掲示板 Forums - learn vocabulary following JLPT or the ones you want?

in learning vocabulary, after i wasn't a "super beginner" anymore i always i am very "go where the life takes me", but this caused me to know extremely specific/har vocabulary and struggle with some that are on the JLPT N5. i found some of the vocabulary useless (at least in my life) so i just skip them even though they are one of the "essential" ones. anyway, i was thinking in maybe focus in learning the N5 vocabulary/kanji that i don't know just to fill in the gaps. is it worth it to follow the JLPT model, or should i continue learning "randomly"?

JLPT lists do not represent "essential" vocab, they represent what will help you pass an exam. If you have no intention of taking the exam, or aren't motivated by labelling your level with which exams you could hypothetically pass, there is nothing studying JLPT materials will get you that you can't get from continuing to curate your learning to your interests and goals. I didn't touch any JLPT materials myself until after I already knew 10k+ words.

If you've looked at the N5 materials and decided they aren't very relevant to you, don't motivate you, and won't be necessary to meet your goals, there really isn't any reason to bother with them. If you're concerned about missing out on common vocabulary, look in the Lesson Centre for keywords like "Core", "Common", "Basic", "Frequency", etc.; those lists will be far more useful to you than ones that are trying to prepare you for an exam.

Up to you and how you learn.

Personally, I'm not chasing the JLPT (or Kentei, for that matter). At this point, I'm still in the beginning stages here. I also don't follow the textbook format; using them purely for reference. I use the dictionary quite a lot. I also check my emails for stuff I signed up for the same kind of material in those textbooks. Samples and extra practice. I'm not enrolled in their courses, but there are stuff they give out for free, which is nice, especially for future reference.

I've greatly customized the material I'm learning with 3 different parts. Now that I can already read katakana and hiragana, the next step is to deal with kanji, vocabulary, and grammar.

For kanji, I went with the grade level version, though they're virtually 1:1 with JLPT in some respects. That's someone else's user-made custom lesson set, and that's been helpful.

Vocabulary is somewhat a hybrid of some words I learned, and from other lists. I expect to sort of keep frankensteining that for a while.

My approach for grammar is based on the lessons I've learned from Japanese Basics, so it's almost not changed. However, in practice, Ihaven't made heavy use of that lately.

Basically, I've generally replaced the original lessons on Renshuu, just to suit my needs. You can try that if it works for you.