JLPT guide
Every 問題 on the JLPT, explained
Most of what is lost in the first ten minutes is lost to a format, not to the Japanese.
The JLPT asks the same question types every sitting, in the same order, numbered 問題1 upward. Knowing the list is worth real marks: most of what people lose in the first ten minutes is lost to being surprised by a format, not by the Japanese in it.
The lists below are counted from the papers on this site rather than copied from anywhere — a range means the papers differ.
文字・語彙 — writing and vocabulary
| 問題 | Name | What it asks |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 漢字読み | How is the underlined word read? |
| 2 | 表記 | Which kanji spells the underlined word? |
| 3 | 語形成 | Prefixes, suffixes, compound forms (N2, N1) |
| 4 | 文脈規定 | Which word fits this sentence? |
| 5 | 言い換え類義 | Which word means the same as the underlined one? |
| 6 | 用法 | Which sentence uses this word correctly? |
問題6 is the one people find hardest to prepare: four sentences, all grammatical, and only one uses the word the way a Japanese speaker would. Knowing a dictionary definition is not enough — you need to have met the word in use.
文法 — grammar
| 問題 | Name | What it asks |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 文法形式の判断 | Which form fits the blank? |
| 2 | 文の組み立て | Reorder four fragments; answer the starred slot |
| 3 | 文章の文法 | A passage with blanks, tested for flow |
文の組み立て is worth practising separately. You build the whole sentence and then answer about one position in it, and a candidate who assembles it correctly can still mark the wrong box by miscounting the star.
読解 — reading
| Name | What it is |
|---|---|
| 内容理解（短文） | 200 characters, one question |
| 内容理解（中文） | 500 characters, three questions |
| 内容理解（長文） | 1,000 characters, several questions |
| 統合理解 | Two texts on one topic, compared |
| 主張理解 | An argument — what does the writer claim? |
| 情報検索 | A leaflet or timetable; find the one fact |
情報検索 is the cheapest section on the paper and it is last, which is why so many people never reach it. Do it first if you are slow at reading: it is a search task, not a comprehension task, and it carries the same marks as anything else.
聴解 — listening
Five types, two of which print nothing on the paper at all. They have their own guide, because the format is most of the difficulty.
See it on a real paper
Every level page here lists the 問題 that level actually contains, with how many questions each holds: N5 · N4 · N3 · N2 · N1.