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Question types explained
What each official test item type actually asks you to do, from the official "Purposes of test items" documents (one per level). Passage lengths are approximate and official. Official approximate counts per item type are published in the "Composition of test items" (小問数 — a per-sitting guideline; the actual number varies slightly): totals by level in format.md, per-level breakdowns in n1.md–n5.md. The Official Practice Workbooks (2012 and Vol.2 2018) contain "almost the same number of questions as an actual test" and confirm those counts.
Vocabulary
| Item type | What it tests (official) | Present at |
|---|---|---|
| Kanji reading | Reading of words written in kanji | N1–N5 |
| Orthography | Kanji (and katakana at N5) for words written in hiragana — i.e. choosing the correct spelling | N2–N5 (not N1) |
| Word formation | Knowledge of derivative and compound words (prefixes/suffixes, compounds) | N2 only |
| Contextually-defined expressions | Words whose meaning is defined by context — choose the word that fits the sentence | N1–N5 |
| Paraphrases | Words and expressions with similar meaning — synonym replacement | N1–N5 |
| Usage | Usage of words in sentences — in which sentence is the word used correctly | N1–N4 (not N5) |
Grammar
| Item type | What it tests (official) | Present at |
|---|---|---|
| Sentential grammar 1 (selecting grammar form) | Judgment on grammar formats that suit sentences — pick the correct particle/form to fill a gap | N1–N5 |
| Sentential grammar 2 (sentence composition) | Sentence composition that is syntactically accurate and makes sense — arrange the four given fragments into the correct order | N1–N5 |
| Text grammar | Judgment on suitability of sentences for text flow — which sentence fits a gap in a paragraph | N1–N5 |
Reading
| Item type | What it tests (official) | Passage size (official) | Present at |
|---|---|---|---|
| Comprehension (short passages) | Understanding content of easy original text on topics involving study, everyday life, work | N5 ≈80 chars; N4 ≈100–200; N3 ≈150–200; N2 ≈200; N1 ≈200 | N1–N5 |
| Comprehension (mid-size passages) | N4/N5: understanding content of easy everyday text. N3: key words and causal relations in commentary/essays. N2/N1: causal relations, reasons, outline, or author's ideas in reviews/commentary/essays | N5 ≈250; N4 ≈450; N3 ≈350; N2 ≈500; N1 ≈500 | N1–N5 |
| Comprehension (long passages) | N3: summary and logical development (commentary, essays, letters ≈550). N1: outline and author's ideas (commentary, essays, novels ≈1,000) | N3 ≈550; N1 ≈1,000 | N1, N3 only |
| Integrated comprehension | Understanding through comparison and integration of multiple (relatively easy) texts | ≈600 total | N1, N2 |
| Thematic comprehension (long passages) | Grasping overall intended points and ideas of a longer argument | N2 ≈900 (reviews with clear logic); N1 ≈1,000 (abstract/logical text: editorials, reviews) | N1, N2 |
| Information retrieval | Retrieving necessary information from real materials (notices, ads, brochures, magazines, business documents) | N5 ≈250; N4 ≈400; N3 ≈600; N2/N1 ≈700 | N1–N5 |
Note: N2 has no standalone "long passage" item; its long-reading coverage is via integrated and thematic comprehension.
Listening
Audio is played once. What is printed vs heard differs by item type (from the official samples): Task-based comprehension and Comprehension of key points print the answer options in the test booklet (read them before the audio); Verbal expressions print an illustration while the expressions are heard; Quick response prints neither the prompt nor the options — both are heard. There is no item type that answers from audio alone while printed options go unused.
| Item type | What it tests (official) | Present at |
|---|---|---|
| Task-based comprehension | Extract necessary information from coherent speech to resolve a specific issue and decide the appropriate action | N1–N5 |
| Comprehension of key points | Narrow down the points based on necessary information presented in advance | N1–N5 |
| Comprehension of general outline | Understand the speaker's intention and ideas from the overall text | N1, N2, N3 (not N4/N5) |
| Verbal expressions | Select appropriate verbal expressions by listening to the circumstances while looking at illustrations | N3, N4, N5 (not N1/N2) |
| Quick response | Select appropriate responses to short utterances such as questions | N1–N5 |
| Integrated comprehension | Understand content through comparison and integration of multiple information sources in relatively long speech | N1, N2 |
Official practice material
- Sample questions (one per item type, all levels, with audio): https://www.jlpt.jp/e/samples/forlearners.html
- Per-level sample question PDFs (2009, pre-revision format but same item types): N1–N5
N*-mondai.pdfon the sample questions page, with MP3 listening samples. - Official Practice Workbook (2012) and Official Practice Workbook Vol.2 (2018): for every level, "almost the same number of questions as an actual test", selected from real questions used since the 2010 revision: https://www.jlpt.jp/e/samples/sampleindex.html
Sources
- https://www.jlpt.jp/e/guideline/testsections.html — item-type matrix
- https://www.jlpt.jp/e/guideline/pdf/n1_e_revised.pdf (and n2_e, n3_e, n4_e_revised, n5_e_revised) — "Purposes of test items" per level
- https://www.jlpt.jp/e/samples/sample09.html — composition of test items PDF and per-level sample question PDFs