The Kaigo Japanese test (介護日本語評価試験): structure and examples

Updated 19 October 2026

The care Japanese test has 15 questions in 30 minutes, split evenly into words, conversation and documents. From 1 April 2026 the pass mark is 73%, which is 11 of 15, so you can miss at most 4.

15questions, one of four
30minutes
11/15correct to pass (73%)
4mistakes at most

Structure of the Japanese test

Part	Questions
介護のことば – Care vocabulary	5
介護の会話・声かけ – Conversation and verbal prompts	5
介護の文書 – Documents (records, handovers, notices)	5
Total: 30 minutes, pass at 73%	15

What each part asks

介護のことば: the meaning of a care word in a sentence, for example 脱衣所, 失禁, 食欲がない, 右半身に麻痺.
介護の会話・声かけ: choosing the right words for the person, or understanding a short conversation between a worker and the person.
介護の文書: reading records (記録), handovers (申し送り), notes from the family or schedule notices and choosing what is true.

This test does not replace JFT-Basic or JLPT N4; you still need one of them. See eligibility.

Take a timed Kaigo practice test and see right away which answers were wrong and why.

Try it free now

The first 3 tests of each part are free, with furigana and translations. Opens in your browser, no account needed.

Examples from the app's practice tests

These three questions come from Japanese test 1 in the app, one per part. The correct answer is in bold.

Care vocabulary

グエンさん、このタオルを「脱衣所だついじょ」に持もって行いってください。
「脱衣所だついじょ」はどんなところですか。

Nguyen-san, please take this towel to the "datsuijo". What kind of place is a "datsuijo"?

服ふくを脱ぬぐところ – A place to take off clothes
食事しょくじをするところ – A place to eat
薬くすりをしまうところ – A place to keep medicine
寝ねるところ – A place to sleep

Answer 1. A datsuijo is the room where you undress before a bath. 脱 means take off and 衣 means clothes.

Conversation and verbal cues

利用者りようしゃが車くるまいすから立たち上あがるときの声こえかけとして、いちばんいいものはどれですか。

Which is the best thing to say when a care recipient stands up from a wheelchair?

何なにも言いわずに、体からだを持もち上あげる。 – Lift them without saying anything.
「今いまから立たちますよ。いち、に、さん。」 – "We're going to stand now. One, two, three."
「早はやく立たってください。」 – "Please stand up quickly."
「どうせ立たてないでしょう。」 – "You can't stand anyway, can you?"

Answer 2. Say what is about to happen and count together. Avoid hurrying or negative words.

Care documents

【記録きろく】
10:00　鈴木すずき様さま　お茶ちゃ200ml摂取せっしゅ。「おいしい」と笑顔えがおあり。
この記録きろくについて、正ただしいものはどれですか。

[Record] 10:00 Suzuki-sama drank 200 ml of tea. Smiled and said "delicious". Which is correct about this record?

鈴木すずきさんは、お茶ちゃを200ml飲のみました。 – Suzuki-san drank 200 ml of tea.
鈴木すずきさんは、お茶ちゃを2000ml飲のみました。 – Suzuki-san drank 2000 ml of tea.
鈴木すずきさんは、怒おこっていました。 – Suzuki-san was angry.
鈴木すずきさんは、お茶ちゃを飲のみませんでした。 – Suzuki-san did not drink the tea.

Answer 1. 摂取 means taking in by eating or drinking. 笑顔あり means they smiled.

How to study for the Japanese test

73% leaves little room. Practise until you reliably get 12 or more right.
Learn words by situation: bathing, meals, toileting, moving. The app has care phrases for 37 situations, free.
Read records every day: the app's records and handover section helps you get used to the short style of 記録 and 申し送り.
Choose polite, clear words that ask the person in the 声かけ part.

The app has 30 Japanese tests of 15 questions, timed at 30 minutes; the first 3 are free. Words are on the Kaigo vocabulary page.

Frequently asked questions

Is it harder than JLPT N4?

They measure different things. The Kaigo test uses care words and situations, so people with N4 still need to learn care vocabulary.

How many correct answers do I need?

11 of 15 (73%), from 1 April 2026.

What is the documents part?

Reading a record, a handover, a note from the family or a schedule notice, then choosing what the text says.

Do I need to write Japanese?

No. Every question is one of four choices on the computer.