If you passed N5 using Anki and are moving into N4, you already know the tool and the question is how to use it well for the expanded curriculum. If you are new to Anki at the N4 level, there are specific setup decisions that matter more at this level than at N5. Here is a complete look at Anki for N4 prep.
The most common N4 Anki mistake is treating the N5 and N4 vocabulary lists as separate decks. The N4 test assumes N5 knowledge, so your review system needs to keep both active simultaneously. The cleanest approach is a single deck with N-level tags, configured to serve new N4 cards while keeping mature N5 cards in light rotation (intervals of 21-60 days). This keeps total daily review under 100 cards while ensuring N5 vocabulary does not atrophy. Students who build two separate decks typically let the N5 deck go dormant by month two.
At N4, kanji cards should test both isolated readings and compound word readings. A card for 作 should not just ask for the meaning (make, create) - it should also surface in compound cards for 作文 (sakubun, composition), 作家 (sakka, author), and 作る (tsukuru, to make). WaniKani handles this compound-first approach well and is worth considering as a complement to Anki if your kanji deck is purely character-level. Students who only review individual kanji often cannot read compound words fluently even when they know all the component characters.
N4 grammar is complex enough that some patterns genuinely benefit from Anki-style reinforcement - particularly the causative (〜させる), passive (〜られる), and te-form patterns that appear constantly in reading passages. Cards that show a sentence with a blank and ask you to produce the correct grammatical form are more effective than cards that ask you to recall a grammar rule abstractly. Bunpro is specifically designed for this type of sentence-context grammar drilling and integrates with Anki for students who want both in one review session.
Anki scales well to N4 when configured as a combined N5/N4 deck with compound-level kanji cards. The setup investment is higher than at N5, but the payoff in reading fluency is substantial. Gridually's spatial encoding is based on memory research from the University of Chicago, University of Bonn, and Macquarie University.
Most students need 3-6 months after passing N5 to reach N4 readiness, assuming 30-45 minutes of daily study. The grammar step-up between N5 and N4 is significant - passive voice, causative form, and conditional patterns require active practice rather than memorization.
Yes. N4 reading passages assume N5 vocabulary knowledge, and N4 vocabulary frequently appears in compound words built from N5 kanji. A spaced repetition system that keeps N5 vocabulary in light rotation while you add N4 material is more efficient than treating them as separate curricula.
Significantly more important. At N5, most kanji appear as isolated characters. At N4, they appear increasingly in compounds where knowing the individual kanji is not enough - you also need to know the compound-specific reading. The test reading passages at N4 use kanji compounds throughout, and students who skipped systematic kanji study at N5 feel the gap acutely at this level.