The word "ambiguity" roughly translates to "the quality of being open to more than one interpretation." This means that anything can be open to interpretation, and no two people might hold the exact same interpretations as the other.
As a Japanese teacher since 2015, one of the biggest challenges I face (outside of attracting students) is determining the exact level of my own Japanese language proficiency and that of prospective students. Unless the student is completely new to Japanese and has no prior experience (which, to me, is the best starting point for a student), I may have to deal with a student who had a previous teacher that either severely underestimated or overestimated their Japanese skills.
Before we start with what constitutes each level of fluency in Japanese, let me tell you about an all-too-common issue that I encounter when evaluating prospective students. I will share a true story of a short-lived student I had who was misled by her previous Japanese school.
Late last year, I was contacted by a woman in Dallas who was looking to continue her Japanese studies with a new teacher. She told me that her skills were "around intermediate level," which immediately piqued my interest, as most prospective students I get are mostly introductory or elementary level students. Before I drove out to Mitsuwa Plano (the major Japanese grocery store/deli/food court in Dallas), I made sure that I had my materials with me to test her skills and see if she was up to par.
When I met this woman, we grabbed lunch, and she told me that she had prior experience in Japan and had even learned Japanese at a school that specialized in accelerated Japanese programs for short-term visitors in Japan. Wanting to assess her abilities, I started off easy and gave her a text entirely in Hiragana and Katakana to test her reading skills and to see if she could understand basic Japanese. Not surprisingly, she could read all of it and even provided me with the English translation of the text.
Not bad. However, as I increased the difficulty level, it became evident that her skills were nowhere near intermediate Japanese. Not only could she not read very basic intermediate text, but when I asked her to use the Kanji Estimator on the Terakoya website, her estimated number of kanji came back as less than 100 (which is far below the 750 kanji required to attempt the JLPT N3 - Intermediate Japanese test).
Uncertain about how to proceed, I asked her to show me where she learned Japanese. She showed me the website of the school she attended in Japan, and it became apparent why she believed she was at an intermediate level. This school had the following criteria for the Intermediate Japanese classes:
- Able to read Hiragana and Katakana
- Able to read at least 100 kanji
I was shocked. Not only were these skills far from intermediate level, but this school had deceived this woman regarding the actual skills required for true intermediate Japanese proficiency, and she was still at a beginner level (despite mastering three different writing systems).
Although she enrolled in classes with me, she seemed bitter about the whole experience and eventually quit after a few weeks. I felt so bad for her...
While this is only one incident that I have experienced, it is common to see a lot of people asking what their true level of Japanese fluency is. In fact, to be completely honest, there are various interpretations of fluency.
One of my favorite people in history is Barry Farber. To those not familiar with his name, Barry was the founder of "The Language Club" and was also a long-time syndicated radio talk show host. Barry was a confirmed polyglot, being able to speak over 25 different languages at an intermediate level. His most famous book, "How to Learn Any Language" (a must-read for any serious language learner), talks about how you know when you are fluent in a language.
This is a direct excerpt from the book:
To Dr. Halberg, his definition of fluency is if he can give a medical lecture in that language and then be able to take hostile questions from his peers afterward. To be fair, that is a very lofty definition of fluency. But I am sure there are other people who might consider being fluent just by being able to "order a drink at the bar" or "asking a woman for her contact information after flirting with her."
So, as you can see, this also blurs the lines on what each individual's personal thoughts are on what is the beginner's level, intermediate level, and advanced level based on what their definition of fluency is.
So what do I think constitutes the levels of Japanese Fluency?
Let's break down Japanese into a few levels. It goes like this...
1. Pre-Elementary / Introductory
2. Elementary Japanese
3. Intermediate Japanese
4. Advanced Japanese
5. Native
Pre-Elementary / Introductory Japanese
This level runs concurrently with elementary Japanese but focuses on the introduction and mastery of the Hiragana and Katakana writing systems.
As a Japanese teacher, I believe that the sooner a student masters hiragana and katakana, the easier Japanese becomes to learn. What sickens me is when a Japanese teacher teaches romaji (or the usage of Roman characters) and then lets the student stick to using romaji for the rest of their time together. Using romaji completely defeats the purpose of learning Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. I have fired students in the past who insisted that I continue using romaji for them. So if you want to use romaji, I am not the teacher for you.
There is also a practical reason that I teach only hiragana and katakana at this point. Because the Japanese writing system is so intimidating to learners from the West, mastering the basics of both Hiragana and Katakana sets up the fundamentals of learning kanji. If you can do the little things right in hiragana and katakana, kanji becomes a lot easier to learn.
How long does this normally take? It depends on the seriousness of the student. If a student studies both hiragana and katakana for an hour a day every day, they could master it fully within a month (assuming a minimum of 28 days per month). But if they put in more serious study for longer periods each day (say 3 hours a day every day), then it is totally possible to master both of them in 2-3 weeks.
But the key phrase here is "serious study." Not goofing off.
