How to use these sample questions
Each box below is one question in the JFT-Basic format. It has the English instruction band at the top, the Japanese stimulus, and the answer choices. Click a choice to see whether you were right, why, and why the other choices are wrong.
These are original questions. They follow the official question types and the official screen layout, but the scenes, people and words are new. They are not copied from the Japan Foundation's samples or from any past test. The official samples are free on the Japan Foundation's JFT-Basic site. Try those as well.
The real test has about 50 questions in 60 minutes. Here you get one per type, 13 questions in all. For the full experience, take the full mock test.
Section 1: Script and Vocabulary
This section has four question types. In the official samples, each has three choices, and each item is a single question. You should spend well under a minute on each.
Word meaning: match the picture to the word
Try it · Word meaning
Look at the illustration and choose the correct word.
How to approach it. All three choices come from the same family, here feelings and body states, in the same grammatical form. So the question is never "which word is a real word?" but "which one does the picture show?". Look for the one detail that rules out the others: a yawn, a tear, a hand on the stomach, sweat. Learn words in these families together (ねむい・つかれた・いたい; なきます・わらいます・おこります), because the test puts the family side by side.
Word usage: the word that fits the sentence
Try it · Word usage
Choose the word that best fits in the blank.
A supervisor is talking to a worker at the end of the day.
あしたは あめですから、かさを きて ください。
How to approach it. The choices are in the same form (here, all て-forms), so grammar won't help you. You need collocation: which verb goes with this noun. Japanese has different verbs for "wear" and "carry" depending on the object, and the test likes these sets. When you learn a verb, learn it with its usual object: ぼうしを かぶる, くつを はく, シャツを きる, かさを もつ.
Kanji reading: the reading of the underlined word
Try it · Kanji reading
Choose the correct reading of the underlined word.
You are reading a sign at the door of a clinic.
うけつけは 午前 ９時からです。
How to approach it. The three choices usually differ by one sound: voiced or unvoiced (せ or ぜ), long or short (ご or ごう), or a small っ. Recognising the kanji is not enough. You must know its exact reading. Say the word aloud when you study it, and test yourself by covering the hiragana. Words for time, days and places (午後・今週・入口・出口) are good to drill.
Kanji meaning and usage: the kanji word that fits
Try it · Kanji meaning and usage
Choose the word that best fits in the blank.
Aung is writing about yesterday.
きのう えきの まえで ともだちを ３０ぷん 。
How to approach it. Here the sentence is in hiragana and the choices are in kanji. All three share the same ending (〜ちました), so you choose by meaning. The test often uses kanji that look alike: 待 and 持 differ only on the left side. Read the whole sentence first, decide what the verb must mean, then find the kanji. Our vocabulary and kanji list groups look-alike kanji.
Section 2: Conversation and Expression
This section tests whether you can choose the right form (grammar) and the right phrase (expression) in everyday conversation.
Grammar: the form that fits the dialogue
Try it · Grammar
Choose the word that best fits in the blank.
Aung and his co-worker Sato are talking at break time.
- さとう
- アウンさん、日本語が じょうずに なりましたね。
- アウン
- ありがとうございます。毎日 電車で ラジオを べんきょうして います。
- さとう
- へえ、すごいですね。
How to approach it. In the official grammar sample there are four choices, and they are often the same verb in four forms. Every choice is correct Japanese somewhere. Only one fits the words right after the gap and the meaning of the whole line. So read past the gap: here, べんきょうして います describes an ongoing habit, which calls for "while" (〜ながら), not "if" or "because". Common frames to know: 〜ながら, 〜てから, 〜たら, 〜ために, 〜ので, 〜ても, 〜つもり.
Expression: the right phrase for the situation
Try it · Expression
Choose the best expression to fill in the blank.
Dewi has finished work and is leaving. Her co-worker Kato is still working.
How to approach it. Expression questions test set phrases, and all three choices are real, polite phrases. The question is which one fits this moment. Use the other person's reply as your clue: おつかれさまでした answers someone who is leaving work. Learn phrases in pairs, as call and response: いってきます / いってらっしゃい, おさきに しつれいします / おつかれさまでした, すみません / いいえ.
Section 3: Listening Comprehension
The audio below plays with your browser's Japanese voice until our recorded clip is ready, so the speed and voices may differ from the real test. On the real test, the English question appears on screen, the choices are pictures, each clip plays up to twice, and you cannot go back to an earlier listening question.
Conversation: understanding an exchange
Try it · Conversation
Listen to the conversation and choose the correct picture.
Two co-workers, Kimura and Bishnu, are talking about the weekend. What will Bishnu do on Sunday?
