Hi all. I'm looking for advice on materials to prepare for the JLPT N1 (formerly Level 1 or １級).

Previously I passed Level 2, but failed Level 1 last year with the following scores:
52/100 Writing/Vocab
60/100 Listening
96/200 Reading/Grammar
(This was before I had finished RtK1)

Right now I have the old １級 tests from 2002 and 2004.
Also I have a copy of Kanzen Master １級 Grammar.

Here are my specific questions:

1. Seems like I've read a lot of recommendations for the Kanzen Master １級 grammar book, but not for the other Kanzen Master books. What about the Kanzen Master reading, vocab and kanji books for １級? Is there some reason why they are not recommended?

2. Is there an Anki deck or spreadsheet with the sentences from Kanzen Master １級 grammar?

3. There are lots of JLPT-related shared decks in Anki. Any recommendations on which ones would be helpful to prepare for N1, or which to avoid?

4. Are there any other books/resources that you would recommend to prepare for N1?

Thanks for comments.

Put down the JLPT prep books and pick up some real books. That's all you need, as long as you've already studied for grammar.

There's nothing wrong with the other Kanzen Master books; I found them helpful, personally. But I think the grammar is the most important thing to focus on because the test tests a relatively small number of grammar points which you don't see too often in the wild.

I agree that you need to be reading real books too.

Thanks for the suggestions!
Real books, huh? I had not even considered this. Guess I'm stuck in a "drill! drill! drill!" sort of mode, using Anki every free minute of the day. When I finish SRSing KO2001 I'll try reading some real books.

I agree with JimmySeal. The most important thing for level 1 is reading comprehension, and the best way to build that is just to read. Although you do probably need a study book for the grammar portion.

I've never taken any of the tests but I'm going to take level 1 this year. I tried the sample tests a couple of days ago and did them no problem. Like what others have said, if you read a lot then you will naturally do good on the stuff. In my case, all I do is read Japanese so the questions they ask is nothing new to me. However, I heard that they tend to ask grammar which is rarely even used so maybe you should take a look at those.

I don't agree that reading comprehension is the most important. Overall, there's relatively few points in the reading comprehension even though it probably requires the most time to get good at. Drilling JLPT1 grammar will give you more points for your time.

Of course though, it won't matter in the end. To pass JLPT1, you need 70%, and you won't be able to do it if you're not good enough. Drilling vocab and grammar is what I would recommend for people who want to speed through JLPT1, but I honestly think it's a lost cause. Unless you have good reading comprehension and are good at listening, you're simply not going to reach that 70% mark.

I would recommend getting the real study material, preferably kanzen master, and check it out. Read in the reading comprehension book and see how much you comprehend. Listen to some listening exercises and see how easy you think it is. Check out which grammar points are needed and see if you know them. This is the only way you will know what you need to work on.

I don't know if this advice will be useful, because I'm currently studying for JLPT N2,
and haven't seen N1 but I figure that you could use what is relevant and not use what isn't.

Of course, you should use drill books but I highly recommend reading as well.

If you don't read many Japanese books, it might be hard at first to find something you like, my advice is to try a bit of everything until you find a book you can't put down.
Here are my thoughts on different types of books:

Fiction: Probably the most entertaining but the least straight forward.
I like fiction so I read a lot of novels and a short story every once in a while.
the thing about fiction (maybe about books in general but most obviously seen in fiction) is that authors tend to use the same group of words over and over, either because they like them, or because they work with the story, so be sure to read different authors every once in a while. ( I'm saying this because when I find a book I really like I tend to read everything that the author's ever written.)

Nonfiction: I don't know much about it. You could do what I did and buy a how-to book on something you know and see how much of it you can figure out.
I learned some really interesting words that way.
But generally nonfiction might not be as useful as some other things.

Essays/Articles:
These are probably the most useful for the JLPT.
The stuff in them looks a lot like the reading section of the JLPT.
What I did was I got a lot of the free community magazines and newspapers they have
near Japanese markets/bookstores in the US. They have lots of articles and are a real goldmine for stuff like this.
I didn't see anything like that in Japan when I was there but, since you're in Tokyo you can just go into a bookstore and buy some essay books.


Also, another thing, think in Japanese. I don't hear this said often, but it worked for me so...
It took me about two weeks to get used to it, and carrying a dictionary was annoying until I learned most of the words I usually think about and didn't need it,
but I swear I can go through practice tests faster when I think in Japanese.

Tobberoth Wrote:I don't agree that reading comprehension is the most important.

I don't think anyone on this thread claimed that reading comprehension is "the most important," because nobody else who has replied so far is viewing the sections of the JLPT as five unrelated skills.

Read enough, and everything required for the JLPT will follow - kanji, vocabulary, listening, reading, grammar, though I've already said that listening will naturally require some listening practice, and grammar should be studied in a JLPT-specific manner because that section is so unrealistic.

