How to study JLPT grammar

The method in six steps

1. Pick your level and start at its first group

   Start with the level you are preparing for, but check the level below first. If you cannot explain most of its patterns, go back one level. Each level page splits the grammar into topic groups such as conditionals or giving and receiving. Work through the groups in order instead of reading an alphabetical list.

2. Learn a group, not a single pattern

   Patterns in the same group do the same job in a sentence, which is why they get mixed up. Read every lesson in the group in one sitting, then write down in one line what makes each pattern different from its neighbours.

3. Compare the look-alikes directly

   Most lessons have an “X vs Y” section, and the comparison guides put the most confused patterns side by side. If two patterns feel interchangeable, you have not learned either yet.

4. Write your own sentence for every pattern

   Reading an example is recognition; writing one is recall. For each pattern, write one sentence about your own life. If you cannot, reread the “How to form” and “Common mistakes” sections of that lesson.

5. Meet the grammar in real text

   Paste a short Japanese passage into a text analyzer, look up the words you do not know, and spot the grammar you just studied. Seeing a pattern in context is what turns a rule into something you understand when reading.

6. Review before moving on

   Before starting the next group, answer the practice questions at the end of each lesson in the previous one without looking. Tick the group on the level checklist only when you can explain each pattern and use it.

Useful pages for these steps: the grammar comparison guides for step 3 and the free Japanese text analyzer for step 5.

A plan for every JLPT level

The table assumes 5 new patterns per study day, read once. Add review days on top, and adjust the pace to your schedule. See how these counts were compiled.

Where to start at each level

Each level page has a study checklist. These are the topic groups in order, so you can jump straight in.

Patterns learners confuse most

Work through these comparisons once you have studied the patterns in them:

• あげる vs くれる vs もらう (N4)
• はずだ vs べきだ vs ほうがいい (N5)
• から vs ので (N5)
• に vs で (N5)
• そうだ vs ようだ vs らしい vs みたい (N4)
• ために vs ように (N3)
• たら vs ば vs と vs なら (N4)
• わけだ vs わけではない vs わけがない vs わけにはいかない (N3)

Common study mistakes

• Collecting patterns without using them. Reading 20 lessons a day feels productive, but if you cannot write a sentence with a pattern, you have not learned it.
• Learning look-alikes on different days. ために and ように, or そうだ and らしい, only make sense next to each other. Study them in the same session.
• Skipping the level below. Higher-level explanations use lower-level grammar. Gaps at N5 and N4 slow down everything after.
• Only studying lists. Grammar questions on the test come in sentences and passages. Read real Japanese every week.