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Forums - How long to n3?

Top > 日本語を勉強しましょう / Let's study Japanese! > Exams Talk: JLPT, Kanji Kentei



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サラにゃん
Level: 23

How long did it take you to go from n5 to n3? I'm about mid n4 level. Is 2 years an acceptable expectation? I'm planning on testing after I graduate as I'll have completed a further 3 Japanese classes at that point.

1
3 years ago
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Ray Faceless
Level: 22

I think it all depends on you. How much time are you willing to devote to study, how well you memorize educational material, etc.

In any case, good luck and patience.

1
3 years ago
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マイコー
Level: 256

I have definitely seen people hit it in 2 years, some in a year. It is, as Ray pointed out, so hard to give a baseline because the amount of time/attention one can devote to it varies so much from person to person.

0
3 years ago
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サラにゃん
Level: 23

Thanks I study Kanji every day and am taking weekly lessons as well as university so fingers crossed 🤞

2
3 years ago
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れんこつばん
Level: 358

I dunno if this helps, but I went from 4 (I guess equivalent to the current N5) to N3 in about two years. The biggest jump for me by far was kanji, which got in my way of learning vocab (which got in my way of learning grammar, which got in my way of learning reading, etc). I barely passed N3 using Genki I+II and the So-Matome series, and didn't feel confident moving on to N2.

I took a few years off of studying, and when I came back last year, I was totally rusty. So I picked up the Remembering the Kanji books, did that for a few months, then jumped into Kanji in Context. Because of that, I learned how to sight-read kanji a LOT faster, which made everything else click into place much easier. I know that not everyone benefits from Remembering the Kanji, but definitely give it (and the Kanji Koohii website) a look if you haven't already. I really wish that I had picked up RTK+Kanji in Context much earlier, as I feel like that would have helped me pass N3 much more confidently in about the same time (or maybe even less) than the So-Matome books. I believe WaniKani uses a similar mnemonic memorization system, though I have never used it.

I still haven't taken N2 (hooray for this panini) but after taking a bunch of practice tests, I feel really confident that I can pass it, and am already aiming for N1. This is after about a year and a half of study (though to be fair, I got in a LOT more studying this time around due to not being able to go outdoors).

As everyone else has said above though, YMMV. I did at least pass N3 using only the So-Matome and Genki books, so it's not like it's impossible. Good luck!!

3
3 years ago
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サラにゃん
Level: 23

I dunno if this helps, but I went from 4 (I guess equivalent to the current N5) to N3 in about two years. The biggest jump for me by far was kanji, which got in my way of learning vocab (which got in my way of learning grammar, which got in my way of learning reading, etc). I barely passed N3 using Genki I+II and the So-Matome series, and didn't feel confident moving on to N2.

I took a few years off of studying, and when I came back last year, I was totally rusty. So I picked up the Remembering the Kanji books, did that for a few months, then jumped into Kanji in Context. Because of that, I learned how to sight-read kanji a LOT faster, which made everything else click into place much easier. I know that not everyone benefits from Remembering the Kanji, but definitely give it (and the Kanji Koohii website) a look if you haven't already. I really wish that I had picked up RTK+Kanji in Context much earlier, as I feel like that would have helped me pass N3 much more confidently in about the same time (or maybe even less) than the So-Matome books. I believe WaniKani uses a similar mnemonic memorization system, though I have never used it.

I still haven't taken N2 (hooray for this panini) but after taking a bunch of practice tests, I feel really confident that I can pass it, and am already aiming for N1. This is after about a year and a half of study (though to be fair, I got in a LOT more studying this time around due to not being able to go outdoors).

As everyone else has said above though, YMMV. I did at least pass N3 using only the So-Matome and Genki books, so it's not like it's impossible. Good luck!!

Actually I use wanikani. I've slacked a little recently because I had a lot of college work but I'm about to start level 14. I recognize about 450 Kanji right now. My biggest issue is Remembering vocabulary words but I'm getting better at it. My teacher has been really patient with me we have been doing the chapter 16 grammar for about 3 weeks now. My university classes go over the genki grammar so in the gap we have I learn a lot of grammar than I review it at my university class. My teacher and I go over any issues I have in class. I'm already past N5 level but I'm definitely not N4 yet. I have a lot of the vocabulary but not the grammar just yet. I'll keep at it. Thanks for the advice!

1
3 years ago
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