How I Prepared to Pass the Most Difficult Japanese Proficiency Test

Let’s make things clear. The highest level in any language test isn’t to test your skills in the language. It’s to test how you test. That’s it.

When I took the TOEIC in 2014 and got two questions wrong, therefore obtaining 980 out of 990, I didn’t prove I was great at English. I proved I knew how to find the answers to the test’s questions.

When I began preparing for the highest level of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT N1), I knew I was still far from the level required. I made mistakes daily and needed a dictionary at hand for books or news articles.

I knew I needed to improve, but I also knew my language skills weren’t what mattered most. I needed to focus on the test itself, accepting I’d forget most — but not all — of what I’d learn so after.

I Used Passive Learning

The test has three parts: listening comprehension, reading comprehension, and grammar/vocabulary.

6 months prior to the test, I began using passive listening intensively. No matter what I was doing, I kept some Japanese audio in the background. I woke up listening to the news in Japanese. I played games while audio files from mock tests ran on repeat in the background. I ate watching Japanese news or TV shows. I walked listening to podcasts.

I listened to Japanese every time I didn’t need absolute concentration on something. I knew this wouldn’t be enough to pass the test, but I also knew I needed to make the listening section feel easy. I couldn’t allow myself to get stuck on random words or expressions.

Listening to the language every day at all times helped me become more at ease with missing details. Instead, I learned to focus on the larger picture.

I Read More in 5 Months Than in the Next 5 Years

Whenever I could sit down alone but didn’t have access to textbooks, I read some Japanese. The goal wasn’t to understand everything, it was to improve my reading speed.

The JLPT N1 is well-known for how over-the-top the length of its reading comprehension section is. I knew I wouldn’t even be able to read two-thirds of the texts if I didn’t get faster.

The only solution I found? Reading a whole lot without taking breaks. I read more books in Japanese than I ever had until then and ever did since then. I took all my news in Japanese.

One thing I didn’t do, however, was intensive reading. Instead of trying to understand the details of the texts, I focused on finding the overall meaning. Not knowing the word 旺盛な (“healthy, full of vitality”) could cost me a correct answer. Not the overall outcome of the test.

I Practiced Specific Parts

I bought loads of textbooks for different specific parts of the test. I had books about grammar, books about vocabulary, books about differences between difficult terms, books explaining what each question of a section was looking for. I had it all. So much indeed, that I only finished a handful of them.

While I did use regularly books about grammar and vocabulary, what became my bread-and-butter were books about specific sections. These were probably what I spent most of my first 4–5 months on.

I analyzed each question. I learned what type of information they were looking for. I studied where they commonly appeared. I noticed common errors others made and common errors I made. And then I practiced them some more.

I did this for both the grammar/vocabulary section and the listening comprehension one. My goal was to get just enough in the other section and get high-enough scores in these two to pass.

I Stopped All the Above

Almost 2 months before the test, I stopped everything I was doing to focus on doing mock tests. I did full mock tests as often as I could and reviewed my answers carefully.

The goal was twofold.

1. To become able to concentrate on what mattered

The complete JLPT N1 takes a total of 3 hours and 10 minutes. There’s only a short break before the last one hour. This means you need to concentrate for 110 minutes in a row on the two most difficult parts: reading and grammar/vocabulary. That’s a long time, especially when you’ve been out of school for some time.

Doing mock tests allowed me to test my knowledge under time pressure. When I hesitated on a question, I had to make a decision and move on. Because that’s how the test was going to be.

As I repeated this day after day, before and after work, I began developing a gut feeling for certain questions. I couldn’t explain what it was, but whenever I hesitated between two answers, it was always the one that felt right that was right, even when I thought the other would be correct.

As far as I know, it’s not possible to train your gut feelings but experience showed me enough intense practice with a specific goal in mind could somehow help.

2. To find specific patterns

The second objective of doing mock tests was to find what I would absolutely need to learn.

I quickly noticed some of the questions required the same specific knowledge in each test. I’d see a word pop up in three tests in a row. A grammar pattern in 2 sections of a test. A topic idea revisited in 5 tests. A common sentence structure on two different topics.

I especially remember the day I realized the need to master the difference between ずくめ, まみれ, and だらけ. While they all somehow indicate that something is “covering” something else, they can’t all be used in the same context. It turns out this difference was required in every single mock test I did. I mastered that difference and crushed that question when it appeared on the real test.

The JLPT was created in 1984. It happens twice a year in Japan. That means there are a lot of old tests we can have a look at to try to find patterns. I used that extensively.

I Mastered How to Get “Just Enough”

A few weeks before the test, my average grade for the listening part was high enough so I stopped doing daily mock tests for it. I only did it once a week (and kept doing passive listening for when I wasn’t studying).

The grammar and vocabulary section was hard but not too much. I could often get more than half because I had found many repeating questions and hung them on my walls in my room, reviewing them often.

As for reading, I could either understand well but read slowly or understand the gist and read quickly. I knew this was going to be what would break or make me. All I needed was to get above 19/60 so that section wouldn’t eliminate me.

I decided to focus on improving my rate of correct answers for certain questions and guess for some others. I reviewed old mock tests and found out which questions I least failed at. That helped me focus on improving them.

I Went Expecting Nothing

Despite all this work, I knew the JLPT N1 was much higher than my level. I found words I didn’t know every single day. I felt lost with certain questions every day as well. My flatmate who held a Master’s Degree in Japanese and had been working full time in Japanese for 2 years was struggling. I looked like a beginner next to him so I figured I could never pass.

But I had prepared so I went there. I gave it my all and put it behind me. I told myself I’d rest for a month or two before starting to study for the next exam session.

When the results came in, I was shocked. I had passed. I had gotten 103/180. The passing grade was 100. I had barely made it but, still, I had made it.

My flatmate, who had spent the last six months learning the language to a higher degree failed. His Japanese skills had gotten incredible, but his test skills weren’t there. And that’s what failed him. He didn’t know by heart what was waiting for him during the test.

What If I Had Taken an Exam of a Lower Level?

This method worked well because I was taking on the highest level there was for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test. For a lower level, this wouldn’t have been the best tactic.

The lower the test level, the more I’d focus on improving the language in general. When you get to more advanced levels, the knowledge required isn’t very common. The example about ずくめ, まみれ and だらけ proves it well. Since I’ve studied it 5 years ago, I’ve only encountered them two or three times, even though I was living in Japan until recently. Lower levels use real-life situations and vocabulary. Improve your language skills, and you’ll pass.

Skipping a level can also be a good idea when you’re only beginning a language. The second-lowest level usually contains everything you need for daily life and can be a great indicator of what you should study, thus giving direction to your learning journey.

Studying for a language proficiency test isn’t everything that matters in learning a language. I would have kept learning Japanese either way, had there been no JLPT N1. What matters is that you love the language you learn.

But if you want to take the highest language level, remember what matters most isn’t how amazing you are at the language. It’s how you can handle the test.

It’s a fun challenge to take on. But it’s still a challenge.

Prepare well and you’ll overcome it.