Nihongo So-matome
Daily two-page JLPT books by skill. Finish one volume in eight weeks if you actually sit down. It is not official practice.
Good fit if
- Learners who like a two-page-a-day exam calendar
- People who want one skill, such as vocabulary or listening, for eight weeks
- Self-studiers who need English, Chinese, Korean, or Vietnamese notes
Look elsewhere if
- You have not seen official sample questions
- You will buy five skills at once
- You still need a non-exam beginner course
Nihongo So-matome is ASK Publishing’s daily JLPT series. The official series page lists expanded revised books for N1 through N3 across grammar, vocabulary, kanji, reading, and listening, plus N4 and N5 multilingual volumes. ASK says the N1 through N3 revision finished in spring 2025 with the listening titles. Pre-revision printings are out of print.
A typical volume is two pages a day for eight weeks, with translations and JLPT-style questions. N1 through N3 grammar, reading, and listening books include audio. N4 audio sits on the combined grammar-reading-listening book. N5 includes listening in its one-volume set.
Who it fits
It fits people who will keep a short daily exam page. Pick one skill. TRY! is the grammar-through-texts alternative. Shin Kanzen Master is the heavier one-skill drill. Official samples still come first.
Limits
So-matome is not a language course. Eight weeks is ASK’s page calendar, not a pass-rate claim. Do not buy the whole shelf. Confirm the expanded edition on ask-books.com/somatome.
Sources checked
Product details can change. Evidence pages and their individual check dates appear below. Profile reviewed Sep 1, 2026.
- ASK Nihongo So-matome series page official publisher · checked Sep 1, 2026 · Official series page for expanded revised N1 through N3 titles, N4 and N5 multilingual volumes, audio on grammar, reading, and listening books, and the statement that pre-revision printings are out of print.
- ASK So-matome N1 vocabulary listing official publisher · checked Sep 1, 2026 · Official volume page for the two-pages-a-day eight-week format, translations, JLPT-style questions, added mock tests in the expanded edition, and downloadable example-sentence audio on grammar books.