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Anzan Kentei 2 kyu and pre-2 kyu mock exam

On the anzan exam of the League of Japan Abacus Associations (Nishuren), 2 kyu is the first grade with no single-digit multiplier or divisor, going by the official samples: every multiplication on the 2 kyu sample is 2-digit × 2-digit and every division has a 2-digit divisor. The column problems grow from five rows to seven. Pre-2 kyu is the bridge between 3 kyu and 2 kyu, and its sample is the first with 2-digit multipliers at all.

  • 80 questions
  • 12 minutes for the whole paper
  • Pass: 400 of 500
  • Seven 3-digit rows per column

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Which paper?

Clock

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Pick 2 kyu or pre-2 kyu and the mock exam writes a new 80-question paper to that specification every time, with pre-2 kyu's sections moving from the 3 kyu shape to the 2 kyu shape as the official sample does. Take it on the official 12-minute clock or without one, move around the paper freely, and it scores 10 points per column problem and 5 per multiplication or division, with 400 to pass. These are practice papers, not official ones.

Built to the published format

Every paper follows the question counts, digit widths and question shapes of the published specification and sample papers, and a new paper is written each time you start.

The real clock

One 12-minute clock for a kyu paper, 3 + 3 + 4 minutes for dan, or untimed while you are learning. Answer the questions in any order, as in the exam.

Marked the way the paper is marked

Points per question, the pass mark or grade reached and, for dan, the rule that the lowest section decides the rank, then every wrong answer next to the right one.

The official format

2 kyu paper (Nishuren)

SectionQuestionsContentPoints
A: Mitori anzanNos. 1–203 keta, 7 kuchi, 21 ji: seven 3-digit rows, all added on the official sample200 (10 each)
B: Kake anzanNos. 21–50Jitsuho 4 keta, every question 2-digit × 2-digit on the official sample, such as 62 × 51150 (5 each)
C: Wari anzanNos. 51–80Hosho 4 keta, every question a 2-digit divisor with a 2-digit quotient on the official sample, such as 4,592 ÷ 82150 (5 each)
Whole paper80 questionsOne 12-minute clock, sections in any order500; pass at 400

Section totals as printed on the official sample, with points per question worked out from them. On the samples every division is exact and every number is a bare number with no unit.

Pre-2 kyu (jun-nikyu) paper (Nishuren)

SectionQuestionsContentPoints
A: Mitori anzanNos. 1–103 keta, 5 kuchi, 15 ji: five 3-digit rows, the 3 kyu shape100 (10 each)
A: Mitori anzanNos. 11–203 keta, 7 kuchi, 21 ji: seven 3-digit rows, the 2 kyu shape100 (10 each)
B: Kake anzanNos. 21–50Jitsuho 4 keta: on the official sample, 3-digit × 1-digit first, then 2-digit × 2-digit such as 94 × 23150 (5 each)
C: Wari anzanNos. 51–80Hosho 4 keta: on the official sample, a 1-digit divisor with a 3-digit quotient first, then a 2-digit divisor with a 2-digit quotient such as 705 ÷ 15150 (5 each)
Whole paper80 questionsOne 12-minute clock, sections in any order500; pass at 400

The official spec gives the multiplication and division sections a single line each; the move from the 3 kyu shape to the 2 kyu shape partway through is what the official sample shows. Points are worked out from the section totals, as on the 2 kyu paper.

Sample paper

The sample below is a shortened 2 kyu paper written to the published specification: ten column problems of seven 3-digit rows, then ten 2-digit × 2-digit multiplications, then ten divisions with a 2-digit divisor and a 2-digit quotient, numbered 1 to 30. On the real paper there are 20, 30 and 30, numbered 1 to 80. Every question uses the 2 kyu shapes; the pre-2 kyu mix is in the mock exam. Marked at 10 and 5 points the sample is worth 200, so 160 matches the 400-of-500 standard. It is not an official paper.

2 kyu & pre-2 kyuSample paper

The sample below is a shortened 2 kyu paper written to the published specification: ten column problems of seven 3-digit rows, then ten 2-digit × 2-digit multiplications, then ten divisions with a 2-digit divisor and a 2-digit quotient, numbered 1 to 30. On the real paper there are 20, 30 and 30, numbered 1 to 80. Every question uses the 2 kyu shapes; the pre-2 kyu mix is in the mock exam. Marked at 10 and 5 points the sample is worth 200, so 160 matches the 400-of-500 standard. It is not an official paper.

