The Japanese Language Proficiency Test, or JLPT, or 「日本語能力試験」 (I’m writing this down so I finally remember what the damn test is called in Japanese), is a test given once a year so that those who study Japanese may get proper certification to show that, yes, they know *this* much Japanese. 4 is the easiest, requiring only basic Japanese education, while level 1 is super crazy difficult and you really shouldn’t try it.
I have been aiming for the JLPT2, which is the “business” level, and described on the official site as…
Level 2: The examinee has mastered grammar to a relatively high level, knows around 1,000 kanji and 6,000 words, and has the ability to converse, read, and write about matters of a general nature. This level is normally reached after studying Japanese for around 600 hours, which is equivalent to completing an intermediate course.
Passing Score: 240/400
Writing-vocabulary: 35 min
Listening: 40min
Reading-grammar: 70min
Total: 145min
And looking at the material required, I can’t tell if I’m in over my head or not. I’m pretty confident I could pass the level 3 without too much trouble, but I might be in a situation where the level 3 is too simple and the level 2 is too difficult. Also, because I haven’t been regularly exposed to normal Japanese since leaving Japan three years ago, I fear my listening skills have deteriorated significantly.
That said, the weirdest thing is that upon checking out some sample tests, I found the reading comprehension to be easier than the isolated vocabulary section. This goes against everything I’ve ever experienced with foreign language exams.
In the meantime, I’ve been trying to master all ~1000 kanji required for the test, and the result is I’ve been making weirder and weirder tricks for remembering certain words.
極, or pole, I remember because it sort of looks like Souther, the Pole Star.
憎, or hatred, I remember because the right side looks kind of like Optimus Prime, and the left side looks sort of like a cannon (yes, I know it’s a version of the heart radical), so “Megatron hates Optimus Prime.”
Every time I do something like this, a baby probably dies.
