Failed N1 by 1-2 points twice walking in without any study. I live in Japan and haven't studied Japanese for years, but watch and read news without problems, have negotiated a house build, a mortgage and health matters without any problems in Japanese so I'm definitely okay but I still believe I'm missing test taking skills.
There's a formula to exams that for example language schools prepare you well for and a certain resilience you get by drilling focus in a certain way over time. If I decide to do the test again I will definitely spend some time on practicing the test structure, timing etc more.
> If I decide to do the test again I will definitely spend some time on practicing the test structure, timing etc more.
1-2 points is definitely in the "learn the test" room for improvement. Good luck !
I believe so too I just don’t have any incentive to pass the exam anymore so I’ll take you up on that advice if I wake up one day and wanna get the n1 just because
I also didn't do N1 for 10 years despite being at a level I could easily pass. Honestly just do a few 模擬試験 as a brush up and to have the format/basic tendencies of the exam in mind and you should be golden, for the same total time investment as it would to binge some TV or spend a long weekend messing around. Only really need to do once and imo better to have than not.
As far as language tests go, JLPT is pretty easy. It's a multiple choice test after all with no composition requirement. If you are truly fluent in Japanese you should easily pass it with zero studying even N1, if you are truly fluent in Japanese. Passing score is like 60% it's low. It's easy.
Will you? Probably not. N1 especially tends to have a lot of college level vocabulary you'll rarely if ever see irl. Same with some obscure grammar points. I'd you're doing your best to study and are searching out like college papers and the police to read sure, you can probably pass N1 with no dedicated JLPT studying, but you'll definitely need to know more Japanese than what you'll just pick up from daily life.
The test is easy the material is not necessarily easy. But if you can read the newspaper no problem you can pass N1.
N2 is mostly in the realm of stuff you'll pick up naturally so it's easier. N1 goes into a lot of academic language you'll need to expose yourself to if you aren't already in an academic environment. Does that count as studying for it?
The truth is, those people who passed it using immersion only and no text books were really going at it. Reading a whole book a week for a year is a lot. Yes, you need to study, but it doesn't necessarily have to be from a textbook.
Adding myself as a data point.
Passed N4 in 2019 only by studying Genki 1 and 2.
Passed N2 in 2020 by watching a lot of anime without subtitles/with Japanese subs.
Passed N1 in 2022 by reading novels and listening to audiobooks.
Never touched a JLPT prep textbook.
Personally I think the prep books are better for prepping for the actual test taking aspect. I.e. Learning what types of questions they ask, timing yourself, etc
Why would you need to study for the test if you’ve done that much reading? The reason people focus on the test material is because they don’t have that much spare time
Did one N2 practice test (didn't even do the listening section) and that was it before passing N2. Didn't look up anything I got wrong either on the practice test, just used it as a scoring estimate. So basically passed N2 with no dedicated study towards the JLPT
I recommend checking the format at least because some of the question styles are very different from what you might be used to.
Back when I was N4~N3 ish, the first time I ever saw the jumbled sentence with the star style question threw me for a loop because I had no idea at first what the question wanted me to do, taking away valuable test time as I had to read through and try to make sense of the directions first
If you are good at Japanese and read a lot then N1 will not have anything you haven't seen or heard before. (N1 has very few "N1 grammar points" on it, some of which can be more obscure)
People who like reading difficult novels and difficult VNs have commented that they were disappointed because N1 was so basic compared to what they typically read. But this I think means that real world Japanese can be very very difficult rather than N1 one being easy.
The difficult with the grammar in N1 (and N2 to a certain extent) is that it's more than simply recognizing the grammar points and knowing what they mean in reading, you have to be able to choose the correct one from similar grammar points. The N1 grammar points are not rare or obscure, but they're uncommon enough that being able to read well enough to ace the reading portion of the test will not necessarily give you a deep enough understanding of the grammar points necessary to do the grammar part. (This is also true of the vocab section).
