JLPT N4: What It Covers and How to Pass
✍️ Dr. Winnie · Founder & Principal · 2026-06-22 更新
N4 is the second JLPT level and the point where Japanese starts to feel like a language you can actually use. You move from isolated phrases to everyday conversation and longer reading. This guide covers what N4 adds on top of N5, what you can do once you reach it, and how the structured Dreamax N4 course carries you forward and begins bridging toward N3.
The step up from N5
N4 roughly doubles your foundation: the common study targets are about 300 kanji and 1,500 vocabulary words, against roughly 100 kanji and 800 words at N5.
The grammar broadens too. You move past basic polite forms into plain (casual) form, the te-form and its many uses, potential and volitional forms, conditionals, and giving-and-receiving expressions. Sentences get longer and start linking ideas together rather than standing alone.
Reading and listening step up in proportion: passages are longer and use more kanji, and spoken passages run at a more natural pace on a wider range of everyday topics.
What you can do at N4
At N4 you can follow everyday conversations spoken at a reasonable pace, read short passages on familiar topics, and express yourself about daily life — past and future plans, opinions, requests, and reasons.
This is the level where self-study materials, simple manga and graded readers, and basic conversation start to open up. It is a common checkpoint for learners and a meaningful credential for everyday-life and entry-level practical use.
How long N4 takes
Coming from a solid N5 base, many learners reach N4 in another three to four months of steady study. The larger vocabulary and the jump into casual and te-form grammar are the parts that need the most repeated practice.
As always, daily consistency and regular review beat occasional long sessions — and because N4 builds directly on N5, keeping your N5 vocabulary and grammar warm with spaced review makes the new material land faster.
How the Dreamax N4 course bridges toward N3
The Dreamax N4 course is structured so each unit layers cleanly onto your N5 foundation — new kanji, vocabulary, and grammar introduced in order, with checkpoints confirming you are ready before you move on.
A built-in spaced-repetition system keeps both your new N4 words and your earlier N5 words from fading, so nothing quietly slips while you climb. Graded reading at your level, pronunciation and AI conversation practice, and timed N4 mock exams round out the skills the test measures.
Because N3 is the well-known intermediate jump, the N4 course deliberately stretches toward it — longer readings, more natural listening, and grammar that prepares the abstract and formal patterns N3 will ask for — so the move up feels like a continuation, not a wall.
よくある質問
How many kanji and words do I need for N4?
The common study targets are about 300 kanji and 1,500 vocabulary words, plus a wider set of grammar than N5. These are planning guidelines rather than an official list.
Should I take N5 before N4?
You do not have to sit N5 first — an N4 certificate covers it. But you do need N5-level knowledge, because N4 builds directly on it. A placement test can confirm you are ready for N4.
Is N4 enough to work in Japan?
N4 is great for everyday life and a strong stepping stone, but most workplaces that use Japanese ask for N2 or N1. Think of N4 as a key milestone on the road to N3 and beyond.