1. learning
  2. languages
  3. japanese
  4. n2

japanesen2in 114 days

Japanese for work, the news and real books: the words and written grammar of grown-up Japanese, one lesson a day.

  • free, no sign-up
  • 367 kanji · 1780 words
  • audio · writing · practice exams
Start day 1All 1786 words
  • 0 xp
  • 0 day streak
  • 0 / 1786 words met
  • 0 cards due
  • 0 / 114 dots

at a glance

JLPT N2 (estimated level). About 30 minutes a day, in bites of one to three minutes.

  • 114days
  • 17units
  • 1,786words
  • 50writing & speaking tasks
  • 2practice exams

before you start

The JLPT N3 level, for example our Japanese N5, N4 and N3 courses: plain, polite and humble Japanese, the grammar that joins long sentences, and the 612 kanji of N5 to N3. Their words come back in every lesson here without being taught again.

pick your pace

People who decide when and how much stick with it far more often. Pick one: you can change it any time.

No pace picked yet. Steady is a great start.

your path

114 dots in 17 units. Every lesson is open, so jump anywhere. The pink dot is your next one.

free tools

print & share

Branded PDFs to print, stick on the fridge or send to a friend who wants to learn with you.

⬇ the whole course (PDF) ⬇ writing workbook (PDF)
One PDF per unit

questions & answers

Is it really free? Do I need an account?

Yes, it is free: every lesson, the audio, the writing practice and both practice exams, with no sign-up and no ads. There is no account either. Your progress is saved only in this browser, on this device, and clearing your browser data resets it.

How long does it take?

114 days of about 30 minutes: 95 days of new words and grammar, 17 review missions and 2 practice exams. N2 is the biggest single step of the JLPT (more new words than N5 and N4 together), so go at your own pace; nothing is locked.

Does it match the JLPT N2?

The Japan Foundation has published no official word, kanji or grammar list since 2010, so no course can promise an exact match. We follow the widely used community lists for N2 (about 1,700 new words, 367 kanji and 63 grammar points), add the high-frequency patterns those lists leave out, and copy the layout of the real exam: language knowledge and reading together (105 minutes) and listening (50 minutes), 180 points with a pass at 90 and at least 19 in each of its three scores. The level is an estimated JLPT N2 level, and this is not official JLPT material.

I finished N3. What is new here?

Everything in our N5, N4 and N3 courses is used here without being taught again, so each day adds only new things: words for work, money, health, science, nature, culture and the news, and the N2 grammar of articles, business mail and careful speech (～に伴って, ～をめぐって, ～ざるを得ない, ～かねない, ～ものの, ～に際して and many more).

What will I read and write, and is there rōmaji?

The 367 new kanji of N2 to read and write, on top of the 612 of N5 to N3; other words appear in their usual spelling with furigana (small kana above the kanji). Rōmaji is off by default, because the real exam uses none; you can still switch it on for any lesson.

Plain, polite or written Japanese?

All three, as Japanese people use them: polite です/ます Japanese and keigo at work, plain Japanese with friends and family, and the written style of newspapers, reports and notices (である, ～ゆえ, ～に際して), which N2 reading texts are full of.

after this course

Next comes Japanese JLPT N1. It is on our map: see what’s coming.

All japanese levels

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