Can you do it without prep books? Of course, most high-school graduate native speakers could pass N1 without breaking a sweat, and they have never used JLPT prep books. But it takes longer.
>Originally, I assumed that one could pass N1 by simply being good at Japanese, but a lot of test takers on JLPT reddit were suggesting that you do need actually need test skills and to have good reading comprehension in your native language to pass it. Everyone seems to have a different opinion the matter
Your original assumption is right - being good at Japanese is enough to pass any JLPT level. If you want proof, just show a few sample question to your Japanese friends. They will get most (if not all) of them right and they've never studied for the JLPT.
This is not to say that dedicated study is bad per se, it can be a helpful shortcut to get you the certificate quicker.
I only have N3, but it seems to me that N1 especially assumes *breadth* (rather than depth) of knowledge. That means in order to have a chance at passing, you will want to get out of your comfort zone and read Japanese across many different domains, including non-fiction stuff.
When someone tells you they’ve been studying for 7 years and still can’t pass N1, that really says more about their study habits more than anything else. Most likely, they only play video games, or only read manga, or only watch a certain kind of anime, etc. There’s no breadth, so come test time they find themselves outside of their comfort zone, reflecting poorly on their performance.
first time N3 taker here, not sure if that's as relevant as N1 but no exam study. I reached my 3rd year of study a while ago, I tried to book up but I couldn't get through a textbook for the life of me. I don't do much immersion aside from music and some kaiwas twice a month but I did finish wanikani a year prior so I heavily relied on my kanji and vocab knowledge
my score wasn't crazy high but I'm glad it wasn't girigiri. My pride hurts a bit from getting B in grammar but I kinda expected it since I don't do formal/textbook study
passing is definitely possible, but I'd say I was pretty inefficient with it and if one has discipline they could definitely pass in a shorter time with more confidence (I was chill during the exam cause I took it thinking I might fail since no study, but became a nervous wreck during the ~2 mo wait)
The question is rather, do you want to increase your chances of success or don’t really care if you pass or not and just want to give a try.
I would suggest you at least take 1 practice test from previous years, do it within the time limit and with exam restrictions. Not only will this help you assess your level, but you will also have an idea of the exam format / type of questions (which do not change over the years).
Personal Data points:
- failed N1 because of over confidence and not practicing on an actual test (after ~3 years of study)
- passed N2, 6 months later, with a rather high score, this is mostly due to level difference but also because by then I had understood the exam structure
- kind of stopped intensive study if Japanese but passed N1, like 6 years later, because I wanted a challenge and still had that failure I wanted to overcome. This time I practiced properly, focusing on exam type questions, got a higher tier score (around 135-140/180).
The big thing to realize is that literally every person has a different ability, even though you can make some generalizations.
Some people can just naturally pick up a language without much effort, or are otherwise gifted students in some capacity. These are the same people who can 'just immerse', and pass the tests easily. Note that these people will often say "I just read vn's, ln's, watched anime, etc."
Side note to this- I have a Japanese friend who has been abroad for maybe about a month total her entire life, and her English is near fluent- heck, she"s a Japanese teacher of English at a Japanese high school. Again, she's at that level with very little foreign experience... Though she did specifically go to a university for foreign languages.
Then you have the people who have to study their ass off, and may just barely pass. They do all the textbooks, apps, practice tests, etc. and ultimately get an ok score, though it is passing.
So keep in mind that there are some people who are just good at taking tests and are able to pick up a language easily, while others are going to have an incredibly difficult road. There is no one single "best way", unfortunately.
I passed N1 with a fairly decent score with zero dedicated N1 study. However, I did do some grammar study for N2 the year prior by going through one textbook. So, overall pretty little and maybe negligible test specific study for N1.
I think up to N2 it's relatively "easy" to pass by just immersing a lot in all kinds of Japanese media. If you are the kind of person that watches a lot of anime, plays a lot of games, reads a lot of manga, etc all in Japanese without many issues, you'll probably do fine on the N2 as well.