You know there's actually a guidebook for the N1, N2, and N3 levels of the new JLPT, right?
I found it in Kinokuniya (Japanese bookstore in the US) last week.

http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E6%96%B0%E3%81%...745&sr=8-2

I know this isn't the right thread but. Does anyone know where to found news transcripts i remember reading somewhere on this forum about short clips that have exact subs. Thanks in advance (I'm listening and watching more news nowadays)

@ ta12121 http://news.tbs.co.jp/

chamcham Wrote:You know there's actually a guidebook for the N1, N2, and N3 levels of the new JLPT, right?
I found it in Kinokuniya (Japanese bookstore in the US) last week.

http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E6%96%B0%E3%81%...745&sr=8-2

Thanks for the link. I hadn't seen this yet. I suspect this is simply a printed version of all the PDFs available at the bottom of this page. The mp3s are here too:
http://www.jlpt.jp/e/about/new-jlpt.html

Can anyone verify this?

No. They are different books.

But since there's a free and comprehensive guidebook, you might as well use it.
They even posted an English version of the guidebook on that same page.

You need to work a lot harder on your vocab. I mean, like cram 30-50 words every day until the test day. You cannot increase your reading comprehension (or listening) if you can't understand what is written (or said) in the first place.

Also, take as many past tests as possible. Probably one or two practice test every month.

The format might've changed a little, but it's still the same people making up the same kinds of questions testing the same kinds of stuff.

Your goal is to get that vocab point average above 75%.

Tobberoth Wrote:I don't agree that reading comprehension is the most important. Overall, there's relatively few points in the reading comprehension even though it probably requires the most time to get good at. Drilling JLPT1 grammar will give you more points for your time.

Of course though, it won't matter in the end. To pass JLPT1, you need 70%, and you won't be able to do it if you're not good enough. Drilling vocab and grammar is what I would recommend for people who want to speed through JLPT1, but I honestly think it's a lost cause. Unless you have good reading comprehension and are good at listening, you're simply not going to reach that 70% mark.

That's more or less what I was trying to say -- in terms of studying specifically for the test, I think the grammar portion is really the only place that you can do a lot to increase your score, and I think it's difficult to do that for the grammar section any other way than by using the prep books.

But I'm just not sure it's possible to study the vocab specifically for the test; there's way too much of it. If your general reading ability is not at a certain point, I don't think any amount of studying prep books will get you to 70%.

I think it's critical to study all the vocab for the test. Honestly vocab is the one thing you need in every single section. Easiest way to do it is to chip away at a huge list doing something like 10 or 20 a day over a long period of time and just eventually get there come test time. After doing various exams the one thing I learned is that vocab is paramount.

It can't be critical; I never even looked at the vocab list or used a vocab-specific book but I passed anyway. I don't see how you can study thousands of words from a list.

yudantaiteki Wrote:It can't be critical; I never even looked at the vocab list or used a vocab-specific book but I passed anyway. I don't see how you can study thousands of words from a list.

Vocab is extremely critical. How you learn it is not.

yudantaiteki Wrote:It can't be critical; I never even looked at the vocab list or used a vocab-specific book but I passed anyway. I don't see how you can study thousands of words from a list.

How can you say "it can't be critical"? You don't know the words, you can't work out what anything means, you can't answer correctly, you won't pass the test. I'm guessing you passed the test because you knew the vocab (among other things). Even if you didn't "study" it in the way we're talking about you obviously learned it from somewhere. It's critical because without it all you have is particles...

Besides, there are multiple ways one can study the vocab and it's up to the individual how they do they that.

when I took JLPT2 I knew a lot of vocab but not enough. I tried the vocab section ofa practice test the other day now that I know a lot more vocab and my score was far higher. It's the same with KanKen, if you don't know the vocab you're totally bucked.

At any rate you need well rounded skills in all areas to pass the JLPT (especially now) but knowing all the vocab is certainly a bit of prep you shouldn't go without.

Of course you have to know the vocab on the test, I just question whether it can be done with this "30-50 words a day off a list" method.

yudantaiteki Wrote:Of course you have to know the vocab on the test, I just question whether it can be done with this "30-50 words a day off a list" method.

It's been done that way for centuries. The current 'learn only from watching TV' method is -far- more questionable.

It worked for me -- that's mostly how I managed to pass JLPT1 in six months, most the latter 3 months spent cramming 100 words a day / taking a practice test weekly.

If you give it your best you should be reading newspapers in a few months (and only have to look up 3-5 words!)

ocircle Wrote:It worked for me -- that's mostly how I managed to pass JLPT1 in six months, most the latter 3 months spent cramming 100 words a day / taking a practice test weekly.

If you give it your best you should be reading newspapers in a few months (and only have to look up 3-5 words!)

Now that's what I'm talking bout.

Though in terms of pace, if you're taking JLPT in December there's no need to go at break neck speeds. A cruisy pace of 10 - 20/day will do the trick (depending on where you're at).

ocircle Wrote:It worked for me -- that's mostly how I managed to pass JLPT1 in six months, most the latter 3 months spent cramming 100 words a day / taking a practice test weekly.

11 years and six months, you mean? ;p