🟢 N5 (Beginner Level)
Goal: Basic survival Japanese
1. Writing System
- Hiragana (complete mastery)
- Katakana (complete mastery)
- ~100 Kanji
2. Vocabulary
- ~800 words
- Daily life: food, time, numbers, family
3. Grammar
- Basic sentence structure (SOV)
- Particles: は, が, を, に, で
- Verb forms: present, past, negative
- です / ます form
- Simple questions
4. Listening & Speaking
- Self-introduction
- Simple conversations (shopping, greetings)
5. Reading
- Short sentences
- Basic dialogues
🔵 N4 (Elementary Level)
Goal: Handle simple everyday conversations
1. Kanji
- ~300 Kanji total
2. Vocabulary
- ~1,500 words
3. Grammar
- Te-form (て-form)
- Potential form (can do)
- Permission & prohibition (てもいい / てはいけない)
- Basic conjunctions
- Casual speech introduction
4. Listening & Speaking
- Daily conversations
- Asking for directions
- Talking about experiences
5. Reading
- Short passages
- Simple stories
🟡 N3 (Intermediate Level)
Goal: Understand real-life Japanese
1. Kanji
- ~650 Kanji total
2. Vocabulary
- ~3,500 words
3. Grammar
- Intermediate structures:
- ～ながら (while)
- ～ように (so that)
- ～てしまう (regret/completion)
- Honorific basics
- Passive & causative forms
4. Listening & Speaking
- Conversations at natural speed
- Express opinions
5. Reading
- Articles, emails, short essays
🟠 N2 (Upper Intermediate)
Goal: Work/study in Japanese
1. Kanji
- ~1,000 Kanji total
2. Vocabulary
- ~6,000 words
3. Grammar
- Advanced patterns:
- ～に違いない (must be)
- ～わけではない (not necessarily)
- Keigo (polite, humble, honorific)
- Nuanced expressions
4. Listening & Speaking
- News, discussions
- Formal conversation
5. Reading
- Newspapers
- Academic-style texts
🔴 N1 (Advanced Level)
Goal: Near-native comprehension
1. Kanji
- ~2,000+ Kanji
2. Vocabulary
- ~10,000+ words
3. Grammar
- Highly nuanced grammar
- Idiomatic expressions
- Abstract and formal language
4. Listening & Speaking
- Fast native speech
- Debates, presentations
5. Reading
- Literature
- Editorials
- Complex essays