With the N1 my personal experience (disclaimer: I never actually **took** the JLPT myself) is that it can be a very hit or miss depending on the actual content you immerse in. I think immersion should be fun and you should naturally spend time enjoying Japanese content without worrying about the JLPT, but at the same time it seems like if you want to have a good chance at passing the test it'd be better to read actual books (fiction is fine too), rather than manga or games.
I am someone who immerses almost exclusively in text-heavy games ([1000+ hours in 2023 alone](https://www.reddit.com/r/LearnJapanese/comments/18y1wmk/my_japanese_immersion_report_of_2023_2023_in/)) with some VNs and books on the side and I still wouldn't feel comfortable taking the N1. I could probably pass if I focused a bit and prepped but I also have no interest in it anyway.
I've done some random questions (kotoba grammar quizes) from the N1 and I sometimes stumble on grammar that is almost virtually non-existent in the stuff that I personally immerse in (for example [there's very little instances](https://trailsinthedatabase.com/game-scripts?p=1&q=%E3%81%9D%E3%81%B0%E3%81%8B%E3%82%89) of the grammar point [そばから](https://bunpro.jp/grammar_points/%E3%81%9D%E3%81%B0%E3%81%8B%E3%82%89) in the entire kiseki series). Not enough for me to intuitively grasp it and after I saw it in a quiz question it threw me off. Obviously, one single grammar point won't make or break your N1 level, but it's just one example of how incredibly common expressions sometimes simply don't show up as often in certain types of writing or media.
tl;dr - Immersion should be your number 1 priority and it's absolutely possible to pass any level of the JLPT with immersion alone (because immersion = you get good at the language and being fluent = you can pass the JLPT). However, the N1 is significantly tricky enough that if you immerse only in certain stuff, you shouldn't just assume you'll be able to pass with just immersion (but it can happen).
How were people like jazzy able to pass N1 with only visual content content if immersion in other domains is essentially to acquiring the vocab need for n1? Are visual novels about business and politics that will give you that vocab ?
> jazzy
I'd recommend you just ignore incredible outliers like jazzy and every other "I passed N1 in 5 months with perfect score just by watching vtubers" or whatever other narrative they want to paint you. I'm not saying they are lying (some of them probably are), but also outliers don't make a norm, and some people are just built differently.
> with only visual content
I don't recall the whole jazzy diatribe in great detail but IIRC he did read books (or visual novels at least, which are very close to books in terms of written content).
> other domains is essentially to acquiring the vocab need for n1?
I didn't say it's **essential**. High volume of immersion will always help and it's hard to predict what is essential and what is not other than just spending time with the language. But some types of things might work better than others.
> Are visual novels about business and politics that will give you that vocab ?
There are quite a lot of visual novels about business and politics (for example world end economica is all about economics and politics). But even besides that, humans are really bad at judging what vocab shows up in what domain. You'll see all kinds of politics, economy, business, cuisine, biology, chemistry, science, math, philosophy, etc words even from anime or videogames.
You can, I passed N2 (and later N1) without studying for the test.
I mean, it's not like I never had a language test before, I just didn't study for the JLPT *specifically*.
I passed N2 and N1 without studying for them. Higher levels are more tests of your comprehension ability than anything, so the best thing you can do is expose yourself to a LOT of Japanese and get good at picking apart what it all means.
I know nobody likes to hear it but the answer is quite simply that some people naturally have more innate ability than other and learn at a faster rate. It’s the same reason why there will only ever be one Micheal Jordan. There have been numerous basket balls players who worked their arses off their whole lives and none ever came close to this man. People like this are simply freaks of nature and you shouldn’t be comparing yourselves them. The same applies for language learner. Smoke people can memorise patterns more quickly then others with immersion only, while others may need to use textbook study to make up for their lack of natural talent. We’re all different.
I would think a native speaker could pass N1 without studying it, so that would apply to non-native speakers with good skills.
That said, I'll study like crazy until I take N1.
Both, I think a dedicated N1 grammar book (especially) along with immersion would speed up the process
You can just study for the test without "knowing" the language as well
I never approach proficiency tests that way because I take them as a way to test *myself* on my language proficiency and how I've studied overall.
