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What Are the JLPT N5–N1 Levels?
The JLPT has five levels, N5 (easiest) to N1 (hardest). Here's what each adds to your kanji load — and how to pick where to start in Kanji Monster.
The Japanese-Language Proficiency Test measures reading and listening across five levels. For kanji study, the useful thing to know is roughly how many characters each level introduces, so you can choose a board that stretches you without overwhelming you. Because no official, updated JLPT kanji list has been published since the 2010 revision, Kanji Monster's data was built in-house from the per-level kanji lists widely used within the community — a difficulty breakdown that is plenty useful for study.
The five levels
The first characters every learner meets — numbers, days, simple verbs.
Everyday vocabulary and basic compound words.
The intermediate bridge; where reading starts to open up.
Denser text: news, workplace, and formal writing.
Advanced and specialised characters for near-native reading.
Where should you start?
If you're new to kanji, start at N5 with a small 4×4 board and work up. If you can already read simple sentences, N4–N3 is a comfortable challenge. Use bigger grids once a level feels easy — the density is the difficulty.
- New to kanji → N5, 3×3 or 4×4
- Know the basics → N4, 5×5
- Reading sentences → N3, 6×6
- Going for mastery → N2–N1, 8×8 or 10×10