The 漢字検定４級　is the kanji test Japanese kids take in middle school. My primary study has been this site, though I also read Japanese books (half hour a day) and purchased some specific study guides for the test. I also occasionally listen to audiobooks in Japanese. Test was fun -- enhanced by the fact that I passed. I'm going after the next higher level (３級)　in February.

For me, this was all about a sense of progress in my Japanese skills. I'm oooold -- ok, ancient to most of you (50 next year). For you younger folks, this could actually be useful in your future career or studies. If you are interested, I would recommend checking in with your local 補習校. For those who are not familiar, this is where Japanese kids in the US (and a few "others" who may have been raised in Japan or have very strong Japanese backgrounds) go to Japanese school on Saturdays or Sundays. My wife is Japanese -- and our three kids go to the school here in Pittsburgh. (One of them passed the level six test this year.)

Best to all,
Eric

Nice work, congratulations! I passed 8級 in July, and have registered to take 6級 at the end of January. Any further elaboration of your study methods would be most welcome!

Congratulations to you as well! Personally, I view the Heisig work as foundational, and the study for the 漢検 as supplemental -- but then, since you are on this forum, you probably do too.

The most useful direct study material for the 漢検 are definitely the study guides, which can be purchased through kinokunia or amazon.co.jp. They have answer keys in the back. I went through each section of the test, found out where I got the weakest scores (and which sections were worth most points), and then zeroed in on those. I made flash cards for the answers I got wrong on each test and went from there.

For the level 4, the writing section was hardest to attack and where I spent most of my time. I did, however, find that the ４字熟語 offered the most return on study, hour-for-hour. This may sound counter-intuitive, since they are a bit of pain to study. But it turns out there are only about 150 of them (total) that can be tested, so you can learn them in a week or so.

Last thought -- and this one is really debatable. When I use this site, I add all the possible pronunciations to the "back" of the card (the flip side), and I don't give myself a pass on the card unless I get all the pronunciations right, as well as the kanji itself. That probably violates research on cognition, etc., but it has served me fairly well. In any case, the kanji test is just like the SATs -- you can study for them.

Cheers,
Eric