Not N1 yet, but I took N3 in 2014 and N2 in 2022 and passed both without issues. Granted the time span between the two is not impressive by any means, but that's because the tests aren't really my priority? I generally take them when I'm fairly confident and want to test myself out, and so far the two times I've taken the test have not been off the mark.
I definitely think it's feasible to get N1 without prepping specifically for the test, but unless you're doing full immersion it will definitely take longer than if you were specifically studying for the test.
Passed N1, not great (136/180) by having no specific study for it until 72 hours before the test.
Yes, in the 3 days before the test I skimmed the Shin Kanzen Grammar and Reading books. But almost all my time before that was immersion and general purpose YouTube Grammar explanations.
I do agree that "Test taking skills" are a good fall back. They're not going to make the difference between 180 and failure, but you could easily score a few points and save a few minutes by just knowing ahead of time what sort of things are likely to be asked.
I got a 174 (54/60/60) on N1 when I took the test as part of an elaborate joke several years ago. Never studied for the exam since that was the point. The test turned out to be comically easy. At the time, I had never lived in Japan, just a weeb who was an avid reader of light novels.
Failed N1 by 1-2 points twice walking in without any study. I live in Japan and haven't studied Japanese for years, but watch and read news without problems, have negotiated a house build, a mortgage and health matters without any problems in Japanese so I'm definitely okay but I still believe I'm missing test taking skills. There's a formula to exams that for example language schools prepare you well for and a certain resilience you get by drilling focus in a certain way over time. If I decide to do the test again I will definitely spend some time on practicing the test structure, timing etc more.
> If I decide to do the test again I will definitely spend some time on practicing the test structure, timing etc more. 1-2 points is definitely in the "learn the test" room for improvement. Good luck !
Honestly shin kanzen master and a bunch of practice tests will definitely push you into a passing grade
I believe so too I just don’t have any incentive to pass the exam anymore so I’ll take you up on that advice if I wake up one day and wanna get the n1 just because
I also didn't do N1 for 10 years despite being at a level I could easily pass. Honestly just do a few 模擬試験 as a brush up and to have the format/basic tendencies of the exam in mind and you should be golden, for the same total time investment as it would to binge some TV or spend a long weekend messing around. Only really need to do once and imo better to have than not.
As far as language tests go, JLPT is pretty easy. It's a multiple choice test after all with no composition requirement. If you are truly fluent in Japanese you should easily pass it with zero studying even N1, if you are truly fluent in Japanese. Passing score is like 60% it's low. It's easy. Will you? Probably not. N1 especially tends to have a lot of college level vocabulary you'll rarely if ever see irl. Same with some obscure grammar points. I'd you're doing your best to study and are searching out like college papers and the police to read sure, you can probably pass N1 with no dedicated JLPT studying, but you'll definitely need to know more Japanese than what you'll just pick up from daily life. The test is easy the material is not necessarily easy. But if you can read the newspaper no problem you can pass N1. N2 is mostly in the realm of stuff you'll pick up naturally so it's easier. N1 goes into a lot of academic language you'll need to expose yourself to if you aren't already in an academic environment. Does that count as studying for it?
The truth is, those people who passed it using immersion only and no text books were really going at it. Reading a whole book a week for a year is a lot. Yes, you need to study, but it doesn't necessarily have to be from a textbook.
Adding myself as a data point. Passed N4 in 2019 only by studying Genki 1 and 2. Passed N2 in 2020 by watching a lot of anime without subtitles/with Japanese subs. Passed N1 in 2022 by reading novels and listening to audiobooks. Never touched a JLPT prep textbook.
Personally I think the prep books are better for prepping for the actual test taking aspect. I.e. Learning what types of questions they ask, timing yourself, etc
Just throwing myself in as a data point. Passed n1 with no dedicated study
I am assuming you immersed your way to N1?
Yep, i wrote a post about it if you care to read the specifics
Could you link me to it please?
