Test Your Japanese Listening Might: Stage 1
The “Test Your Japanese Might” series here has been a fun way for you to test your current level and progress in studying Japanese. It was created 4.5 years ago, and people are still using it today to find where they stand. I had always planned for the day when I would expand on it to test your other skills. Well today is that day. It’s time to test your Japanese listening might.
The test works similarly to the original series, but with audio in its place.
Level Blocks
The test is separated into level blocks. Start at level 1, regardless of what level you think you may be.
Five Short Audio Clips
Your goal is to be able to comprehend what is being said in the each clip. Each group of clips is taken from one specific popular anime. Why anime? Because… it’s anime. Later levels will mix in other more difficult audio like news.
Passing a Level Block
Learning experience and materials you’ve used are varied. Your easy Edo history conversation is not my easy legal conversation. To make this fair, to move onto the next level block you only need to understand 3 out of 5 clips.
What Does Understand Mean?
By understanding 3 of 5 clips, you must be able to:
Listen to the sentence(s) and “comprehend” 85% of what you’ve just heard with the ability to respond to the sentence(s) as if you heard them in a conversation. It does not mean you can translate it into English. This is irrelevant. Ask yourself this. Could you continue this conversation with the other person? Not sure if you can? Try saying something in response.
*You can listen to each clip as many times as you want. This doesn’t change your comprehension percentage.
Failing a level block. Where do you stand?
You passed the level 10 block and failed the level 20. So what level are you actually? Take the level block you failed and see how much you knew.
● Understood two clips fully, and some of another clip: you are closer to level 17-19.
● Understood one clip completely, but none of the others: closer to 14-17.
● Understood some of one clip, but nothing of the rest? Closer to 11-13.
Or more simply, take what percentage you understood of the 5 combined clips and add that to the previously passed level:
80% understood: level 18
40% understood: level 14
10% understood: level 11
For the super beginners out there: if you fail level 1, you are level 1. We’ve all been there.
Begin!
Level 1: Newbie
Level 5: Beginner
Level 10: Elementary
Level 20: Intermediate
Made it to intermediate? Congratulations. You are going to have to wait till the next stage to see how high you can climb. Didn’t fare so well? Don’t worry. You will soon.
To all those taking the test, I would love it if in the comments section you could list your:
1. Test results level
2. How long you’ve been studying Japanese for
3. What materials/method(s) you are using
This will help those who have taken the test have something to compare their results to. If you pass all levels tested in Stage 1, continue onto Stage 2 (coming in the near future).
Founder of Jalup. iOS Software Engineer. Former attorney, translator, and interpreter. Still watching 月曜から夜ふかし weekly since 2013.
Passed level 20 with 100% comprehension on clips 1, 3, and 4, 5 on first listen; 100% comprehension on 2 on second listen. For 2, the first time around I basically understood the sentence, but there was one word that I didn’t catch.
I’ve been studying Japanese for about 3 1/2 years. The first two years of that was just classes and almost no self study. When I discovered Jalup (April of 2015-ish, I think), my self study increased greatly and I went from around level 15 to about 45, which my current level.
As for study methods, my Anki looks like this: Jalup RTK mod deck, Heisig recognition deck, J-E deck (which I have not added cards to in a long time), personal J-J deck (currently at about 300 cards, but I’ve been making 10-15 cards a day), and Manan’s deck. I prefer to keep my decks separate.
I add sentences to my J-J deck when I see words that I want to know in novels or manga that I am reading. I watch anime on a fairly consistent basis, but am usually too lazy to block the subtitles since I am primarily a tablet user. I listen to music in Japanese every day, and sometimes drama cds.
Passed all levels with 100% comprehension. A couple I had to listen to again because I missed one word, which immediately became clear on the second go.
I’ve been studying using the JALUP method for…almost 4 years I think? For a bit over 3 of those years I’ve been in contact with Japanese every day, though to varying degrees. If I had done hardcore immersion for all 3 of those years I’d probably be amazing right now, but oh well.
1. Test results level
100% on everything.
I have seen 3 of the four shows listed (currently watching original dragonball, up to piccolo arc)
2. How long you’ve been studying Japanese for
November 2013-feb 2014 kanji using RTK, 2014 late feb to now sentences/immersion
3. What materials/method(s) you are using
antimoon/jalup/ajatt whatever you want to call it immersion and sentences. Though I rarely add sentences these days.
