furigana, is an example of how these individual components complement each other.
Getting clear on what the unique aspects of each alphabet in the Japanese language can help you sort out what you know. Here is a bit more about the three writing systems.
Hiragana and Katakana
Hiragana and katakana are very similar, so much so that they sometimes are collectively referred to collectively as kanamoji. They are also always read the same, unlike how English letters can have different sounds. Think we do not have anything in the English language like this?
Well, we do, but we use them differently in our language than the Japanese use this system. We have cursive and print as two different writing systems. That subtle difference between curvy and straight lettering is actually the same difference in appearance that distinguishes hiragana from katakana.
The difference between hiragana and katakana is that “hiragana is usually used to represent Japanese words, while katakana is used to represent foreign words” (Rosetta Stone). The reason for this is that the Japanese language often borrows words from other languages, so if something is written in katakana, the reader knows it is a borrowed word.
Hiragana is the foundation and standard form of Japanese writing. It’s typically not used on its own except for beginner learners. Usually, it is combined with Kanji to form words. Hiragana is curly like English cursive, though it is used differently
Katakana appears more blocky and sharp like English but is used more sparingly. It’s used to represent when words are adapted to Japanese from foreign languages. It can also be used for emphasis or when writing onomatopoeias. Because Japanese uses so many borrowed words, you will still find yourself using katakana often.
Kanji
Kanji is the main alphabet of the Japanese language and consists of more than 8,000 characters. Most learners approach Kanji after mastering hiragana and katakana.
Here is how Kanji works. Kanji is a system of symbols where each symbol represents a word or idea. The context of how a symbol is used can change the symbol’s meaning and pronunciation.
A kanji can be a word in some contexts and part of a word in others. For example, “kanji can be a word all by itself, like 木 (which means tree) or a kanji can be part of another word like 木造 (which means ‘wooden, or made of wood’)” (Nihongo Master).
Katakana and hiragana are used to annotate Kanji to represent pronunciation differences. The different pronunciations of Kanji are referred to as “readings.”
How are you supposed to remember all of this? How can anyone learn a language with so many rules? Well, memorizing Kanji is the most challenging part about learning Japanese, but there is a rhyme and reason involved in the process.
The “alphabet” kanji consists of 216 radicals, which are combined to represent different words. Each radical usually carries some semantic meaning to the Kanji itself. Kanji is written in strokes. Most Kanji is written in 25 strokes or less.
Another component of learning to write Kanji is stroke order. Correctly writing Kanji is not just about copying the way the character looks. By mastering the stroke order, you will be able to write Kanji efficiently.
There might be as many as 50,000 to 85,000 kanji in existence, but only 2,136 are considered common and are referred to as joyo kanji. You need to know 2,000 kanji to pass the N1 level because that level demonstrates fluency (Nihongo Master).
Vocabulary
Vocabulary refers to the words in a language system. Knowing Kanji is distinct from knowing vocabulary. This is because many radicals in Kanji can be used to create a single word. Because of the many combinations you can make, your vocabulary will be substantially more extensive than the amount of Kanji you know.
The amount of Kanji and vocabulary you know or intend to learn can be a great tool when deciding which level to take. Below is a chart of roughly how many kanji and vocabulary words you will need to know to pass each level:
| Level | Kanji | Vocabulary |
| N5 | 100 | 800 |
| N4 | 300 | 1,500 |
| N3 | 650 | 3,700 |
| N2 | 1,000 | 6,000 |
| N1 | 2,000 | 10,000 |
(Source: Kawa Kawa Learning Studio)
As you can see, the N4 and N5 tests require knowing significantly less Kanji and vocabulary in comparison to levels N1 and N2, hence why these easier levels are best used as a diagnostic tool for studying the language.
While there’s a lot of distinct parts of this language system that you need to learn to become familiar with the language, the benefit of this 5 level system, as well as the differing content on each test is that it gives test takers the ability to establish benchmarks and evaluate progress.
(Sources: Accredited Language, Fluent in 3 Months)
Test Prep for Levels N4 and N5
Test preparation for the JLPT is going to involve some of the same techniques across the board. There are, however, some differences between the content on each of the levels of the test.
