The JLPT, short for "Japanese Language Proficiency Test", is an exam offered all over the world that ranks people on their ability to understand and use Japanese.

The ranks that are offered are in descending range of difficulty.
 

N1 - The hardest test, this is considered a requirement to take college classes in Japan.

N2 - The second hardest test, this test can also be considered a "business level" certification. After taking this test you are considered capable of communicating with Japanese companies in Japanese. 

N3 - This is a "bridge" exam that was added 10 years ago, to be between the easier levels and the more advanced levels.

N4 - This is the second easiest exam. About the 2000 level of college Japanese.

N5 - This is the easiest exam. About the 1000 level of college Japanese.

 
As you can see, this test is extremely important for people who want to study, or work in Japan, or have other need to communicate in Japanese with any credibility. To this end we have decided to create this website to help people study with more efficiency. 

We have created a JLPT generator for all the levels, and a graph to keep track of what you know, and how well you are improving on the test.

We are also in the process right now of creating several review games to help with kanji and vocabulary study.

The JLPT places importance not only on knowledge of Japanese-language vocabulary and grammar but also on the ability to use the knowledge in actual communication. In order to perform various "everyday tasks" that requires language, not only language knowledge but also the ability to actually use it are necessary. Therefore, the JLPT measures comprehensive Japanese-language communicative competence through three elements: "Language Knowledge," "Reading," and "Listening." The JLPT is offered in five levels (N1, N2, N3, N4, and N5, in order from most difficult to least difficult). N4 and N5 measure understanding of basic Japanese that is mainly learned in the classroom. N1 and N2 measure understanding of Japanese used in a broad range of actual everyday scenes. N3 bridges the gap between N4/N5 and N1/N2.
 

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.
 

 
 
Scoring
Passing is based on scaled scores calculated using item-response theory—raw scores are not directly used to determine 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 examiner 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 on the written section but poorly on 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%: one need not achieve the overall pass level on each section. These standards were adopted starting in July 2010, and do not vary from year to year, with the scaling instead varying.
 

 
Test sections

Note: "Vocabulary" includes kanji and vocabulary
 

Estimated study time
Study hour comparison data for students residing in Japan, published by the Japanese Language Education Center: