Levels N3
JLPT N3 practice tests — 25 free mock papers
N3 is the level people underestimate. It is the bridge between the textbook levels and the real ones, it has the highest pass mark of any level, and it is where reading stops being decoding.
Sit an N3 paper All 25 N3 papers
25 full N3 papers are on this site, 25 of them written here and the rest archived sittings — 2,550 questions in all. Every paper is timed like the real thing and marked section by section, and all of it is free: no account, no payment, nothing to install.
What is on the N3 paper
| Sitting time | 140 minutes |
| Pass mark | 95 / 180 |
| Scored sections | Language knowledge (0–60) · Reading (0–60) · Listening (0–60) |
| Kanji · Vocabulary | ~600 · ~3,500 |
Questions on one N3 paper
| Section | Questions |
|---|---|
| Vocabulary | 35 |
| Grammar | 23 |
| Reading | 16 |
| Listening | 28 |
The 問題 an N3 paper contains
Counted across the N3 papers here. A range is where the papers differ.
- Vocabulary 文字・語彙問題1 8問題2 6問題3 11問題4 5問題5 5
- Grammar & Reading 文法・読解問題1 13問題2 5問題3 5問題4 4問題5 6問題6 4問題7 2
- Listening 聴解問題1 6問題2 6問題3 3問題4 4問題5 9
N3 word, kanji and grammar lists
2,287 Vocabulary · 367 Kanji · 59 Grammar
N3 papers to sit
- Practice Test 27102 questions
- Practice Test 26102 questions
- Practice Test 25102 questions
- Practice Test 24102 questions
- Practice Test 23102 questions
- Practice Test 22102 questions
Common questions about N3
How long is the JLPT N3 exam?
140 minutes in all. The papers here run to the same clock, section by section, so a practice sitting costs what the real one does.
What score do you need to pass N3?
95 out of 180 — and every scored section has its own minimum as well. One weak section fails the paper however high the total, which is why the papers here are marked section by section.
How many kanji and words does N3 need?
Around ~600 kanji and ~3,500 words. The JLPT stopped publishing its lists in 2010, so every figure you will see quoted is an estimate, this one included.
Are the N3 papers here free?
Yes, all 25 of them, with no account and nothing to pay. 25 are written for this site; the rest are archived sittings, kept so you can sit a real one.
Can I practise N3 listening?
Yes. All 700 listening questions on this level carry their script, and where the original recording is lost your own device reads that script aloud — so a listening section is never a dead page.
Pass marks and sitting times are the official figures. Kanji and word counts are estimates — the JLPT stopped publishing its lists in 2010.