N3 roadmap

N3 is the bridge between textbook Japanese and the Japanese people actually use. You’re ready to start here if plain forms and the て-form feel easy and you can follow slow everyday conversations. Not sure? Try the official sample questions for N3 and N4. If N4 still feels hard, start with the N4 roadmap.

This guide suggests a study sequence, not a deadline or a guarantee of JLPT readiness. Everything below can be done for free. My suggested free route is IRODORI Pre-Intermediate with its audio, Anki or renshuu reviews, graded readers, then easier news and articles such as MATCHA Easy Japanese, then short everyday texts, and the official practice tests. Where I mention a paid option, it is optional.

1. Know what N3 asks of you

The official level summary describes N3 as “the ability to understand Japanese used in everyday situations to a certain degree,” including conversations at near-natural speed.

• Three timed sections. Vocabulary (30 minutes), grammar and reading (70 minutes), and listening (40 minutes), per the official breakdown.
• Three separate scores. Unlike N4, language knowledge (vocabulary and grammar), reading, and listening are each scored out of 60.
• What it takes to pass. At least 95 of 180 overall, plus at least 19 of 60 in each of the three, per the scoring rules.
• New question types. Reading adds a long passage, and listening adds questions about the overall point of what you hear.
• Scores are scaled, so a practice-test percentage can’t be turned into an official score.
• Every question is multiple choice, with no speaking or writing, and the JLPT publishes no official vocabulary, kanji, or grammar lists.
• CEFR reference. Since December 2025, score reports for people who pass N3 show a CEFR level: A2 for 95 to 103 points, B1 for 104 or more. It doesn’t cover speaking or writing.

Facts last checked: October 29, 2026, on jlpt.jp.

2. What makes N3 feel hard

N3 is often called a big jump. What actually changes is that sentences get longer, writers leave things out, and texts stop being written for learners. You can practice each one.

Long sentences. Japanese puts descriptions before the noun they describe, so a long sentence can hide a simple core. Find the main predicate at the end, whether it is built around a verb, an adjective, or a noun, in plain or polite form. Then find the topic, and work out what each description attaches to.

昨日駅の前で会った人は、私が去年まで働いていた会社の社長でした。 (きのう えきの まえで あった ひとは、わたしが きょねんまで はたらいていた かいしゃの しゃちょうでした: The person I met in front of the station yesterday was the president of the company I worked for until last year.)

The core is 人は社長でした (ひとは しゃちょうでした: the person was the president). 昨日駅の前で会った describes 人, and 私が去年まで働いていた describes 会社.

Missing subjects. Japanese often drops words that are clear from context.

「昨日、あの映画を見に行った？」「うん、行った。でも、ちょっと長かった。」 (「きのう、あの えいがを みに いった？」「うん、いった。でも、ちょっと ながかった。」: “Did you go to see that movie yesterday?” “Yeah, I did. It was a bit long, though.”)

The missing subjects are “you,” “I,” and “the movie.” When a sentence seems to have no subject, use the context to work out who is acting or what is being described.

Reference words and connectors. In reading, そこ (there), その (that, before a noun), and このように (in this way) often point back to something already mentioned. しかし (however), そのため (because of that), and つまり (in other words) tell you where the text is going.

駅の近くに新しいパン屋ができた。そこのパンはとても安い。しかし、朝しか開いていない。 (えきの ちかくに あたらしい パンやが できた。そこの パンは とても やすい。しかし、あさしか あいていない。: A new bakery opened near the station. The bread there is very cheap. However, it’s only open in the morning.)

When you see a reference word, find what it points to. When you see a connector, guess what comes next before you read on.

Real text. Move to real writing in three steps: graded readers, then supported text with furigana or a built-in dictionary, then everyday text with less help, such as short blog posts, shop or event notices, or regular news about a story you have already read in easy Japanese. If you need several lookups in every sentence, step back to something easier.

3. A routine that fits your day

Pick the version that fits today. You can switch any day.

• 15 minutes: your vocabulary reviews, then rotate through the week between a grammar example, a short reading, and a listening clip. Finish by saying one sentence of your own.
• 30 minutes: reviews, one grammar pattern, a short easy reading, and one listening clip using the loop in section 7.
• 60 minutes: the 30-minute version, plus a careful reading of a harder text and a few sentences of your own about it, said aloud or written down.

If reviews take more than half of your time, stop adding new cards until they shrink. If you miss a week, don’t try to catch up all at once. Do only your reviews for a day or two, then pick up where you left off.