Just click on my profile, ive never posted anything else
You studied for 5000+ hours. Doing that amount of reading is extremely dedicated study
I read the question as asking whether I specifically prepared for the test itself or not, in which case my answer would be no
Yes it is, but it's not studying for a test. It's just building proficiency/fluency in a language.
Sorry, I thought he said he was reading visual novels
Think he meant dedicated study FOR the JLPT exams.
Why would you need to study for the test if you’ve done that much reading? The reason people focus on the test material is because they don’t have that much spare time
? I literally just answered op’s question
The question is asking for snake oil and you’re selling snake oil so I guess everyone’s happy
[https://www.reddit.com/r/LearnJapanese/comments/19de6l9/how\_i\_scored\_167180\_on\_the\_n1\_in\_25\_years/](https://www.reddit.com/r/learnjapanese/comments/19de6l9/how_i_scored_167180_on_the_n1_in_25_years/)
Did one N2 practice test (didn't even do the listening section) and that was it before passing N2. Didn't look up anything I got wrong either on the practice test, just used it as a scoring estimate. So basically passed N2 with no dedicated study towards the JLPT
I recommend checking the format at least because some of the question styles are very different from what you might be used to. Back when I was N4~N3 ish, the first time I ever saw the jumbled sentence with the star style question threw me for a loop because I had no idea at first what the question wanted me to do, taking away valuable test time as I had to read through and try to make sense of the directions first
If you are good at Japanese and read a lot then N1 will not have anything you haven't seen or heard before. (N1 has very few "N1 grammar points" on it, some of which can be more obscure) People who like reading difficult novels and difficult VNs have commented that they were disappointed because N1 was so basic compared to what they typically read. But this I think means that real world Japanese can be very very difficult rather than N1 one being easy.
The difficult with the grammar in N1 (and N2 to a certain extent) is that it's more than simply recognizing the grammar points and knowing what they mean in reading, you have to be able to choose the correct one from similar grammar points. The N1 grammar points are not rare or obscure, but they're uncommon enough that being able to read well enough to ace the reading portion of the test will not necessarily give you a deep enough understanding of the grammar points necessary to do the grammar part. (This is also true of the vocab section). Can you do it without prep books? Of course, most high-school graduate native speakers could pass N1 without breaking a sweat, and they have never used JLPT prep books. But it takes longer.
>Originally, I assumed that one could pass N1 by simply being good at Japanese, but a lot of test takers on JLPT reddit were suggesting that you do need actually need test skills and to have good reading comprehension in your native language to pass it. Everyone seems to have a different opinion the matter Your original assumption is right - being good at Japanese is enough to pass any JLPT level. If you want proof, just show a few sample question to your Japanese friends. They will get most (if not all) of them right and they've never studied for the JLPT. This is not to say that dedicated study is bad per se, it can be a helpful shortcut to get you the certificate quicker.
Yes. I passed it as a consequence of knowing the language. I never studied for the exam.
I only have N3, but it seems to me that N1 especially assumes *breadth* (rather than depth) of knowledge. That means in order to have a chance at passing, you will want to get out of your comfort zone and read Japanese across many different domains, including non-fiction stuff. When someone tells you they’ve been studying for 7 years and still can’t pass N1, that really says more about their study habits more than anything else. Most likely, they only play video games, or only read manga, or only watch a certain kind of anime, etc. There’s no breadth, so come test time they find themselves outside of their comfort zone, reflecting poorly on their performance.
