JFT-Basic

JFT-Basic test format

Four sections, about fifty questions, sixty minutes, all multiple choice on a computer. Here is what each section puts in front of you and what it is really testing.

Questions: about 50
Time: 60 minutes
Per question: ~70 seconds
Sections: 4
Format: Multiple choice, CBT

Last reviewed 8 September 2026

The pacing is the difficultyAbout fifty questions in sixty minutes is a little over a minute each. Because there are no per-section time limits, one long reading passage can quietly eat the time you needed for the rest — and a great many candidates who fall short knew the material and ran out of clock. Practise at speed, not just accurately.

Section 1

Script and Vocabulary

文字と語彙

Recognise hiragana, katakana and basic kanji, and pick the right word for an everyday situation.

What to expect

Reading hiragana, katakana and common kanji in context
Near-identical kanji pairs — 休 and 体, 待 and 持
Small ゃゅょ and っ, which change the word entirely
Choosing the right everyday word for a situation

Example

この にもつは ＿＿＿ ですから、気を つけて ください。
1 おもい　2 かるい　3 ながい　4 ひくい

気をつけてください signals a warning, so only 重い (heavy) justifies it. This section rewards reading the whole sentence rather than pattern-matching the blank.

Section 2

Conversation and Expression

会話と表現

Choose the natural thing to say in a workplace or daily-life exchange, including basic keigo.

What to expect

The natural thing to say in a shop, station or workplace exchange
Honorific and humble forms, and which direction they point
Set phrases — お先に失礼します, 助かりました, かしこまりました
Indirect refusals, where ちょっと…… means no

Example

客：「山田さんは いらっしゃいますか。」
あなた：「申し訳ございません、山田は ただいま ＿＿＿。」
1 席を外しております　2 席を外していらっしゃいます

Talking about your own colleague to an outsider requires humble language, even for someone senior to you. Keigo direction is tested constantly here.

Section 3

Listening Comprehension

聴解

Understand short spoken instructions, announcements and workplace conversations.

What to expect

Short workplace instructions and how many of something to do
Station and shop announcements
Conversations where a plan changes mid-exchange
Numbers, times and counters — a large share of the marks

Example

男：「今日の会議、3時からでしたよね。」
女：「いいえ、30分早くなりました。」

会議は何時からですか。

The answer — 2:30 — is never spoken. Listening items almost always require one step of inference from what you hear.

Section 4

Reading Comprehension

読解

Read notices, schedules, short messages and simple workplace documents.

What to expect

Workplace notices and schedules
Short internal messages and emails
Shop signs, sale terms and rubbish-collection rules
Instruction cards where a ※ note overrides the main steps

Example

全品 20%引き！
ただし、食品は 10%引きです。

1,000円のパンはいくらですか。

ただし introduces an exception, and bread is 食品 — so 900 yen, not 800. Notices are written to reward people who read to the end.

Technique

Four things that win marks on this test

Read to the end of the sentence

Both the vocabulary and the reading sections are built around a qualifier that arrives late: ただし, でも, ※, 〜だけ. Candidates who answer from the first half of a notice get a plausible wrong answer, which is exactly what the distractors are there for.

Treat ちょっと as a refusal

In conversation and listening items, ちょっと…… with a trailing pause means no. Japanese rarely refuses outright, and the exam relies on you knowing it. The alternative being offered afterwards is usually the answer.

Expect the instruction to be revised

Listening items very often contain a self-correction: あ、でも orやっぱり. Whatever came before it is a distractor. Wait for the speaker to finish before committing.

Never leave a blank

There is no negative marking. An unanswered question is a certain zero, a guess is a one-in-four chance, and with a minute per question you will occasionally need to guess and move on. That is a strategy, not a failure.

Put it into practice

Sit a JFT-Basic mock test

Twenty questions across all four sections, on a timer, with an explanation for every answer and a breakdown of where your marks went.

Start the mock test How scoring works

FAQ

JFT-Basic format — frequently asked questions

How many questions are on the JFT-Basic test?

About 50 questions in 60 minutes — roughly 12 in each of the four sections: Script and Vocabulary, Conversation and Expression, Listening Comprehension and Reading Comprehension. There are no per-section time limits.

Is JFT-Basic multiple choice?

Yes. Every question is multiple choice and answered on a computer. There is no writing or speaking component, and no negative marking for a wrong answer — so never leave a question blank.

Can I go back to previous questions in JFT-Basic?

The test is delivered as a computer-based test with an on-screen timer. Navigation behaviour can vary, so treat each question as one you should settle before moving on rather than relying on being able to return.

What kanji do I need for JFT-Basic?

Roughly the range you would meet by JLPT N4 — a few hundred common characters, weighted towards those that appear in workplace and daily-life contexts: dates, times, numbers, directions, safety words, and the vocabulary of shops, stations and offices.