Kanji Kentei: which level matches which school year
漢検 各級のレベル・対象漢字数・合格基準
- Applies to
- All of Japan
- Source last checked
- , Open the Japanese source
- Official source
- 各級の概要（出題内容・審査基準・合格基準・採点基準）（日本漢字能力検定協会）
The Kanji Kentei (漢検, Kanken, Japan Kanji Aptitude Test) is run by the Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation (日本漢字能力検定協会). It has twelve levels. Each level is described by the school year whose kanji it covers, so a family can see what a level means without guessing.
Levels
| Level | The foundation's description | Kanji covered | Full marks | Pass mark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 (10級) | End of elementary grade 1 | 80 | 150 | about 80% |
| 9 (9級) | End of elementary grade 2 | 240 | 150 | about 80% |
| 8 (8級) | End of elementary grade 3 | 440 | 150 | about 80% |
| 7 (7級) | End of elementary grade 4 | 642 | 200 | about 70% |
| 6 (6級) | End of elementary grade 5 | 835 | 200 | about 70% |
| 5 (5級) | End of elementary grade 6 | 1,026 | 200 | about 70% |
| 4 (4級) | During junior high | 1,339 | 200 | about 70% |
| 3 (3級) | Junior-high graduation | 1,623 | 200 | about 70% |
| Pre-2 (準2級) | During high school | 1,951 | 200 | about 70% |
| 2 (2級) | High-school graduation, university, general | 2,136 (all 常用漢字, the standard-use kanji) | 200 | about 80% |
| Pre-1 (準1級) | University and general | about 3,000 | 200 | about 80% |
| 1 (1級) | University and general | about 6,000 | 200 | about 80% |
The foundation says levels Pre-1 and 1 are held only at its public test venues (公開会場).
Reading the table
- The description is the foundation's guide to the kanji level. The page does not tie a level to a child's age.
- The foundation's list of the kanji for levels 10 to 2 follows the allocation used from fiscal 2020 (2020年度～新配当), linked from the same page.
- The page also lists question types for each level, such as readings, writing, stroke order, radicals and four-character idioms (四字熟語), and sample papers.
If a school or a juku asks for a Kanken level, ask them which one and by when. This article does not say which level any school expects.
Your child's dates, not the general ones
Add your child and ward. The timeline does the rest.