Test format

The revised test pattern was implemented in 2010. The test consists of five levels: N1, N2, N3, N4, and N5, with N1 being the highest level and N5 the lowest. No Test Content Specification is published as it is discouraged to study from kanji and vocabulary lists.

Level	A summary of linguistic competence required for each level
N1	Advanced Level: The ability to understand Japanese used in a variety of circumstances. Reading : One can read writings with logical complexity and/or abstract writings on a variety of topics, such as newspaper editorials and critiques, and comprehend both their structures and contents. One is also able to read written materials with profound content on various topics and follow their narratives as well as understand the intent of the writers comprehensively. Listening : One can comprehend orally presented materials such as coherent conversations, news reports, and lectures, spoken at natural speed in a broad variety of settings, and can follow their ideas and comprehend their contents comprehensively. One is also able to understand the details of the presented materials such as the relationships among the people involved, the logical structures, and the essential points.
N2	Pre-Advanced Level: The ability to understand Japanese used in everyday situations, and a variety of circumstances to a certain degree. Reading : One can read materials written clearly on a variety of topics, such as articles and commentaries in newspapers and magazines as well as simple critiques, and comprehend their contents. One is also able to read written materials on general topics and follow their narratives as well as understand the intent of the writers. Listening : One can comprehend orally presented materials such as coherent conversations and news reports, spoken at nearly natural speed in everyday situations as well as in a variety of settings, and can follow their ideas and comprehend their contents. One is also able to understand the relationships among the people involved and the essential points of the presented materials.
N3	Intermediate Level: The ability to understand Japanese used in everyday situations to a certain degree. Reading : One can read and understand written materials with specific contents concerning everyday topics. One is also able to grasp summary information such as newspaper headlines. In addition, one is also able to read slightly difficult writings encountered in everyday situations and understand the main points of the content if some alternative phrases are available to aid one’s understanding. Listening : One can listen and comprehend coherent conversations in everyday situations, spoken at near-natural speed, and is generally able to follow their contents as well as grasp the relationships among the people involved.
N4	Elementary Level: The ability to understand basic Japanese. Reading : One can read and understand passages on familiar daily topics written in basic vocabulary and kanji. Listening : One can listen and comprehend conversations encountered in daily life and generally follow their contents, provided that they are spoken slowly.
N5	Basic Level: The ability to understand some basic Japanese. Reading : One can read and understand typical expressions and sentences written in hiragana, katakana, and basic kanji. Listening : One can listen and comprehend conversations about topics regularly encountered in daily life and classroom situations and can pick up necessary information from short conversations spoken slowly.

Scoring

Passing is based on scaled scores calculated using item-response theory. Raw scores are not directly used to determine conditions for passing, nor are they reported, except in rough form in the “Reference Information” section. Raw scores are converted to a standard scale, so that equivalent performance on tests from different years and different levels of difficulty yields the same scaled score. The scaled scores are reported, broken down by section, and these are the scores used to determine passing.

In addition, a “Reference Information” section is provided on the report card; this is purely informational – for the examinee’s future studies – and is not used in determining if an examinee has passed. The grade given is based on the raw score, and is either A, B, or C, accordingly as the raw score was 67% or above, between 34% and 66%, or below 34%. This reference information is given for vocabulary, grammar, and reading on the N4 and N5, and for vocabulary and grammar (but not reading) on the N1, N2, and N3. In both cases, this breaks down the score on the “Language Knowledge” section into separate skills, but in neither case is performance on the listening section analyzed.

Pass marks

Passing the test requires both achieving an overall pass mark for the total points, and passing each section individually; these are based on the scaled scores. The sectional scores are to ensure that skills are not unbalanced – so one cannot pass by doing well in the reading section but poorly in the listening section, for instance. The overall pass mark depends on the level and varies between 100/180 (55.55%) for the N1 and 80/180 (44.44%) for the N5. The pass marks for individual sections are all 19/60 = 31.67% – equivalently, 38/120 = 19/60 for the large section on the N4 and N5. Note that the sectional pass levels are below the overall pass level, at 31.67% instead of 44.44%–55.55%: