JLPT N2 Vocab and Reading: Getting Started

This year I decided to go for the JLPT N2 exam at the end of the year, and started taking the official sample quizzes and such. One of the first things that’s struck me about the JLPT N2 compared to lower-level tests is the greater and greater emphasis on vocabulary and reading. Grammar is still important, but by the time you reach N2, you better have a solid foundation in the basics by now. But the huge volume of vocabulary can be daunting. If you don’t know the vocabulary really well either, you won’t be able to read either!

So, last year I already started to prepare, because I was undecided last year about whether to take the N2 or the new N3. And since there was no study material for the N3 yet, I bought a stack of books and study aids for the N2. I didn’t use these books much then, but this year I already started using these books to study and in some cases I was surprised as to how well they overlapped with certain manga I am reading. So this post is to help show some ways to build your Japanese vocab at the same time you build up your reading for the N2. This way is by no means the only way, but is what seems to work so far for me.

One thing to bear in mind: I bought these books before the JLPT test was revised and so these reflect the old JLPT2 exam, however I believe that the new N2 is about the same difficulty even though the test format and scoring have changed. Call it a gamble on my part, or just being a cheapskate.

The first book I’ve been reading is Unicom’s kanji and vocabulary guide for the old JLPT 2. I am not entirely sure if this book is still in print or not, but I believe copies can still be found. What I really like about this book is the layout. The book is divided into multiple sections covering commonly used kanji and the many words they appear in, kanji that have similar construction but different meaning, and just tons of words to learn. Many of the words are pretty relevant and I wish I had learned them sooner. The best part, is that in order to test yourself, many of the answers are printed in red, and the book comes with a red film that lets you hide them. I found this a bit easier in a way than dumping all the words into Anki, though for tougher words I can’t remember (or words that I learn that are not in the book) I use still put them into Anki.

The second vocabulary builder I use is nothing less than Japanese manga itself. I am not an anime or manga fan at all, but I do find particular books good. Long-time readers will recall my fascination with the Hyakunin Isshu poem anthology after reading a manga by Chibi Marukochan about the subject. Anyway, I’ve been reading several different manga series lately, off and on, and one series strikes me as being at the same level is the related “Ryo-san” series. Both the Chibi Marukochan and Ryo-san books are part of an educational series of manga for kids in grade school covering topics of history, math, geography, kanji, yojijukugo and so on. In particular, I’ve been reading the history series, and finished book 1 of 3 last week. Although it’s entirely unrelated to the JLPT, I found the difficulty and relevancy of vocabulary to overlap nicely. It’s nice to see stuff I learn for the JLPT appear in the Ryo-san books, and vice-versa.

A somewhat tougher but entertaining series to read is the award-winning manga 宇宙兄弟, which is a good read for adults interested in space, like myself. This series is definitely geared for adult readers, so it doesn’t have that annoying cartoonish look in children’s manga that I dislike, and deals with the real-life problem of getting older, trying to find direction in your life, etc, all in a light-hearted way. The dialogue can get pretty tough for me at times because it can be technical, or just very adult, but I’ve still found the story pretty engaging and am reading book 5 of 12.

Reading manga in general solves two issues: learning new vocab and being able to read it in context quickly and naturally. The JLPT tests, as I have learned, are pretty time sensitive, so you need to develop both skills pretty strongly through repeated practice, practice and more practice. But it doesn’t have to be boring though.

I’ll update this page as I try out other things. Whether I’ll pass the N2 this year or not is still another story. My initial efforts at taking the sample tests linked above were not so good. :-0