Kiku

Level finder for the JLPT

Seven short questions suggest a level to aim for at your next sitting. It asks rather than tests, so treat the answer as a starting point, not a verdict.

Can you read hiragana and katakana?
Have you passed a level of the JLPT?

If it was more than a couple of years ago, answer for what you can do now instead.

About how many kanji can you read?

Read means you know a reading and the meaning when you see it in a word.

About how many words do you know?

Words you understand when you meet them, whether or not you would use them yourself.

Which grammar are you comfortable with?

Pick the last line you could explain and use without looking anything up.

Which of these can you read and understand without help?

Tick each one you could read aloud and explain in English. If you can't read any of them yet, tick the last box. Readings and meanings are below, to check yourself afterwards.

Check yourself: readings and meanings
  1. まいにち、がっこうでほんをよみます。I read books at school every day. N5
  2. あめがふりそうなので、はやくかえったほうがいいです。It looks like it is going to rain, so you had better go home early. N4
  3. えきについたとたん、でんしゃがでてしまった。The moment I got to the station, the train left. N3
  4. よけいなことをいったばかりに、ともだちをおこらせてしまった。Just because I said something I shouldn't have, I made my friend angry. N2
  5. かれはしゅういのはんたいをものともせず、じぶんのみちをすすんだ。Undeterred by the opposition of those around him, he went his own way. N1
What can you follow when you listen?

Without subtitles or a transcript.

Your result

Answer every question to see a suggestion (6 left).

What this cannot tell you

  • It asks; it does not test. People often rate themselves higher or lower than a test would.
  • The kanji and word counts are rough figures that circulate among learners. The organizers have published no vocabulary, kanji or grammar lists since 2010.
  • One sentence per level is a glimpse of reading, not a reading test, and nothing here tests listening.
  • It does not know how long you have before your sitting, or how much you study each week.

The listening question, and the kinds of writing named in the grammar question, put the organizers' published summary of each level into Kiku's own words.

Already have scores? The score checker applies the pass rules to them.

Source: JLPT, N1-N5: Summary of Linguistic Competence Required for Each Level (jlpt.jp, 2010, read 2026-10-08)