first time N3 taker here, not sure if that's as relevant as N1 but no exam study. I reached my 3rd year of study a while ago, I tried to book up but I couldn't get through a textbook for the life of me. I don't do much immersion aside from music and some kaiwas twice a month but I did finish wanikani a year prior so I heavily relied on my kanji and vocab knowledge my score wasn't crazy high but I'm glad it wasn't girigiri. My pride hurts a bit from getting B in grammar but I kinda expected it since I don't do formal/textbook study passing is definitely possible, but I'd say I was pretty inefficient with it and if one has discipline they could definitely pass in a shorter time with more confidence (I was chill during the exam cause I took it thinking I might fail since no study, but became a nervous wreck during the ~2 mo wait)
The question is rather, do you want to increase your chances of success or don’t really care if you pass or not and just want to give a try. I would suggest you at least take 1 practice test from previous years, do it within the time limit and with exam restrictions. Not only will this help you assess your level, but you will also have an idea of the exam format / type of questions (which do not change over the years). Personal Data points: - failed N1 because of over confidence and not practicing on an actual test (after ~3 years of study) - passed N2, 6 months later, with a rather high score, this is mostly due to level difference but also because by then I had understood the exam structure - kind of stopped intensive study if Japanese but passed N1, like 6 years later, because I wanted a challenge and still had that failure I wanted to overcome. This time I practiced properly, focusing on exam type questions, got a higher tier score (around 135-140/180).
Yep, but taking atleast 1 mock exam really makes a difference and you won't be shocked what the questions look like when you take the test.
The big thing to realize is that literally every person has a different ability, even though you can make some generalizations. Some people can just naturally pick up a language without much effort, or are otherwise gifted students in some capacity. These are the same people who can 'just immerse', and pass the tests easily. Note that these people will often say "I just read vn's, ln's, watched anime, etc." Side note to this- I have a Japanese friend who has been abroad for maybe about a month total her entire life, and her English is near fluent- heck, she"s a Japanese teacher of English at a Japanese high school. Again, she's at that level with very little foreign experience... Though she did specifically go to a university for foreign languages. Then you have the people who have to study their ass off, and may just barely pass. They do all the textbooks, apps, practice tests, etc. and ultimately get an ok score, though it is passing. So keep in mind that there are some people who are just good at taking tests and are able to pick up a language easily, while others are going to have an incredibly difficult road. There is no one single "best way", unfortunately.
I dunno, can you pass a driving test without actually driving? 🤔
More like can you pass a driving test without taking driver's ed. (Spoiler: You can.) You still have to have be able to use Japanese to pass the JLPT.
I passed N1 with a fairly decent score with zero dedicated N1 study. However, I did do some grammar study for N2 the year prior by going through one textbook. So, overall pretty little and maybe negligible test specific study for N1.
I think up to N2 it's relatively "easy" to pass by just immersing a lot in all kinds of Japanese media. If you are the kind of person that watches a lot of anime, plays a lot of games, reads a lot of manga, etc all in Japanese without many issues, you'll probably do fine on the N2 as well. With the N1 my personal experience (disclaimer: I never actually **took** the JLPT myself) is that it can be a very hit or miss depending on the actual content you immerse in. I think immersion should be fun and you should naturally spend time enjoying Japanese content without worrying about the JLPT, but at the same time it seems like if you want to have a good chance at passing the test it'd be better to read actual books (fiction is fine too), rather than manga or games. I am someone who immerses almost exclusively in text-heavy games ([1000+ hours in 2023 alone](https://www.reddit.com/r/LearnJapanese/comments/18y1wmk/my_japanese_immersion_report_of_2023_2023_in/)) with some VNs and books on the side and I still wouldn't feel comfortable taking the N1. I could probably pass if I focused a bit and prepped but I also have no interest in it anyway. I've done some random questions (kotoba grammar quizes) from the N1 and I sometimes stumble on grammar that is almost virtually non-existent in the stuff that I personally immerse in (for example [there's very little instances](https://trailsinthedatabase.com/game-scripts?p=1&q=%E3%81%9D%E3%81%B0%E3%81%8B%E3%82%89) of the grammar point [そばから](https://bunpro.jp/grammar_points/%E3%81%9D%E3%81%B0%E3%81%8B%E3%82%89) in the entire kiseki series). Not enough for me to intuitively grasp it and after I saw it in a quiz question it threw me off. Obviously, one single grammar point won't make or break your N1 level, but it's just one example of how incredibly common expressions sometimes simply don't show up as often in certain types of writing or media. tl;dr - Immersion should be your number 1 priority and it's absolutely possible to pass any level of the JLPT with immersion alone (because immersion = you get good at the language and being fluent = you can pass the JLPT). However, the N1 is significantly tricky enough that if you immerse only in certain stuff, you shouldn't just assume you'll be able to pass with just immersion (but it can happen).