Mostly watch anime and do passive immersion during work.
Do reps and read novels on the train back and forth.
Dabble in some games and manga here and there too.
Read web articles quite a bitttttttttt, especially jp.IGN.
I wanna finish RTK 3 (start) as well………………
I am at level 10 if I understood the 4th sound bit correctly. I could easily write the sounds below here. I have no difficulty discerning the individual characters. It just depends on whether I am interpreting the sounds correctly。If so then I am pretty sure that I understand it and could easily respond to it. I would at least be able to ask a relevant clarifying question as to what she meant and the way I would respond would still be very similar either way.
And just remember this only tests listening, and people have different levels of all 4 skills based on where they are. For example, someone who is level 25 generally could have Speaking: 25, reading: 35, listening: 15, writing: 25.
Thanks for the perspective :’)
Just to put my comment more in context, I have been studying since April of this year, 3 months of which were split between a video immersion site, Fluentu and a Rita M. Lampkin’s Essentials of Japanese Grammar and Verbs, I then started on the Jalup series and dropped Fluentu and the grammar book for the most part. I now use Fluentu for listening and shadowing as well as JapanesePod101. I actively watch one anime episode a night without any subtitles.
On the bright side, I have been returning to listen to the intermediate clips regularly. More and more of it is starting to become clear just by repeated exposure. I can comprehend more today than yesterday. I don’t yet have 3 instances of 85%+ understanding of a clip, but maybe 1 instance of 100% and another of 90% with the others closer to 50% comprehension, so I am thinking I could be around level 17.
This listen through I almost made it to 3 instances of 80+ percent. I want to say it is 100%, 100%, 70% for the first, fourth and fifth respectively, leaving me with I want to say a level 19. That is a two level improvement over a month ago, so I that is encouraging!
Had to look up 紹介. According to this I’m level 19, which makes sense for listening. I understand almost all of each of the level 20 audio, but only 2 fully (missing a word or two in the other 3)
Gosh, I just can’t understand Crablante’s accent. I actually just have trouble with nonstandard voices in general (pitch, dialect, etc), but I know that will go with time.
I’ve been studying 9 months and I use the JALUP decks (almost done with intermediate), lots of manga and as of 2 months ago, a decent chunk of anime.
Remember, you don’t have to understand a line fully to pass it. 85% of a line means you can miss a word or two (when the line is a full sentence).
Yeah, I was trying to use different characters to vary the accents. I know some anime accents can be harder than others.
You’re right, maybe I’m being a big harsh on myself. I definitely understand the general meaning of each sentance, just missing some of the grammar. After reading and listening to stuff for so long the mind learns to just ignore or assume the parts you don’t understand.
Passed everything at 100%
I started learning japanese back in 2008, but I didn’t have much ressources and language classes in my native country are pretty bad. I only really stated making progress when I got to Japan in 2010. I attended intensive japanese lectures from the university where I was enrolled for a semester and those where awesome. I went from something shy of level 20 to maybe 30 something. But then I had to focus on regular classes, graduation, work etc, so I stayed there for a while. I got the N2 with a 0 point margin (thank you random luck) and I thought I would be stuck in limbo forever. Then I found this website mid 2014, learned about anki and got a lot of motivation :) I have been steadily working since then. (Sorry for the wall of text)
Not sure about a couple things in the level 20 block, but I easily passed it.
I’ve been studying since September 12, 2014 pretty much following Jalup from the beginning. I’ve done up to Expert stage 2. I watch roughly 2 anime a day on average. I’m at about level 37 and I think my listening is around that level too (but we’ll see).
Well shit, that was a confidence booster despite my on-off relationship with Japanese.
1. 100%!
2. Waaaay too long. “Serious” studying for about 3 years now.
3. At the moment, nothing. My usual method is old Hideo Kojima podcasts on my iPod shuffle.
Horray, this is finally out! Now to figure out just how bad my listening really is.
What’s the Level 5 anime? Might want to put sources on these clips for the future.
It’s from the anime Fruits Basket.
Level 5
Just over 1 month of study
RTK with anki and the Japanese from Zero book series/website/videos!
:P