About the Kanji Kentei

What is Kanji Kentei ( 漢字検定(かんじけんてい))?

The kanji Kentei test is the ultimate kanji test. It's made for native Japanese speakers (that means it's tough) and has ten different levels, where level 10 is the easiest, and level 1 is the hardest. Here are a few interesting stat shots regarding the Kanji Kentei test.

Fewer than 15% of people who take level 1 can pass
Native speakers pass levels 10-7 at an 80% rate.
It tests the ability to read and write kanji, know the on'yomi and kun'yomi, stroke order, and use them in sentences.
Depending on the level, the test is between 40 and 60 minutes long

Just from those four points, we can gather a few interesting things. First, passing level 1 is tough. "Real" tests aren't supposed to have pass rates this low (though, low pass rates for high-end tests seem to be a staple of Japanese test culture).

The really interesting point is the second one: "Native speakers pass levels 10-7 at an 80% rate." You'll see why this is so interesting once we take a look at the different levels. If we look at level 7 alone (the hardest between 10-7), we'll see that you only have to know 640 kanji. 80% of Native Japanese Speakers pass this, meaning 20% do not. Considering 2000 kanji is the amount of kanji Japanese adults are supposed to know, 20% seems high. You'll see that it's actually not, though – this test is really, really difficult for several reasons (which we'll take a look at in a moment).

The third interesting thing is what is being tested. You have to know a lot about kanji – in fact, the more complex tests require you to know more than what's listed above.

Kanji Kentei Levels (かんじけんていレベル)

There are ten levels to the Kanji Kentei, where ten is the easiest and one is ridiculous kanji guru master. Here's what you have to do for each, with some extra comments.

Level 10

80 kanji
Consists of the kanji that Japanese first graders learn

Level 9

240 kanji
First through second-grade kanji

Level 8

440 kanji
Grades 1-3
Must know on'yomi, kun'yomi, stroke order, be able to write the kanji, use them in sentences, and learn the names of the radicals.
Tests you on antonyms (ability to know the opposites of kanji, for example, hot vs cold)
Must be able to differentiate between homonyms

As you can see, level 8 suddenly gets a lot harder, and you have to know a whole lot. 440 kanji almost doubles what you had before, and you have to know a lot about each kanji. Antonyms just add to the fire, and homonyms make it even worse.

Level 7

640 kanji
Grades 1-4 in Japanese elementary schools
Must know on'yomi, kun'yomi, stroke order, be able to write the kanji, use them in sentences, and learn the names of the radicals.
Tests you on antonyms (ability to know the opposites of kanji, for example, hot vs cold)
Must be able to differentiate between homonyms
Idiomatic phrases (phrases that have different meanings than the words would usually imply – for example: "tickled pink")
Kanji compound words (where multiple kanji are put together to make a single word)

Level 6

825 kanji
Grades 1-5 in Japanese elementary school
Everything you do in level 7
Three-kanji compound words (single words made up of three kanji)

Level 5

1006 kanji
Grades 1-6 in Japanese elementary school
Everything you do in level 6
Four-kanji compound words (single words made up of four kanji- things are getting crazy!)

Level 4

An additional 300 joyo kanji (daily use kanji)
On'yomi, kun'yomi
Ability to read the kanji in sentences
Ability to read 1300 kanji
Ability to write 900 kanji
Synonyms
Antonyms
Homonyms
Idiomatic Phrases
Four-kanji compound words
Radicals used to use a kanji dictionary

Things are starting to level up quickly here. Up until level 5, things were ramping up evenly. Now, with level 4, the test has taken a shift and will continue to do so.

Level 3

Grade 6 kanji + 600 joyo kanji
Tests everything from Level 4
Must be able to read around 1600 kanji
Tests "special" / "unusual" kanji readings
Tests ateji (phonetic readings of kanji where the meaning of the kanji used doesn't really have much to do with the meaning of the word being created).

"Pre" Level 2

Tests kanji that people learn before becoming an adult (up to high school level kanji)
Tests everything from Level 3
Reading of all the joyo kanji (approximately 2000 kanji)
Tests on "complex" radicals

Level 2

Tests everything from Pre Level 2
Tests the 284 kanji used in names (jinmeiyou kanji)
Tests "special" compound kanji words

In theory, this is where native Japanese speakers "should" be (though of course this isn't the case). Being able to read kanji is one thing, but being able to know all the on'yomi / kun'yomi, as well as being able to write everything, is totally another. People don't handwrite anything anymore, so it's doubtful that most Japanese people could pass this level of the test, and this isn't even the "real" Level 2 test yet.

Level 2 just adds the 284 kanji used in names. Many of these kanji are familiar, but the hard part is knowing their readings (or knowing how to write them based on the reading). For Japanese learners, learning how to read names is one of the most complex advanced-level challenges.

"Pre" Level 1

Tests everything from Level 2
Ability to read and write around 3000 kanji
Tests kanji unique to the Japanese language
Tests classical Japanese proverbs

I didn't even know there was kanji unique to the Japanese language. Totally new information to me. This is how you know you're running out of things to test on.

Level 1

Tests everything from Pre Level 1
Ability to read and write 6000 kanji
Tests special or unusual kanji readings
Tests place and country names
Tests "the ability to recognize the relationship between modern and ancient or old character forms"

And of course, here's the ultimate level. If you can pass level 1 of the Kanji Kentei, then you might as well be a God of Kanji. I haven't studied much along the lines of "old character forms", but I can tell you knowing that kind of thing is pretty epic.