JFT Basic Test Sample (2026): How to Take All 14 Questions
The official JFT-Basic test sample has 11 pages and 14 questions. Learn how to take it, read the Test Result screen, and see what it cannot tell you.
Information only, not legal advice. Verify with the DMW and the Embassy of Japan before you act.
Key Takeaways
- The official JFT Basic test sample is the Sample Questions page on the Japan Foundation's site. It has 11 pages and 14 questions, because pages 9, 10 and 11 each hold two questions.
- The 14 questions are split across four sections: Script and Vocabulary (4), Conversation and Expression (2), Listening Comprehension (4) and Reading Comprehension (4).
- Press Finish Test on page 11 to open the Test Result screen. It shows Section, Category, Result, Selected Answer(s) and Correct Answer(s).
- The Test Result screen does not show a score. The real total score runs from 10 to 250 and is not the sum of correct answers. There is no official way to convert a sample result into a real score.
- The real test has approximately 50 questions in 60 minutes. You can review inside a section, but you cannot go back after moving to the next section.
- The Japan Foundation has no plans to publish past test questions.
- One real attempt costs PHP 2,010 in the Philippines and JPY 10,000 in Japan (as of November 1, 2026). You cannot cancel it.
- Use your result as a list of what to fix by Section and Category, not as a forecast of your score.
This article covers the official sample only: how to take it, what its questions are, and how to read the result. For more on tests, see the /tests page.
What is the official JFT Basic test sample?
The official sample is the Sample Questions page on the JFT-Basic site of the Japan Foundation, the organization behind the test. The site's list of all its pages (its site map) shows only this one sample page. The Japan Foundation says the Sample Questions are similar to the actual test format and let you try some test screens.
JFT-Basic is a Japanese language test. It is a CBT (computer-based test), which means you answer on a computer, not on paper.
Try the sample questions before your real test. You answer the real test on a computer, so it helps to get used to that style first.
The sample has 11 pages but 14 questions. Pages 9, 10 and 11 each hold two questions, so count answers, not pages. A slide document called "About the JFT-Basic" (PDF, 29 pages) repeats the sample questions and gives the correct answers on its last page.
How do you take the sample test from start to finish?
Open the first page, answer all 11 pages, then press Finish Test on the last page. These six steps cover the whole sample:
- Open page 1 of the Sample Questions. The pages have PC and smartphone layouts. A computer with a mouse is closer to the real test, where you choose answers with the mouse.
- Stay in one browser until the end. The sample keeps your selected answers in browser cookies (small records your browser saves), so finish in the same browser you started in.
- Get your sound ready before page 7. Pages 7, 8 and 9 are listening questions. The sample lets you play the audio only 2 times, so do not use up a play to check the volume.
- Answer every page. Remember that pages 9, 10 and 11 need two answers each. A question you skip is marked Unanswered on the result screen.
- Press Finish Test on page 11. This button leads to the Test Result screen.
- Read the result before you press Exit Test. Exit Test is a button on the result screen. Take your notes before you press it.
The bar at the top of the sample (the header) shows "Section Time Remaining 00:00:00," "Candidate: USER mygration" and "Finish Section." The candidate name belongs to the sample, not to you, so do not worry that it looks wrong. The button that leads to your result is Finish Test on page 11.
What are the 14 questions on the sample?
The table below uses the official Section and Category names. Each row is one page of the sample.
| Page | Section | Category | Questions | What is on screen |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Script and Vocabulary | Word Meaning | 1 | Illustration of a smiling woman, 3 word choices |
| 2 | Script and Vocabulary | Word Usage | 1 | Fill the blank in a sentence about Japanese customs, 3 choices |
| 3 | Script and Vocabulary | Kanji Reading | 1 | Choose the hiragana for the underlined 水道, 3 choices |
| 4 | Script and Vocabulary | Kanji Meaning and Usage | 1 | Fill the blank about Tokyo Tower at night, 3 kanji choices |
| 5 | Conversation and Expression | Grammar | 1 | Dialog about a baby gift for a senior at work, 4 choices |
| 6 | Conversation and Expression | Expression | 1 | Lunch-break dialog, declining an invitation, 3 choices |
| 7 | Listening Comprehension | Comprehending Content (conversation) | 1 | Two people at work talk about the New Year holidays, 3 pictures |
| 8 | Listening Comprehension | Comprehending Content (communicating at shops and public places) | 1 | A man asks convenience store staff about products, 3 pictures |
| 9 | Listening Comprehension | Comprehending Content (listening to announcements and instructions) | 2 | An officer explains what to do in a fire at a work emergency drill, pictures |
| 10 | Reading Comprehension | Comprehending Content | 2 | A town's public information magazine about an international festival |
| 11 | Reading Comprehension | Information Search | 2 | Pharmacy instructions for 3 medicines |
These counts are for the sample only. The official site says the real test has around 12 questions in each section, so do not read the sample's split as the split of the real test.
