The TRY! JLPT textbook series is a great all-rounder for anyone getting ready for the JLPT, no matter if you’re aiming for N5 or N1. While it mainly focuses on grammar, you’ll also get practice with reading, listening, and even a bit of writing. Each book is split into chapters that break down grammar points with short readings, clear explanations (usually in both Japanese and English), example sentences, and lots of different practice exercises to help you really get the hang of things.
What does Try! Japanese Language Proficiency Test N5 cover?
- Particles: は (topic), が (subject), を (object), に (time/direction), で (place/method), へ (direction), と (and/with), も (also), から (from/because), まで (until), の (possession), や (listing)
- Verb forms: ます/ません (polite present/negative), ました/ませんでした (polite past/negative), たい (want to), て-form (connecting actions, requests), てください (please do), てはいけません (must not), てもいいです (may I), ている (ongoing action/state), たことがある (have done)
- Invitations and suggestions: ましょう (let’s), ませんか (won’t you/shall we)
- Adjectives and adverbs: い-adjectives, な-adjectives, く/になる (to become)
- Basic sentence structures: です/だ (to be), じゃない (is not), だった (was), じゃなかった (was not)
- Comparisons: より/のほうが (more than), いちばん (the most)
- Ability and possibility: できる (can do), ことができる (can do)
- Plans and intentions: つもり (plan to)
- Permission and prohibition: てもいい (may), てはいけない (must not)
- Other basics: まだ (still/not yet), もう (already), だけ (only), しか〜ない (nothing but), すぎる (too much), ほうがいい (had better), たり〜たりする (do things like A and B), んです (explanation/emphasis), から/ので (because), まえに/あとで (before/after), なる (to become)
The book is designed to help you understand, practice, and review these grammar points in context, with exercises for listening, reading, and sentence building. But be aware, if you need to practice Kanji, you'll need an app of some kind to make sure you have everything you need to know!
Student Review
The TRY! series, in this case, ‘TRY! Japanese Language Proficiency Test N5’ are the go-to textbooks for those wanting to make sure they’re Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) ready. Designed to cover everything required to pass, the book offers extra practice for grammar points that you likely already know to make sure you really understand.
Of course, being an exam preparation book, all of the questions are in Japanese, so no romaji, mirroring the test itself. This gives it a straight to the point approach, introducing a grammar point and then testing it immediately with little to no preparation.
Be aware that this book certainly cannot teach you Japanese. The Try textbook gives readers just enough to bring back forgotten memories regarding grammar points, but does not go in to deep descriptions of the way they work.
As an example, for たい form, the description is: “Use ―たい form when you talk about a desire of hope. V―ます＋たいです.” This is then followed by examples where it might be rude to use たい form, but there’s no attempt to teach you every use. This is all by design of course, as Try N5 is designed to make sure you are ready to take your N5 test by testing what you already know. The usefulness here is that if you get a section wrong, you know to pull out your core textbook, like Genki 1 and give yourself a refresh.
While older version of Try N5 came with CDs, the later and most recent edition come instead with download codes for their listening practice tasks. Alternatively, the publisher, ASK have uploaded the audio to most podcast services including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, so no need to search through dodgy websites to find it!
It’s important that students have finished something akin to Genki 1 before approaching TRY!, as it is a revision book. So keep your old textbooks to hand as you’ll still need them! Though one nice touch is that it sometimes compares similar grammar points such as ましょう and ませんか to make sure readers understand the difference.
At the end of each chapter you’ll find a small mini test that mimics the JLPT test itself. These range from gap filling exercises, listening tasks, multiple choice questions and reading exercises.
Towards the end of the book you’ll find a mock test to make sure you’re truly ready for the real thing. This also comes with timing guides, to make it as close to the real thing as possible.
That said, and this is important, always make sure that you follow up with further mock tests. While the mock test in Try N5 is useful, as a single test on its own it is by no means fully comprehensive as the questions may not be testing a specific point that you are weak at.
Teacher Review
Before using Try! Japanese Language Proficiency Test N5:
What to read next?
It’s always worth searching out extra mock tests to make sure you’re really ready. The best place to start is with the JLPT website itself.
If you feel like you still need a bit of extra practice, or have identified any weaknesses, Shin Kanzen Master is worth looking in to.
Shin Nihongo 500 Mon – JLPT N4-N5
A practical study guide book for JLPT N5 & N4, with daily questions covering vocabulary, grammar, and kanji revision for those taking JLPT.
Genki 2 Third Edition
If you’ve wrapped up Genki 1, Genki 2 is the perfect way to keep building your Japanese skills and actually start having real conversations.
Multimedia Exercises for Basic Japanese Grammar
Multimedia Exercises for Basic Japanese Grammar is a useful resource for those looking to get more out of their Japanese Grammar Dictionary.