You register for one level and you cannot change it. Here is how to make the choice.
The short answer
If you have any external goal — a visa, a job, an application — register for N4.
N5 is not required by anything. It does not satisfy the Specified Skilled Worker language requirement, it does not appear in job advertisements, and no university asks for it. It is a personal milestone, not a qualification.
N4, by contrast, satisfies the SSW language requirement (alongside JFT-Basic at 200+). That single fact is the difference between the two levels in practical terms.
The difference in content
| N5 | N4 | |
|---|---|---|
| Kanji (estimated) | ~100 | ~300 |
| Vocabulary (estimated) | ~800 | ~1,500 |
| Grammar | です/ます, basic particles, present and past | て-form and what attaches to it, plain form, ない-form, obligation, permission |
| Pass mark | 80/180 | 90/180 |
| Time from zero | 3–6 months | 6–12 months |
The vocabulary roughly doubles and the verb system arrives properly. That is the substance of the gap: N4 is where Japanese verbs start behaving like a system rather than a set of fixed endings.
Kanji and vocabulary figures are estimates — the JLPT publishes no official lists.
When N5 is the right choice
When you would otherwise fail N4. A pass at N5 is worth more than a fail at N4, and not only for morale: a failed sitting costs six months, because the JLPT runs twice a year.
When you need a near-term deadline to study against. This is a real and legitimate use. Beginners with a dated exam twelve weeks out study more consistently than beginners without one.
When something specifically asks for it. Some language school placements do.
The honest test
Do not decide by feel. Decide by evidence:
Sit a full-length timed N4 past paper under real conditions. If you are close to 90 out of 180 and clearing the sectional minimums, register for N4. If you are far off, register for N5.
Do this at least a month before the registration deadline, so the answer can still change your plan.
Remember the sectional minimums: N4 requires 38/120 on Language Knowledge & Reading and 19/60 on Listening. A candidate who totals 95 but scores 18 on listening fails. See JLPT passing scores.
If your goal is working in Japan
Then there is a third option that is usually better than either.
JFT-Basic satisfies the same SSW language requirement as N4, and it runs roughly monthly rather than twice a year. For a candidate on a timeline, that frequency difference is worth more than everything else on this page.
The common sensible sequence:
- JFT-Basic for the visa, as fast as possible.
- N4, then N3, studied while the rest of the SSW process runs — the skills test, the employer search, the Certificate of Eligibility, which together take six months to a year.
That way the language qualification never becomes the thing you are waiting on. See JFT-Basic or JLPT and the N4 guide.
Our free practice test is JFT-Basic-shaped and will give you an honest read on roughly where you sit today, by section, in about fifteen minutes.