The JLPT has five levels: which level should you take?

New Japanese language proficiency exam has five levels. N5 is the easiest level, and the most difficult level is N1. Which level should you take? According to the official JLPT website, you should be able to pass N5 if you are able to understand some basic Japanese. If you are able to understand basic Japanese, go ahead and take the level 4. N3 is for those who are capable of understanding Japanese used in everyday situations to a certain degree. I suggest that you finish Genki 1 and 2 series if you are planning to take N3. In order to pass N2, you should be able to understand native Japanese speakers and should be able to read newspapers and magazines. I have been tutoring Japanese for over eight years, and unfortunately I have not met anyone who has level 1. N1 is challenging even for native speakers. 🙂

These sample questions are from the official Japanese-language proficiency test website.
These are some sample questions for each level.

N1: How do you read: 模索、思索、推測

Translate:いまさら後悔してみたところで、してしまったことは取り返しがつかない。

N2: How do you read:種、回収、収集日、寿命

Translate:話が複雑になるから、余計な事は言わないで。

Take the sample N2 questions

N3: How do you read:代表、次々、新しい、思い出

Translate:こんなに高い山はわたしの国にはありません
Take the sample N3 questions

N4: How do you read:通う、見る、元気

Translate:わたしは、先週大学のちかくに　ひっこしを　しました。

Take the sample N4 questions

N5: ホテル、デパート

Translate:はじめまして。わたしは　えいがが　すきです。