How to revise vocab for JLPT level 2?

June 16, 2007 10:16 AM

I'm considering taking level 2 of the Japanese Languge Proficiency Test (JLPT). I read somewhere that you need to know 6,000 words for level 2. Does anyone know of any good text books for learning a large amount of vocabulary?

Could someone please also tell me if there is any software that can be used for JLPT level 2 vocab testing?

Thanks in anticipation.

posted by Tnuocca to Education (7 answers total)

If you haven't seen it yet Ice Mocha may be a good website for you. It does vocab testing with a flashcard-sort of interface, and will happily suggest jlpt words for you.

It's only Japanese to English, though, which I find somewhat annoying at times.

markesh--what do you mean by translated vocabulary? This page might have something like what you're looking for? Try also searching for "wwwjdic"
posted by that girl at 12:13 PM on June 16, 2007

yes, the wwwjdic is an excellent resource.

Jim Breen's edict file, while rather raw, is the most authoritative and exhaustive list of vocab that I'm aware of.

Also excellent is popjisyo.com, for in-place translation of text. 6 months of daily use of that will get you up to speed right quick.

Good luck with the 2-級. It's what separates the men from the boys (1 separates the Gods from the men).
posted by Heywood Mogroot at 1:26 PM on June 16, 2007

Unicom makes 日本語能力試験 practice books, and tailors them to specific levels and areas of study. They're absolutely stellar- I used them to help study for the 2級 and later for the 1級.

Try this book: Unicom's 1,2 kyuu Grammar and Vocabulary with 2 CDs

You might also want to browse around the other resources there; a lot of them could be very good for your purposes.
posted by NattyBumppo at 1:38 PM on June 16, 2007

There are a number of resources for JLPT study. Here's one page with links for JLPT materials, including vocabulary lists linked to online dictionaries. Another page with vocab lists and other resources including vocabulary sound files (JLPT2 word list: about 5000 words). The JLPT study page has vocab lists, expression lists and kanji for JLPT levels 4, 3 and 2. It looks nicely done.

Since you're going for JLPT 2, you might be able to use jlpt.info (japanese language only), where you can sign up for a free account and then vie past tests, etc.

As for software for study, I imagine your best bet would be to get a flashcard program and import one of the lists above. Another option is to print your own flashcards. A bit sad about these, they look very nice, but about 20% don't have an english translation, only german. Maybe you get to learn some german too? Hehe.

Good luck!
posted by splice at 1:42 PM on June 16, 2007

Also if you are in Japan - Tango Town, offers a service which includes mailing you a vocab word a day to your keitai for study.
posted by gomichild at 6:06 PM on June 16, 2007

The Kanzen master books can be a bit dry, but they`re a good resource if you`re serious. I used them, in conjunction with the Unicom books, and my electronic dictionary.
posted by Sar at 11:46 PM on June 16, 2007

I used the Mac app kotoba. I think it's a pretty sweet program.
posted by m3thod4 at 12:57 AM on June 18, 2007