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2011 JLPT dates and test site cities
Dates
- 1st test Sunday, July 3
- 2nd test Sunday, December 4
1st test site cities
- Japan: 34 prefectures
- Overseas: 96 cities in 20 countries/areas
Scheduled test site cities of 2nd test
- Japan: 40 prefectures
- Overseas: 60 cities in 196 countries/areas
Test sections and test times
| Level | Test sections 〈Test time〉 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| N1 | Language Knowledge(Vocabulary/Grammar)・Reading 〈110min〉 | Listening 〈60min〉 |
|
| N2 | Language Knowledge(Vocabulary/Grammar)・Reading 〈105min〉 | Listening 〈50min〉 |
|
| N3 | Language Knowledge(Vocabulary)〈30min〉 | Language Knowledge(Grammar)・Reading 〈70min〉 | Listening 〈40min〉 |
| N4 | Language Knowledge(Vocabulary) 〈30min〉 | Language Knowledge(Grammar)・Reading 〈60min〉 | Listening 〈35min〉 |
| N5 | Language Knowledge(Vocabulary) 〈25min〉 | Language Knowledge(Grammar)・Reading 〈50min〉 | Listening 〈30min〉 |
*The time allotted for each section may change. The time allotted for the Listening section may differ slightly according to the length of the recorded materials.
Composition of test items
Questions in each test section are categorized into type of test items according to competence to be measured. Each test item type contains multiple questions. Purposes of test item types are determined for each level.
| Test section | Type of test items | N1 | N2 | N3 | N4 | N5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Language Knowledge ・ Reading |
Vocabulary | Kanji reading | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ |
| Orthography | ― | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ||
| Word formation | ― | ○ | ― | ― | ― | ||
| Contextually-defined expressions | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ||
| Paraphrases | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ||
| Usage | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ― | ||
| Grammar | Sentential grammar 1 (Selecting grammar form) |
○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | |
| Sentential grammar 2 (Sentence composition) |
○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ||
| Text grammar | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ||
| Reading | Comprehension (Short passages) |
○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | |
| Comprehension (Mid-size passages) |
○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ||
| Comprehension (Long passages) |
○ | ― | ○ | ― | ― | ||
| Integrated comprehension | ○ | ○ | ― | ― | ― | ||
| Thematic comprehension (Long passages) |
○ | ○ | ― | ― | ― | ||
| Information retrieval | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ||
| Listening | Task-based comprehension | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | |
| Comprehension of key points | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ||
| Comprehension of general outline | ○ | ○ | ○ | ― | ― | ||
| Verbal expressions | ― | ― | ○ | ○ | ○ | ||
| Quick response | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ||
| Integrated comprehension | ○ | ○ | ― | ― | ― | ||
| Links to purposes of test item types for each level | N1 | N2 | N3 | N4 | N5 | ||
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- ＊The first (July) test will not be offered in certain countries/areas. Click here to find out if the first test will be conducted in your country/area.
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