Script and Vocabulary: pages 1 to 4
This section tests words and how Japanese is written. Japanese uses three kinds of characters: hiragana and katakana show sounds, and kanji are characters that carry meaning.
Page 1 asks for a word from a picture. Page 3 asks for the hiragana of 水道, and its choices are すいとう, すいどう and ずいどう. They differ only by small marks, so this page shows how closely you read hiragana.
Conversation and Expression: pages 5 and 6
These two pages test Japanese in short dialogs. Page 5 is a Grammar question about a baby gift for a senior at work, with 4 choices. Page 6 is an Expression question in which a speaker declines an invitation during a lunch break.
Listening Comprehension: pages 7 to 9
You listen, then answer by choosing a picture. Page 7 is a talk at work about the New Year holidays. Page 8 is a man asking convenience store staff which product he can eat or drink. Page 9 is an emergency drill at work, where an officer explains what to do in a fire.
Page 9 has two questions: what to do first and where to evacuate. If you already live in Japan, you may have been in situations like those on pages 7 to 9, at work or in a shop.
Reading Comprehension: pages 10 and 11
Page 10 is a town's public information magazine about an international festival, with 2 questions. Page 11 is Information Search, which means finding the one piece of information you need in a text. It shows pharmacy instructions for 3 medicines and asks how many to take at one time and which may cause sleepiness.
What are the correct answers to the sample questions?
Take the sample first, because your result means little after you have seen the answers. These are the correct answers for pages 1 to 6:
| Page | Category | Correct answer | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Word Meaning | わらいます | smile, laugh |
| 2 | Word Usage | なれて | get used to |
| 3 | Kanji Reading | すいどう | water supply |
| 4 | Kanji Meaning and Usage | 光って | shining |
| 5 | Grammar | あげよう | let's give |
| 6 | Expression | また こんど | another time |
This table covers pages 1 to 6 only. The answers on the listening pages, 7 to 9, are pictures. For pages 7 to 11, read the Correct Answer(s) column on your Test Result screen, or the last page of the "About the JFT-Basic" PDF.
How do you read the Test Result screen?
The result page is titled Test Feedback / Test Result, and it shows your answers in a table with five columns.
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Section | The section of the test |
| Category | The official type of question, such as Kanji Reading |
| Result | ○ for a correct answer, × for a wrong or skipped one |
| Selected Answer(s) | The answer you chose, or Unanswered |
| Correct Answer(s) | The official correct answer |
For this article, question 1 was tested on November 1, 2026. A correct answer showed ○ with the selected answer. A skipped item showed × with the word Unanswered.
Do not stop at the marks. On every row, compare Selected Answer(s) with Correct Answer(s) yourself. None of the five columns is a score or a level.
Can the sample tell you your real JFT-Basic score?
No. There is no official conversion from a sample result to a real score, so you should not make one for yourself.
The real total score runs from 10 to 250. It is not the sum of correct answers. It is a scaled score, which means your result is converted to a fixed range, here 10 to 250. This is done through equating, a method of adjusting scores so that results can be compared fairly.
| Total score | Level |
|---|---|
| 200 to 250 | A2.2 (A2) |
| 175 to 199 | A2.1 |
| 145 to 174 | A1 |
| Below 145 | Shows ＊ instead of a level |
A1 and A2 are level labels, and A2 is the higher one. A2.2 is higher than A2.1. There is no minimum score for each section. Your ability is measured across all four sections. The official result notice for a real test also shows your percentage of correct answers for each section, for reference.