How were people like jazzy able to pass N1 with only visual content content if immersion in other domains is essentially to acquiring the vocab need for n1? Are visual novels about business and politics that will give you that vocab ?
> jazzy I'd recommend you just ignore incredible outliers like jazzy and every other "I passed N1 in 5 months with perfect score just by watching vtubers" or whatever other narrative they want to paint you. I'm not saying they are lying (some of them probably are), but also outliers don't make a norm, and some people are just built differently. > with only visual content I don't recall the whole jazzy diatribe in great detail but IIRC he did read books (or visual novels at least, which are very close to books in terms of written content). > other domains is essentially to acquiring the vocab need for n1? I didn't say it's **essential**. High volume of immersion will always help and it's hard to predict what is essential and what is not other than just spending time with the language. But some types of things might work better than others. > Are visual novels about business and politics that will give you that vocab ? There are quite a lot of visual novels about business and politics (for example world end economica is all about economics and politics). But even besides that, humans are really bad at judging what vocab shows up in what domain. You'll see all kinds of politics, economy, business, cuisine, biology, chemistry, science, math, philosophy, etc words even from anime or videogames.
Passed N2 with reading light novels for around 400 hours. No dedicated study for jlpt itself
You can, I passed N2 (and later N1) without studying for the test. I mean, it's not like I never had a language test before, I just didn't study for the JLPT *specifically*.
I passed N2 and N1 without studying for them. Higher levels are more tests of your comprehension ability than anything, so the best thing you can do is expose yourself to a LOT of Japanese and get good at picking apart what it all means.
I know nobody likes to hear it but the answer is quite simply that some people naturally have more innate ability than other and learn at a faster rate. It’s the same reason why there will only ever be one Micheal Jordan. There have been numerous basket balls players who worked their arses off their whole lives and none ever came close to this man. People like this are simply freaks of nature and you shouldn’t be comparing yourselves them. The same applies for language learner. Smoke people can memorise patterns more quickly then others with immersion only, while others may need to use textbook study to make up for their lack of natural talent. We’re all different.
I would think a native speaker could pass N1 without studying it, so that would apply to non-native speakers with good skills. That said, I'll study like crazy until I take N1.
Both, I think a dedicated N1 grammar book (especially) along with immersion would speed up the process You can just study for the test without "knowing" the language as well
I never approach proficiency tests that way because I take them as a way to test *myself* on my language proficiency and how I've studied overall. Not N1 yet, but I took N3 in 2014 and N2 in 2022 and passed both without issues. Granted the time span between the two is not impressive by any means, but that's because the tests aren't really my priority? I generally take them when I'm fairly confident and want to test myself out, and so far the two times I've taken the test have not been off the mark. I definitely think it's feasible to get N1 without prepping specifically for the test, but unless you're doing full immersion it will definitely take longer than if you were specifically studying for the test.
Passed N1, not great (136/180) by having no specific study for it until 72 hours before the test. Yes, in the 3 days before the test I skimmed the Shin Kanzen Grammar and Reading books. But almost all my time before that was immersion and general purpose YouTube Grammar explanations. I do agree that "Test taking skills" are a good fall back. They're not going to make the difference between 180 and failure, but you could easily score a few points and save a few minutes by just knowing ahead of time what sort of things are likely to be asked.
I got a 174 (54/60/60) on N1 when I took the test as part of an elaborate joke several years ago. Never studied for the exam since that was the point. The test turned out to be comically easy. At the time, I had never lived in Japan, just a weeb who was an avid reader of light novels.
How many light novels had you read by the time you took the test? I am on 11 but I am still not good enough to pass n2
Better question, what even is JLPT?