The JLPT official site has a list of test items that will be on each level of the test, which you can access here, as well as links to PDFs explaining the reason for each test item. To see the PDF for level N4, click here. To see the PDF for level N5, click here.
The actual structure of the test itself varies slightly from level to level. While both levels N4 and N5 have a vocabulary section, grammar section, and listening section, according to the official site, there are slight variations in the lengths of each part.
The vocabulary section is 30 minutes for level N4 and 25 minutes for level N5. The grammar section is 60 minutes for N4, while it is 50 minutes for N5. Lastly, the listening section for N4 is 35 minutes, while it is 30 minutes for N5.
Test preparation for each level can vary slightly, but all versions of the test have the same sections. Below is a bit more about the reading and listening sections for each level.
Reading Section
The N5 and the N4 tests can act as useful benchmarks for students. There are a few differences to note between the two sections that can help you in planning your studies.
One more note: One effective way to study for the reading section of any of the levels of the JLPT is to use texts from the real world because they contain content in the context of how people actually use the language.
Examples of content that can help you study for the test include manga, news articles, and even cookbooks.
N4
One thing to note when preparing for the N4 test is that you should start learning about kanji radicals and the meanings of individual parts of Kanji. This will help you remember Kanji because you’ll recognize each Kanji by its meaning rather than its shape.
The radical of a kanji is often furthest to the left and is how the kanji dictionary system is organized. As you learn more Kanji, it becomes increasingly important to learn the meanings of individual pieces of the Kanji so that you can have an easier time telling similar Kanji apart.
N5
You should be comfortable with reading hiragana and katakana before taking this test, as it is assumed you know this for all higher levels. This test has some questions that specifically involve reading katakana.
Remember that both katakana and hiragana are essential for moving up to Kanji. Almost all of the Kanji featured on this test will have furigana, the small hiragana used to show the pronunciation of the Kanji, on them. There are some kanji pronunciation questions on the test.
Listening Section
The listening sections on every level of the test are going to have the same types of questions. It is important to practice listening comprehension as it increases your ability to converse and nail down pronunciation.
The overall recommendation for preparing for the listening section of the JLPT regardless of what level you are preparing for is to listen to CD’s, TV shows, movies, podcasts, and news stories as much as possible.
Some content is easier to start with for lower levels than others. For example, children’s films and animated films are easiest to use because the characters often speak more clearly than in other films. Historical dramas and action movies are not going to be as helpful here because they tend to contain a lot of technical vocabulary.
(Sources: Preparing for the JLPT N4 Test, Preparing for the JLPT N5 Test)
Figuring Out Which Test is Best for You
The main reason why you should take the JLPT N4 and N5 tests is to track progress in your understanding of Japanese.
While other levels of the test can qualify you for school requirements being waived, international nursing, and even preferential treatment when immigrating to Japan, the JLPT N4 and N5 are not challenging enough to meet these requirements.
So, if you are looking to take the test to have credentials in Japan, you might have to work up to a harder level. Level N3 tends to be the lowest level used for credentials.
Take Practice Tests!
The JLPT official website has, among other great resources, free practice tests for every level and section. Answer keys are included.
If you look at some N5 questions and do not feel particularly challenged, the N4 level might be more appropriate for you. If you are struggling to get through the N4, you might want to go down to N5. The right
Access the practice tests here.
Which one should I take?
Bearing in mind that the key difference between these two texts is that the N4 consists only of written Kanji, while the N5 test contains expressions written in hiragana and katakana, the deciding factor for which test is right for you comes down to how confident you are in reading kanji.
If your understanding of Kanji is limited and you are more dependent on hiragana and katakana to read Japanese text, you should consider taking JLPT N5. If you are confident in your basic understanding of Kanji but still can only understand conversations when they are spoken slowly, consider challenging yourself with the N4.
If you’re considering taking the JLPT and you’re struggling to figure out which level is right for you, think about what skills you want to demonstrate that you have and remember that it’s only a test! So, relax and focus on what you know.