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Hi all,

I'm preparing for the JLPT (the Japanese language proficiency test) in December. I have been trying to expand my vocabulary through a variety of methods but it is just so overwhelming as the test requires a significant amount of vocabulary. I use anki, several numbered and unnumberd studied lists, notebooks, and flashcards, but I am just overwhelmed by the large amount of words.

If anyone might have any suggestions as to how I could possibly get over this significant vocabulary gap, I would really appreciate it.

Thanks.

In what way is it overwhelming? Are you trying to learn too fast? Are you not using mnemonics well enough? Do you use Anki in a way which leaves you forgetting too much? Are you overwhelmed because of hoping to achieve fluency in receptive and productive, visual and auditory, skills with just one kind of reviews?
Could you try describing some "symptoms" of this overwhelmage?

HTLAL > Super-fast vocabulary learning techniques

Wikia > Language learning techniques

N5 800 +
N4 1500 +
N3 3750 +
N2 6000 =
= 12050

Edit:

N5 800 +
N4 700 +
N3 2250 +
N2 2250 =
= 6000

I remember well that feeling of being completely overwhelmed by the sheer volume of words I apparently needed to know for JLPT N2 and the pressure to "learn all the things"! As someone who went through it, survived, and picked up a certificate at the end, I hope I can help in some way.

Vocabulary is, of course, an essential part of the knowledge you need to learn any language. However, the section of the test that specifically tests vocabulary knowledge is very small. 1/3 of the marks available are for listening, 1/3 for reading, and 1/3 for language knowledge. The language knowledge section is further broken down - roughly half of it covering grammar knowledge and half vocabulary. Half of the vocabulary section is explicitly testing kanji knowledge.

Since 2/3 of the marks are available for listening and reading, I would suggest you spend at least 2/3 of your time on these important skills. Development of vocabulary and grammar will be a useful side effect of this, but other skills to support your comprehension are also important - both to pass the exam and to use the language in daily life. Can you follow a written text or an audio extract and pick out the most important points, even if there are chunks of vocab you don't understand? Are you prepared to take notes, in your native language if this is most efficient, to get you through the longer listening passages? Can you pick up on certain expressions that may be grammatically correct but come across as rude in the wrong situation?

For the remaining 1/3 of your study time, I would spend at least half of it on grammar, and the remaining half of it on reviewing as many new words as you can picked up from your work on listening, reading, and grammar. If you are happy with Anki to review your new words, I would use it, but keep it limited to dishing up 20 random new cards a day and don't worry about the rest. There will be repetition through your practice on listening, reading and grammar anyway.

So, take a deep breath and don't panic about the vocab.

Good luck in December!

smallwhite wrote:N5 800 +
N4 1500 +
N3 3750 +
N2 6000 =
= 12050

The vocabulary numbers you quote are not cumulative. The assumption is that you need 6,000 words in total to pass JLPT N2 and not 12,050. However, this is based on the old syllabus, for which official word lists were published that may or may not be relevant to N2. In any case, I would advise people preparing for N2 to stick to practice material oriented towards the latest test format, which is now well established.

gsbod wrote:

smallwhite wrote:N5 800 +
N4 1500 +
N3 3750 +
N2 6000 =
= 12050

The vocabulary numbers you quote are not cumulative. The assumption is that you need 6,000 words in total to pass JLPT N2 and not 12,050. However, this is based on the old syllabus, for which official word lists were published that may or may not be relevant to N2. In any case, I would advise people preparing for N2 to stick to practice material oriented towards the latest test format, which is now well established.

Thanks for the correction. How many words would there be in the "practice material oriented towards the latest test format"?

smallwhite wrote:Thanks for the correction. How many words would there be in the "practice material oriented towards the latest test format"?

As someone else who has signed up for the December N2, I can confidently say that there are "lots" of words in (for example) 新完全マスター N2 読解

Slightly more seriously, if anki is any guide I have a passive vocabulary of maybe 6000 words or so. I still run across new vocab in 新完全マスタ and in the Udemy N2 course I'm working through. If you try out one the official practice test (or pick up one of the many books of practice tests) and you find the reading hard, then you need to put in more reading. Even with 6000 words you'll still find a few words per passage that you simply don't know ... you need to work out a strategy for coping with that.

Thanks for the replies. It is good to know others felt the same way. I am overwhelmed by the volume of words. I record A LOT of words, via Anki and via other documents and papers to store them and then I cycle through them all regularly. I put the words in Anki that I have a lot of trouble with in a special deck and study them specifically to help retain those.

One of the problems is that I want to save and study almost ANY word I don't know. Whenever I come across a word in a language I am studying, I have to look it up and save it. I use the IMIWA dictionary on my phone and that stores the words automatically, which is great. But the problem is that I have about 2000 words, many of which are very specific. This has led to lists of thousands of words all over the place and sometimes I feel overwhelmed by this. Usually I try to study 10-20 new words a day and remember them. I have a special notebook where I put those words and consciously study them throughout the day. But other than that, I have trouble with the other words that aren't on this list and I cannot fit any more on this as I feel I am already stretched to the max as it is.

Why do you all bother with the JLPT?
Japan might be land of senseless credentialism, there's no need to feed into the insanity.
Might just be me, I find language tests supremely pointless. You're self-discouraging by focusing on words like "turnip" and "anvil" that turn up once in a blue moon and completely disregarding your own circumstances.

overscore wrote:Why do you all bother with the JLPT?
Japan might be land of senseless credentialism, there's no need to feed into the insanity.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I use the JLPT as a stick to keep me studying. Without it I'd probably drift aimlessly.

As for credentialism, apart from Japanese language learners (and maybe a very few Japanese natives who hire foreigners) I'm not sure that the letters JLPT get you anything more than "huh?".

overscore wrote:Might just be me, I find language tests supremely pointless. You're self-discouraging by focusing on words like "turnip" and "anvil" that turn up once in a blue moon and completely disregarding your own circumstances.

So far I've never come across either of those words in Japanese: maybe they'll crop up when I start working towards N1