I obviously finished RTK1, but I can read only 5-600 kanji; concerning grammar, I think my level is between N4 and N3 (more N3 probably, but I don't know completely the grammar and I think I'm not that good with vocabulary either).
This month I have to take two (******ing) exams at university so I don't how much I'll be able to study, but from october to december I will study as much as possible.
I know that N3 is almost useless, so I would like to try N2... but is it even possible with this amout of time? How many chances do you think I have to pass this exam? ...Zero maybe? xD
How much should I study, in case?


P.s. My english sucks, sorry

Zero. Not least of all because you haven't mentioned any listening practice/experience at all.

Sure N3 and below are worthless on their own but if you plan to do the higher levels later on it lets you know if you know enough to progress to the next stage.

It's not zero but Japanese needs to be your life outside of uni. Live eat breathe japanese and your chances are higher, obviously. Become comfortable in a Japanese environment and the rest comes easy. Still be happy that you are attempting the test and take it as a learning experience of what to expect when taking the test again if you do fail. It's not really failing it's just not passing the test yet.

Take N3.

[RawToast]

I'd give the online sample tests a try on the JLPT site. If you struggle with the N3 samples, then (personally) I wouldn't attempt N2 -- instead I would focus on N3. You could take it with no intention of passing, but simply to get used to the test format ready for next Summer/Winter.

What's your vocab level? I'd want to have Core 6k completed (although, there are many different paths you could take) before looking at N2. Tackling core in a matter of a few months is possible, but it is by no means an easy feat.

You may find some guidance in this thread:
http://forum.koohii.com/showthread.php?tid=9082

I'd rather suggest N4. N4 can be mastered in a few months if you study hard and with the right sources, and the listening portion is easy as you don't have to deal with background noise or people talking funny. N3 doesn't give you any advantage over N4, and even if you killed yourself studying, the knowledge still has to "sit down" to be useful, and there's no time in 2-3 months for that to happen.

Most serious students of japanese need two years to pass N2 after passing N4, because the jump in difficulty is too steep. That's the reason why the Japanese government created N3 a few years ago.

lardycake Wrote:Sure N3 and below are worthless on their own but if you plan to do the higher levels later on it lets you know if you know enough to progress to the next stage.

But you can do that without taking the actual test: there are free practice tests at http://www.jlpt.jp/e/samples/sample12.html

lardycake Wrote:Zero. Not least of all because you haven't mentioned any listening practice/experience at all.

Sure N3 and below are worthless on their own but if you plan to do the higher levels later on it lets you know if you know enough to progress to the next stage.

No listening practice so far, apart from lot of anime, some audio deck on anki etc.
I know though that the most difficult part is 読解, so I was concerned about it for the most. In fact I was planning to buy Kanzen Master for that part.
Well thank you, your opinion is very useful!

NoSleepTilFluent Wrote:It's not zero but Japanese needs to be your life outside of uni. Live eat breathe japanese and your chances are higher, obviously. Become comfortable in a Japanese environment and the rest comes easy. Still be happy that you are attempting the test and take it as a learning experience of what to expect when taking the test again if you do fail. It's not really failing it's just not passing the test yet.

Sure! I plant to listen to a lot of japanese podcast, read as much as I can on the web etc. Now that I finished Heisig is a lot easier to memorize readings and do practice.
And you have a point saying it's an experience, wether I pass it or not; that's why I was confused. Unfortunately N3 has some utility in my university... but this is another matter and I can't get any advice here.

DrJones Wrote:I'd rather suggest N4. N4 can be mastered in a few months if you study hard and with the right sources......

Well but I think I could already pass N4 without studying more. Not sure about N3 but with little study I could pass it too, maybe.

Anyway thanks to everyone. After reading the replies now I'm more convinced of taking N3.
The fact is that I got really excited just thinking of taking the test, albeit I knew that it is hard... seemed like an adventure to me!
But if chances are really that slow I prefer going with N3. Tomorrow was my deadine to decide. :'[
Let's hope to at least to pass N3, then xD

TurboMan92 Wrote:No listening practice so far, apart from lot of anime, some audio deck on anki etc.

Take this as a grain of salt as I don't know either your listening comprehension or the speed and complexity of the listening portion of the N levels, however a lot of anime can be very misleading. The voice actors are professionals and generally enunciate words a lot clearer than standard garden variety Japanese.

Though I can think of one exception: The Tatami Galaxy. This might be a bit more fitting a test to see how well you think your listening comprehension really is.

But yeah: grain of salt.

uisukii Wrote:The voice actors are professionals and generally enunciate words a lot clearer than standard garden variety Japanese.

The same is true for the test, though.
Although, at least at my site, the audio is played too loud on mediocre speakers so it comes out distorted and it's hard to listen to the words when they are hurting my ears...
I just hope my seating assignment is in the far back next time.

The bigger difference between listening for the test and listening for anime (or any other television) is. .. there's no picture. You'll want to be able to listen to audio with no outside explanation or images to guide you. You could go with radio news, but I prefer audio dorama.

I've never used any study guides, but, for 読解 I think the most important thing is to read a lot, and in variety, and in pure text (not manga). News, light novels, textbooks, study guides. If you can't read fast enough, you can't finish the test with a good score, no matter how many obscure grammar points you study. That was my biggest challenge in N2 both times I took it - I understood almost everything if I only had unlimited time. And of course, the only way to get faster at reading is ... to read more.

uisukii Wrote:

TurboMan92 Wrote:No listening practice so far, apart from lot of anime, some audio deck on anki etc.

Take this as a grain of salt as I don't know either your listening comprehension or the speed and complexity of the listening portion of the N levels, however a lot of anime can be very misleading. The voice actors are professionals and generally enunciate words a lot clearer than standard garden variety Japanese.

Though I can think of one exception: The Tatami Galaxy. This might be a bit more fitting a test to see how well you think your listening comprehension really is.

But yeah: grain of salt.

No wait: I didn't say that I comprehend anime with japanese audio, I just meant that I watched a lot of them and I sometimes do practice trying to understand what they say. I can't watch them without subtitles, I'm far from it.
This was a suicide mission since the beginning, but I wanted to know how difficult is in your opinion the N2 test and I how many chances I had studying two-three months at full time. Reading the replies made me change my mind: maybe starting off on N3 is better.
As for Tatami Galaxy... well I watched it years ago and I remember I had troubles to understand it even with subtitles haha xD Surely out of my reach!

#SomeCallMeChris: thank you for the tips! I'll listen to a lot of audio with no picture and I'll read as much as I can.

If you can get to N2 from scratch in 3 months, you can probably get to N1 in 4, so I don't see the point.

uisukii Wrote:

TurboMan92 Wrote:No listening practice so far, apart from lot of anime, some audio deck on anki etc.

Take this as a grain of salt as I don't know either your listening comprehension or the speed and complexity of the listening portion of the N levels, however a lot of anime can be very misleading. The voice actors are professionals and generally enunciate words a lot clearer than standard garden variety Japanese.

True. But if you can't even understand THAT, then it's probably best to start there. Once your brain can keep up with spoken Japanese vocabulary and grammar, then you can graduate to listening to a mumbling Oosaka ojiisan who's standing next to a jet engine.

Just my two cents.

Quote:then you can graduate to listening to a mumbling Oosaka ojiisan who's standing next to a jet engine.

Not sure why, but this reminded me of a Kon Satoshi animation. （笑）