Japan Kanji Aptitude Test (Kanken)
It is not only about being able to read and write kanji, but also about how to use them correctly in writing. The Kanken is a test of such abilities.
More than 2.6 million people have received
The Japan Kanji Proficiency Test (Kanken), as its name implies, is a test of kanji knowledge, and since becoming an official test authorized by the Ministry of Education (now the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) in 1992, the number of examinees has been increasing rapidly, with a total of 2.6 million people taking the test in fiscal 2006. It is a large-scale certification test that is popular among a wide range of people, from children to adults.
Kanji are ideographs that originated in China and came to Japan. Each character represents a meaning, but how many are there in total? Actually, no one knows the exact number. One theory is that there are as many as 200,000 characters, so many that it is impossible to count them all. However, many of them are "variant characters" that differ slightly from standard kanji, or "dead characters" that are no longer in use.
First, master the kanji in your textbooks!
Everyone learns only 1006 kanji characters in elementary school and 939 in junior high and high school. Considering the number of all kanji, this is only a fraction of the total. However, if you learn the meanings and usages of these characters, you should have no trouble reading and writing them in everyday life.
Therefore, the first step is to study the kanji in your school textbooks. If you have learned most of the kanji up to the third grade of junior high school, you should be able to pass the third grade of the Kanji Proficiency Test (Kanken).
The more you know about the world of kanji, the more interesting it becomes and the more you discover new things. If you find that the kanji you learn at school are not enough for you, you should actively try to learn the higher grades.
Examination Information
| What are the eligibility requirements? | There is no age limit, but a good rule of thumb is first grade and up. |
|---|---|
| What is the test date? | Three times a year, the examination sites are located throughout the country. |
| What is the examination fee (including tax)? | It varies depending on the grade, e.g., 10 grade 1,500 yen to 1 grade 5,000 yen. |
| Can I take the group exam? | Possible in schools, etc., if a certain number of examinees are gathered. |
| What are the questions? | Kanji reading and writing, stroke order and stroke count, radicals, idioms, synonyms and synonyms, homonyms and homonyms, etc. The content differs slightly depending on the level. |
contact information (for inquiries) (e.g. corporate phone number)
（財）日本漢字能力検定協会
〒600-8585 京都市下京区烏丸通松原下る五条烏丸町398
TEL 075-352-8300