I once got confused when "Japan's average annual income" differed by nearly JPY 1 million between documents. The statistics covered different people and used different methods. Since then, I check the scope, the period and what is left out before I use a number. Your number of correct answers out of 14 needs the same care: it covers 14 sample questions, not the approximately 50 questions of a real test.
What else can the sample test not tell you?
The sample shows the types of questions and some test screens. The rules below come from the official pages, so learn them separately.
| Point | Official sample | Real test |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 11 pages, 14 questions | 4 sections, around 12 questions each, approximately 50 questions |
| Time | Header shows 00:00:00 | 60 minutes, no time limit for each section |
| Listening audio | The sample allows 2 plays | Up to two times |
| Answering | PC and smartphone layouts | Mouse: click once, and the selected answer changes color |
| Result | Table with ○ or ×, your answer and the correct answer | Total score of 10 to 250, level and section percentages |
Your pace. The sample cannot show how you will manage approximately 50 questions in 60 minutes.
Moving between questions. In the real test you can review inside a section, but you cannot go back after moving to the next section. In Listening Comprehension, you cannot go to the previous or next question to review. Prometric is the company that delivers the test. It describes a screen with question number buttons, Back and Next. There is also a review flag (a mark you put on a question to find it again). In some sections, questions go in a fixed order.
Test day. The points here come from Prometric's guide for tests outside Japan. You use a headset (headphones with a band) for listening. You set the volume on the headset, not on the screen. There is an audio check at the beginning. Warning messages appear in English. A paper guide called Supplementary Materials for Test Navigation is used outside the Philippines, so do not expect it if you test in the Philippines. Arrive 15 to 30 minutes before the test time, because late arrivals cannot take the test.
To see how the test screen works, use Prometric's Steps for Taking the Test and the YouTube Operating Guide. The Japan Foundation FAQ names both.
Language help. The instructions on each question are displayed in English. The Your Language button offers other languages in two groups. Your Language 1 has English, Chinese, Indonesian, Khmer, Mongolian, Myanmar, Nepali, Thai and Vietnamese. Your Language 2 has Uzbek, Bengali, Lao and Malay. Filipino is on neither list, so plan on reading in English.
Speaking and writing. The real test has no spoken part and no essay questions, so the sample leaves nothing out here.
Past questions. The Japan Foundation has no plans to publish past test questions. In place of past questions, the official site offers the Sample Questions and the "About the JFT-Basic" PDF.
What does one real attempt cost?
One attempt costs PHP 2,010 in the Philippines and JPY 10,000 in Japan, as of November 1, 2026. You cannot cancel it. You can retake the test only with a total score of 199 or lower, and there must be 45 days between test dates.
Each attempt costs money and cannot be cancelled, so take the sample first. Booking on Prometric is explained in JFT-Basic Prometric Guide (2026): ID, Booking and Test Day. For amounts in pesos and yen, use the remittance rates on the /money page instead of converting by hand.
How to use your sample result
I have lived in Manila for more than 13 years and worked in IT for more than 36 years. In my IT projects, I compared several sources and decided how to judge the results before moving ahead. On large projects, I also checked the quality standard on an early piece of the work and wrote down what to fix before the rest began.
Applied to the JFT-Basic sample, those standards lead to the following checks:
- Decide what you will record before page 1. For each question, note the Section, the Category, and whether you answered it. Then the result tells you more than how many you got right.
- Compare more than one source. Check the Correct Answer(s) column against the last page of the "About the JFT-Basic" PDF. Both are official, so a difference means you misread something.
- Write down what to fix. List your misses by Category, such as Kanji Reading or Information Search. Keep Unanswered items apart from answers you chose wrongly.
- Leave the score out. Do not turn your number of correct answers into a forecast of a real score or a level.
- Before you book, read the current rules on the official pages. Look at the fee, the retake rule and the test-day steps on the pages themselves, and compare the Japan Foundation and Prometric pages.
The Japan Foundation's Manila office says the sample's situations resemble those in Irodori, a Japanese learning book. That makes Irodori one place to study when your list of misses shows a kind of situation you find hard. The other official practice materials are explained in JFT-Basic Reviewer: The Free Official Practice Materials and How to Use Them.
FAQ
Q: How many questions are on the JFT-Basic sample test?