Mitori anzan: columns

  1. No. 1126715567287614281244
  2. No. 2133344591830981954640
  3. No. 3528115301867321687636
  4. No. 4852434419342410407452
  5. No. 5871868412834906189463
  6. No. 6844855284107625387910
  7. No. 7327552327458167884685
  8. No. 8863815924372522119786
  9. No. 9207455974207921319655
  10. No. 10797356125965614215874

Kake anzan: multiplication

  1. No. 1168 × 42 =
  2. No. 1256 × 71 =
  3. No. 1367 × 45 =
  4. No. 1453 × 35 =
  5. No. 1517 × 38 =
  6. No. 1633 × 59 =
  7. No. 1746 × 89 =
  8. No. 1857 × 15 =
  9. No. 1916 × 26 =
  10. No. 2087 × 23 =

Wari anzan: division

  1. No. 216,237 ÷ 77 =
  2. No. 221,540 ÷ 44 =
  3. No. 236,745 ÷ 71 =
  4. No. 243,618 ÷ 54 =
  5. No. 252,054 ÷ 26 =
  6. No. 267,081 ÷ 73 =
  7. No. 276,580 ÷ 94 =
  8. No. 285,980 ÷ 92 =
  9. No. 293,906 ÷ 42 =
  10. No. 303,724 ÷ 38 =

Kani Math is not affiliated with, endorsed by or licensed by the League of Japan Abacus Associations (Nishuren), the League for Soroban Education of Japan (Zenshuren), the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry or any other exam body. The sample papers and mock exam on these pages are written to the published specification; they are not official papers, and a mock result is not a certification. Flash Anzan is a trademark of its owner. Exam details can change, so confirm them with whoever runs your sitting.

Answer key
  1. 2,834
  2. 4,473
  3. 3,455
  4. 3,316
  5. 4,543
  6. 4,012
  7. 3,400
  8. 4,401
  9. 3,738
  10. 3,946
  11. 2,856
  12. 3,976
  13. 3,015
  14. 1,855
  15. 646
  16. 1,947
  17. 4,094
  18. 855
  19. 416
  20. 2,001
  21. 81
  22. 35
  23. 95
  24. 67
  25. 79
  26. 97
  27. 70
  28. 65
  29. 93
  30. 98

How it is scored

Marking is the same as on every paper from 6 kyu to 1 kyu: 200 points for the columns, 150 for multiplication and 150 for division, as printed on the official sample, which works out to 10, 5 and 5 points a question. The pass mark is 400 of 500.

The weights do not rise with the difficulty. A seven-row column problem is still worth 10 points, the same as a five-row one at 3 kyu, and a 2-digit × 2-digit product still earns 5.

In practice each column problem is worth two multiplications. Missing three columns and eight divisions costs 70 points and leaves 430, a pass. Missing six columns and ten multiplications costs 110 and leaves 390, which falls short.

Pre-2 kyu is marked in exactly the same way, with the same 400 to pass.

What changes at this level

  • Columns: from five 3-digit rows (15 digits) at 3 kyu to seven 3-digit rows (21 digits). The width stays at three digits; only the length of the column grows.
  • Multiplication: the spec line is the same as at 3 kyu, jitsuho 4 keta, meaning the multiplicand and multiplier share four digits. What changes is the split. At 3 kyu the official sample uses 3-digit × 1-digit; at 2 kyu every question is 2-digit × 2-digit, such as 62 × 51 = 3,162.
  • Division: also the same line as 3 kyu, hosho 4 keta, where the divisor and the quotient share four digits and the dividend is not counted. On the official samples, 3 kyu uses a 1-digit divisor and a 3-digit quotient; 2 kyu uses a 2-digit divisor and a 2-digit quotient, such as 4,592 ÷ 82 = 56.
  • On the official samples, pre-2 kyu is the first paper in the ladder with these 2-digit shapes. They fill the second part of its multiplication and division sections, with 94 × 23 = 2,162 and 705 ÷ 15 = 47 as examples.
  • Subtraction still does not appear on the official samples: none from 10 kyu to 2 kyu has a subtracted row, and the first ones are in the ten-row columns of pre-1 kyu. The written rules do not say where subtraction starts.

Pacing

The clock is unchanged at 12 minutes for 80 questions, an average of 9 seconds each. What fills those seconds changes: a 2-digit × 2-digit product or a 2-digit division takes longer to hold in the head than the single-digit work of 3 kyu.

A worked budget: if each multiplication and division takes 6 seconds, the 60 of them use 360 seconds, exactly half the paper. The other 360 seconds cover 20 columns of seven rows, 18 seconds each, a little over 2.5 seconds per 3-digit row.