Elementary Japanese
Once you finish mastering the basics of Hiragana and Katakana, you are ready to tackle Elementary Japanese (sometimes called Basic Japanese). Depending on what book or materials you use, what is covered might be slightly different, but generally, Elementary Japanese includes:
- The vocabulary and grammar of both the JLPT N5 and N4
- Around 350 - 500 kanji (the more you know, the better)
Some examples of Japanese grammar that are covered in Elementary Japanese include, but are not limited to:
Elementary Grammar Concepts
XはY です
Question Mark: か
Possession Particle: の
Basic Particles: は・が・を・で・に・へ・から・まで
Verbs and Verb Tenses:
Verb Classes
Dictionary Form (Short Form Present Affirmative)
Stem Form of a Verb
ます - Form (Long Form Present Affirmative)
た - Form (Short Form Past Affirmative)
〜ました - Form (Long Form Past Affirmative)
〜ない - Form (Short Form Present Negative)
〜ません -Form (Long Form Present Negative)
〜なかった - Form (Short Form Past Negative)
〜ませんでした - Form (Long Form Past Negative)
て - Form
ている Form
てある Form
てもいい
てはいけない
Obligatory Forms:
〜なくてはいけない
〜なければならない
〜なくちゃいけない
〜なくちゃ
Potential Form
Volitional Form
Passive Form
Causative Form
Passive - Causative Form
Conditional Form
Adjectives and Adverbs:
Classes of Japanese Adjectives
Basic Adjective Conjugations
Dictionary Forms
Short Forms
Negative Forms
Conditional Forms
In terms of vocabulary, the student is expected to know around 1,800 words and phrases. Going forward, you will need to not only know these 1,800 words and phrases but also to the higher levels of vocabulary and terminology as well.
Intermediate Japanese
Once you get into Intermediate Japanese, things start to pick up. Intermediate Japanese comprises:
- Vocabulary and grammar covered in the JLPT N5, N4, and now the N3 and N2.
Intermediate Japanese is a bit tricky to navigate. Back in the older days of the JLPT exams, prior to the creation of the five modern JLPT exams, there used to be four levels. This made it easier to distinguish between Introductory, Elementary, Intermediate, and Advanced levels of Japanese. But in 2010, after listening to students who had difficulty making the jump from the old N3 to the old N2, they added the new N3 to make it easier to get into Intermediate Japanese.
As such, what is covered in the JLPT N3 and N2 exams is a bit convoluted. What could be on the N3 one year might be
on the N2 next year, and vice versa. Even with all the books and materials that cater to the N2-N3 students, it is still very difficult to know if it will be on the test or not.
Some examples of grammar that might be included on the N3 and N2 include:
N3 Grammar
〜うちに
〜たびに
〜ば〜ほど
〜の通り
〜はずがない
〜とは限らない
〜のせいで・〜のおかげで
N2 Grammar
〜に際して
〜を問わず
Verbたとたんに
〜つつ
〜つつある
In terms of vocabulary, an additional 2,400 words are needed for the N3, while an additional 2,500 on top of that is needed for the N2. Altogether, you need around 6,700 words and phrases.
Advanced Japanese
Fortunately, Advanced Japanese is "easy" to study for, because this is as close to native as a Japanese learner might go. You can read newspapers, magazines, and any kind of literature to get your reading practice in and to learn new vocabulary. You can listen to Japanese radio or watch TV shows of any variety for your listening practice.
For Advanced Japanese, the only thing you need to do is prepare for all the JLPT levels' grammar and vocabulary. Most of the N1 grammar points are not commonly used in everyday speech but are used in more formal situations or are outdated by modern standards.
Some of these grammar points include, but are not limited to:
Verb (Dictionary Form / Short Form Past Tense)そばから
Verbてやまない
Nounに堪えない
Nounを禁じ得ない
For the total amount of words and phrases needed for Advanced Japanese, it is roughly around 2,800. If we add up all of the words and phrases needed from Beginner all the way to Advanced, the grand total 9,500 words and phrases.
Beginner: 1,800
Intermediate: 4,900
Advanced: 2,800
Now one other thing to consider as well are "sub-levels" within each level as well. If we really want to break them down further, it looks like this (From Advanced on the top, down to Pre-Elementary at the Bottom)
Advanced Japanese
High - Advanced
Middle - Advanced
Low - Advanced
Intermediate Japanese
High - Intermediate
Middle - Intermediate
Low - Intermediate
Elementary Japanese
High - Elementary
Middle - Elementary
Low - Elementary
Pre-Elementary Japanese
This can also pose a further problem because, throughout each level of Japanese, how can you judge which grammar points and vocabulary are considered more advanced than others, and what is considered easier than others? This is purely subjective to each individual person, and cannot be easily judged.
The journey of learning Japanese isn't meant to be easy or clear cut, as it involves the 4 main levels and the sub-levels in the Beginners, Intermediate, and Advanced levels. With my former student being misled by her previous school, it is absolutely crucial to assess one's skills and understand the true requirements of each proficiency level/ Fluency is not a "one size fits all" concept and can be interpreted differently based on the goals of the individual student as well as a personal definition of what fluency is to them.
As a Japanese teacher, I have seen firsthand the challenges that students face, from learning the basic stroke orders of Hiragana and Katakana to tackling more abstract advanced level grammar points. Each stage builds on top of each other, requiring a cumulative knowledge of vocabulary, kanji, grammar, and other skills to complete fluency. By understanding the levels and what sort of competencies make each level, students can set realistic goals and will be able to track and measure them more efficiently.
But, at the end of the day, learning Japanese is a very highly personal experience that will be different for each individual student. It is a journey that requires patience, dedication, and a high degree of flexibility that is necessary as things change in each level of fluency. Whether your goal is to be able to travel around Japan seamlessly or being able to use Japanese in a high-stakes corporate boardroom, recognizing your goals and being honest with yourself about your current capabilities will make you go a lot further in your studies.
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