Play as often as you like
How to approach it. In this type, all three pictures are usually mentioned in the audio, so hearing a word is not enough. You must catch which one the question is about. Read the question first, and fix the key detail in your head: here, Sunday and Bishnu. Then listen for refusals (ちょっと…, 〜はちょっと) and corrections (いいえ、〜です). Use the second play to confirm, not to start from zero.
At shops and public places: what the customer gets
Try it · At shops and public places
Listen to the conversation and choose the correct picture.
A man is talking to a clerk in a clothes shop. Which shirt does the man buy?
Play as often as you like
How to approach it. Shop and counter conversations often have a problem and a solution: the item is sold out, the size is wrong, the counter is closed, the bus doesn't go there. The first thing the customer asks for is often not what they get. Look at how the pictures differ (here: colour and size) and listen for each of those details. Keigo you should recognise from shop talk: ございます, 申し訳ありません, 〜でしたら.
Announcements and instructions: two questions, one clip
Try it · Announcements and instructions
Listen to the announcement and answer the two questions.
You are at a train station and hear an announcement about the trains.
Play as often as you like
How to approach it. One clip carries two questions, so read both questions and look at both rows of pictures before you press play. Announcements follow a pattern: what happened, what to do, what not to do. Listen for instruction endings (〜てください, 〜をご利用ください) and warnings (ご注意ください, 〜ないでください, 〜必要はありません). On the first play, answer question 1. On the second, answer question 2 and check question 1.
Section 4: Reading Comprehension
In reading, the instruction band is in English, but the questions and the choices are in Japanese.
Comprehending content: a message or notice
Try it · Comprehending content
Read the message and answer the two questions.
You go to a Japanese class at a community centre. Your teacher sent this message to the class.
日本語クラスの みなさんへ
みなさん、こんにちは。しみんセンターの 日本語クラスの たなかです。 来週の 水曜日は、センターの 電気の 工事が あるので、教室が 使えません。それで、クラスは 木曜日に かわります。時間は いつもと 同じ 午後７時から ８時半までです。場所は センターでは なくて、となりの 図書館の ２かいの へやです。 それから、来週は びょういんで 使う ことばを べんきょうします。いつもの 教科書の ほかに、ほけんしょうの コピーを 持って きて ください。ほんものの ほけんしょうは 持って こなくても いいです。 わからない ことが あったら、メールで しつもんして ください。
How to approach it. Read the questions first, then the text. The wrong choices usually reuse words from the text in the wrong way: the right place but the wrong day, the thing you do not need to bring. The key paraphrases the text. Watch the small words that change meaning: 〜では なくて (not X but Y), 〜の ほかに (in addition to), 〜なくても いいです (you don't have to).
Information search: find it in a document
Try it · Information search
Look at the information and answer the two questions.
Nguyen picked up this leaflet at the city pool.
みどり市民プール ご利用案内
営業時間 9:00〜21:00（月曜日休み） ※土・日・祝日は、大人の2時間料金が500円になります。
| 2時間まで | 1日 | |
|---|---|---|
| 大人（高校生以上） | 400円 | 700円 |
| 子ども（小学生・中学生） | 200円 | 350円 |
| 65歳以上 | 200円 | 350円 |
How to approach it. Don't read the whole document. Read the question, pick out the conditions (who, which day, how long), and then scan for them. Information-search questions usually need two conditions at once, and the document hides a trap in a note marked ※, a weekend price or a closed day. Real documents use more kanji than the rest of the test, so learn the common notice words: 営業時間・料金・休み・大人・子ども・以上・祝日.
What these samples tell you about the real test
Across all 11 types, a few patterns repeat:
- Every choice is plausible on its own. The context decides the answer, so always read (or listen to) the whole item.
- The traps are predictable: look-alike kanji, one-sound differences in readings, a changed plan in a conversation, a note in a document. Train yourself to spot them.
- Speed comes from recognition. Vocabulary and conversation items should take seconds, which leaves time for listening and reading.
- There is no section minimum. Every correct answer adds to one total score (see the score guide), so a fast, confident first section helps everything after it.
The order, timing and navigation rules are explained in the JFT-Basic test format guide.
Next steps
- Check your level with the free 12-question practice test. It gives you an estimated band.
- Sit a full paper with the 60-minute mock test, under one clock, with the two-play listening rule.
- Drill your weakest section in section practice. For listening, add the short clips in our free JFT-Basic listening practice. For the grammar items, try the JFT-Basic grammar quiz.
- Study from the official course. The Japan Foundation recommends its free Irodori coursebook and online course, and the study plan shows how to fit them around practice tests.