There are 14 questions on 11 pages. Pages 9, 10 and 11 each hold two questions. Script and Vocabulary has 4, Conversation and Expression has 2, Listening Comprehension has 4, and Reading Comprehension has 4.
Q: Where can I find the answers to the JFT-Basic sample?
Press Finish Test on page 11, and the Test Result screen shows a Correct Answer(s) column. The "About the JFT-Basic" PDF also gives the correct answers on its last page.
Q: Can I take the JFT-Basic sample on a phone?
Yes. The sample pages have PC and smartphone layouts. On a real test you choose answers with a mouse, so try the sample on a computer as well if you can.
Q: Does a good sample result mean I will reach A2?
Not by itself. The sample has 14 questions, and the real total score is a scaled score, not the sum of correct answers. There is no official way to convert a sample result into a real score.
Q: Are past JFT-Basic questions available?
No. The Japan Foundation FAQ says there are no plans to publish past test questions.
Summary
The official JFT Basic test sample is the Sample Questions page on the Japan Foundation's site, with 14 questions on 11 pages. It covers Script and Vocabulary, Conversation and Expression, Listening Comprehension and Reading Comprehension. Finish Test on page 11 opens the Test Result screen, which shows each answer beside the correct one but gives no score. The real test has approximately 50 questions in 60 minutes and a scaled total score of 10 to 250. Read the official pages for its rules on reviewing answers. One attempt costs PHP 2,010 in the Philippines or JPY 10,000 in Japan, and it cannot be cancelled. Before you book, open the official sample, finish all 14 questions in one browser, and write down what to fix by Section and Category.
Sources
- Japan Foundation, JFT-Basic site map: https://www.jpf.go.jp/jft-basic/e/sitemap/index.html
- Japan Foundation, JFT-Basic Sample Questions, page 1: https://www.jpf.go.jp/jft-basic/sample/q01.html
- Japan Foundation, JFT-Basic Sample Questions, page 2: https://www.jpf.go.jp/jft-basic/sample/q02.html
- Japan Foundation, JFT-Basic Sample Questions, page 3: https://www.jpf.go.jp/jft-basic/sample/q03.html
- Japan Foundation, JFT-Basic Sample Questions, page 4: https://www.jpf.go.jp/jft-basic/sample/q04.html
- Japan Foundation, JFT-Basic Sample Questions, page 5: https://www.jpf.go.jp/jft-basic/sample/q05.html
- Japan Foundation, JFT-Basic Sample Questions, page 6: https://www.jpf.go.jp/jft-basic/sample/q06.html
- Japan Foundation, JFT-Basic Sample Questions, page 7: https://www.jpf.go.jp/jft-basic/sample/q07.html
- Japan Foundation, JFT-Basic Sample Questions, page 9: https://www.jpf.go.jp/jft-basic/sample/q09.html
- Japan Foundation, JFT-Basic Sample Questions, page 10: https://www.jpf.go.jp/jft-basic/sample/q10.html
- Japan Foundation, JFT-Basic Sample Questions, page 11: https://www.jpf.go.jp/jft-basic/sample/q11.html
- Japan Foundation, JFT-Basic Sample Questions, Test Result: https://www.jpf.go.jp/jft-basic/sample/answer.html
- Japan Foundation, JFT-Basic Sample Questions, script: https://www.jpf.go.jp/jft-basic/sample/common/script/test.js
- Japan Foundation, About the JFT-Basic (PDF): https://www.jpf.go.jp/jft-basic/e/about/pdf/describing_en.pdf
- Japan Foundation, JFT-Basic test information: https://www.jpf.go.jp/jft-basic/e/about/index.html
- Japan Foundation, JFT-Basic FAQ: https://www.jpf.go.jp/jft-basic/e/faq/index.html
- Japan Foundation, Manila, Tips for JFT-Basic examinees: https://jfmo.org.ph/for_educ_institution/tips-jft-basic-examinees/
- Prometric, test flow outside Japan: https://www.prometric-jp.com/en/ssw/exam/flow/overseas/
- Prometric, test fees: https://www.prometric-jp.com/en/ssw/exam/fee/
- Prometric, test information (cancellations): https://www.prometric-jp.com/en/ssw/test_list/archives/1
About this guide
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- ●Every rule is checked against DMW and Immigration Services Agency sources
- ●Written in plain English, with Tagalog where it matters
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