4. Learn grammar from sentences you meet

N3 grammar is mostly patterns that add nuance. Learn each from an example, then watch for it in your reading:

• ようにしている (making a point of doing): 毎日日本語のニュースを聞くようにしています。 (まいにち にほんごの ニュースを きくように しています: I make a point of listening to Japanese news every day.)
• はず (expectation): 田中さんはもう駅に着いたはずです。 (たなかさんは もう えきに ついた はずです: Tanaka should have reached the station by now.)
• によって (depending on): 国によって習慣が違います。 (くにに よって しゅうかんが ちがいます: Customs differ from country to country.)
• わけではない (it’s not that…): 納豆が嫌いなわけではありません。 (なっとうが きらいな わけでは ありません: It’s not that I dislike natto.)
• ことになる (it’s been decided): 来月から大阪で働くことになりました。 (らいげつから おおさかで はたらく ことに なりました: It’s been decided that I’ll work in Osaka from next month.)

For explanations, use Tae Kim’s guide or IMABI. The JLPT Sensei N3 grammar list shows what is commonly taught at this level. There is no official list, so treat it as a map, not a checklist. Bunpro is a paid option with a trial if you want structured grammar review.

For a free course, IRODORI’s Pre-Intermediate book from the Japan Foundation targets CEFR A2 to B1 everyday communication, with free audio. It isn’t a JLPT course, but it fits this level. If you want a paid textbook, TOBIRA I: Intermediate Japanese, the 2025 revision of the widely used Tobira textbook, is a common next step after beginner study. For test-focused books, the paid Shin Kanzen Master and Nihongo Sō-matome series have N3 volumes split by skill. You don’t need any of them.

Keep the habit from earlier levels: after reading an example, change one part and say the new sentence.

5. Grow vocabulary and kanji through words

At N3, kanji components and shared readings start to pay off. 動 (どう) appears in 運動 (うんどう: exercise) and 動物 (どうぶつ: animal), and as 動く (うごく: to move). Add the person component 亻 and you get 働, as in 働く (はたらく: to work) and 労働 (ろうどう: labor), where the reading どう carries over.

The vocabulary section tests words in use, so learn new words in a sentence and notice the words they usually appear with. Keep your Anki (free on desktop and Android) or renshuu reviews going, and add cards from what you read.

You can also start using a Japanese-Japanese dictionary now and then. Kotobank is free. Try it on a word you half know, and go back to Jisho whenever the definition is harder than the word.

6. Read more, and read longer

Most of your reading should still be easy and plentiful. A smaller part should be slow and careful.

• The Tadoku free graded readers at levels 3 and 4 give longer stories. Tadoku levels describe reading difficulty; they are not JLPT levels.
• NHK News Web Easy rewrites current news in simpler Japanese with furigana, a good bridge toward regular news.
• MATCHA Easy Japanese has travel and culture articles in simpler Japanese.
• Watanoc has an archive of short articles tagged by level, including N3. Many date from 2016, so practical details may be out of date.
• Satori Reader has intermediate stories with built-in support. Some content is free, and the rest needs a paid subscription.

For careful reading, take one short article and use the steps from section 2, then sum it up in a sentence or two. Time yourself regularly, too: the long passage comes late in the 70-minute section, so practice reading a full page without stopping for every word.

7. Listen at near-natural speed

N3 listening is closer to natural speed, and some questions ask for the main point rather than a single fact. Listen daily, even briefly. Good free sources:

• the audio for IRODORI Pre-Intermediate;
• Nihongo con Teppei, a free podcast in natural, spontaneous Japanese. Start with the beginner episodes, and try the original archive when they feel easy. The free episodes don’t come with transcripts, so use them for unaided listening;
• the N3 audio in the official sample questions.

For audio that comes with a script or transcript, use this loop:

1. Listen once without the text.
2. Read the text to see what you missed.
3. Listen again while following along.
4. Listen once more without help.

Once you understand a clip, try shadowing it: say the lines along with the audio, just behind it. For main-point questions, sum up a clip in one sentence after the first listen. N3 also keeps N4’s short items where you pick what to say or the best reply, so keep practicing quick exchanges.

8. Check yourself with official practice

Try the official sample questions early. They show one example of each question type, which tells you what feels slow, not whether you are ready.

For full practice tests, both official practice workbooks are free to download, with audio, answers, and listening scripts. Print the answer sheet and time each section. N3’s section times haven’t changed since the workbooks were made, so you can use today’s limits.

Keep a short list of what went wrong and why: a word, grammar, a sentence you couldn’t untangle, or time. Track your accuracy separately for vocabulary and grammar, reading, and listening. That shows where you are weak, but real scores are scaled, so it can’t tell you whether you’d meet the official minimums.

If you are sitting the December test, my 7-week plan for the December JLPT turns this into a week-by-week schedule. To register outside Japan, find your local host institution on the official list of test sites. In Japan, see Taking the Test in Japan.

Pick tomorrow’s small step

Choose one text you would like to understand, such as a news story or an article, and read just the first paragraph tomorrow. You don’t need every step every day.

You can browse the resources by level, see the best free resources by level, or find more in Kana and kanji tools.

Next: N2 roadmap

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I’m Jason Kobayashi, and I run and update this site. How PeraNabi works.