I signed up to do the Kanji Proficiency Test (漢字検定) in February at my school. I will be doing Level 4, which includes 1322 kanji characters. The last time I did one of these tests, I did Level 5 (1006 characters) in 2000. That was twenty five years ago!!!

I signed up for the test not because I think I will pass it; it is clearly too hard for me. I signed up to motivate me to study Japanese again, which I haven’t done for a very long time. So far, it seems to have worked as I have been studying at least a little bit on many days since I decided to take the test.

This evening, I did my first practice test. The total number of points you can get is 200. In this book of tests, if you get lower than 79 points, it says, “maybe reconsider your plan to take this test”. If you get between 80 and 110, it says “try harder”. If you get above 110, it says “you are close to passing”. If you get above 140, you pass.

I got 95 points. There are 48 days between now and the test. I think there is no chance that I will pass, but hopefully I will at least improve a bit. Maybe I will aim for 100 for now?

The main problem at the moment is that I don’t remember how to write many kanji characters. I can read and recognize most of the characters on this test, but I never have to actually write kanji anymore as I always use a keyboard. I have to go back to basics and train my hand again.

I would say “wish me luck”, but it’s more like “wish me patience and grit”!