The kanji list for JLPT1 was always a little vague. Theoretically, it was the Jouyou kanji, although there was a supplemental list of another couple of hundred or so (not sure where that came from). The N series of tests do not have official lists, kanji or otherwise. There is just a vague declaration that they're the same difficulty as the previous tests.

Imho, learning kanji from a list for N1 level is fairly useless. The kanji section is about you knowing how to read obscure words. Unless you know the word, you won't be able to answer the question (RTK knowledge + readings won't be good enough).

Make sure you can read at an N1 level, learning all the required kanji and vocab, and then sit the test. There are no lists anymore. If you're desperate for lists, use the old JLPT1 ones and don't stress over slight differences between different versions.

zigmonty wrote:

The kanji section is about you knowing how to read obscure words. Unless you know the word, you won't be able to answer the question (RTK knowledge + readings won't be good enough).

Not necessarily true if you know your radicals and on-yomi well.

So would it be worthwhile to add these extra JLPT N1 Kanji to my flash card deck for completeness sake or would they be too obscure in actual usage since they are outside the Jouyou kanji list?  I figured out how to add them by using the custom add option.  I could just paste every N1 character there in one shot and the site will only add the ones I don't already have in my deck.

For N1 I'd say the present ('New') Joyo kanji list (2,136 characters) should easily suffice. The proportion of kanji-specific questions on the test has decreased anyway, and someone with strong reading & listening skills should pass even if their kanji is a bit weak.

The test organization used to publish lists of vocabulary, kanji, and grammar points for each level, but hasn't done so for the new "N" tests. The list linked to in the first post in this thread was copied directly from their book of test specifications. The book was aimed at those who set questions, not students, and was intended to be advisory rather than absolute; i.e. to give an idea of the level required. Having said that, the kanji or grammar points that appeared in the tests were usually from the lists.

By the way, watch out for apps or web sites that list exactly 2,230 kanji. These will usually consist of the old Joyo (1.945) and a name list (285) that was current about 15 years ago. It's not necessary to learn all those name kanji for the test. (Incidentally, Halpern's Kanji Learner's Dictionary uses that list.)