At 7 seconds each the short questions use 420 seconds, and each column gets 15 seconds, just over 2 seconds a row. A one-second difference on each short question moves a full minute to or from the columns.

Time the two halves of a practice paper separately, the 60 short questions and the 20 columns, to see where the minutes actually go before deciding which to answer first.

Pre-2 kyu is gentler at the start of each section: its first ten columns have five rows, and on the official sample its early multiplications and divisions still use a 1-digit multiplier or divisor.

How Zenshuren's exam differs

At the League for Soroban Education of Japan (Zenshuren), 2 kyu anzan also has multiplication, division and mitori sections, but each is its own 3-minute test marked out of 100, and a pass needs 70 or more in all three.

Zenshuren does not publish per-level question specifications online, so there is no public way to check whether its 2 kyu uses the same 2-digit × 2-digit shapes as Nishuren's paper. Ask the school or teacher who enters your child.

The calendars differ as well. As of September 2026, Zenshuren holds kyu exams every month, while Nishuren sets unified dates in June, October and February (the month can differ by local chamber or league), with anytime sittings at every kyu level where a local chamber of commerce offers them.

Zenshuren's anzan exams at 2 kyu, as at every level from 3 kyu up, have had support from Japan's Ministry of Education (MEXT) since its 422nd exam on 21 July 2024.

How to prepare

  1. Use pre-2 kyu as the way in

    After 3 kyu, pre-2 kyu brings in 2-digit multipliers and divisors in only part of the multiplication and division sections on the official sample, so a slower start on the new shapes does not sink the whole paper.

  2. Make 2-digit × 2-digit a fixed routine

    62 × 51 is 62 × 50 plus 62, or 3,100 + 62 = 3,162. Whatever method the teacher uses, the same steps in the same order every time make the answer steadier under the clock.

  3. Estimate and check the first quotient digit

    With a 2-digit divisor the first quotient digit has to be estimated. For 4,592 ÷ 82: 82 goes into 459 five times (410), leaving 49; bring down the 2 to make 492, which is exactly 6 × 82, so the answer is 56. Practise that estimate-and-check step until it is quick.

  4. Grow columns from five rows to seven

    Hold accuracy at six rows before moving to seven. A longer column gives attention more room to drift, so keep a count of the rows as they go by.

  5. Rehearse the full 80

    Work through Nishuren's official sample paper or the mock exam on this page under the full 12 minutes, timing the columns and the short questions separately.

Common questions

Is 2-digit × 2-digit multiplication on the 3 kyu paper?
Not on the official samples, where 3 kyu multiplication is 3-digit × 1-digit throughout. On the samples, 2-digit × 2-digit first appears partway through pre-2 kyu's multiplication section and fills all 30 multiplication questions at 2 kyu. Division follows the same pattern, with 2-digit divisors starting at pre-2 kyu.
Why do the 3 kyu and 2 kyu specs look identical?
Both read jitsuho 4 keta for multiplication and hosho 4 keta for division, because the spec counts total digits: multiplicand plus multiplier, and divisor plus quotient. 506 × 8 and 62 × 51 both have four. The grades differ in how those four digits are split, and the official samples show the split.
In hosho 4 keta, why is the dividend not counted?
The spec counts only the divisor and the quotient. When a division comes out exact, as every one on the official samples does, those two fix the dividend: it is their product. In 4,592 ÷ 82 = 56, the divisor 82 and the quotient 56 are the four digits, and the 4-digit dividend is 82 × 56.
Do the divisions leave remainders?
Not on the official samples: every division on them comes out exact, and every number is a bare number with no unit such as yen. The mock exam on this page follows the same pattern.
An old practice book has 15 column problems and a 450-point paper. Is it still useful?
It predates April 2003. Before then the column section had 15 questions, the paper was worth 450 and the pass mark was 360; since April 2003 there have been 20 column questions, 500 points and a pass mark of 400. Books from before fiscal 2014 also have no pre-grades. The problems are still good practice, but time and mark against the current format.
Should my child take pre-2 kyu or go straight to 2 kyu?
Either is allowed; Nishuren's FAQ says candidates may start at any level. Pre-2 kyu makes sense when the 2-digit shapes are new, since only part of its multiplication and division uses them. If 2-digit × 2-digit products and 2-digit divisions already come out steadily at around 6 to 7 seconds, 2 kyu itself is a fair target.

Sources

Kani Math is not affiliated with, endorsed by or licensed by the League of Japan Abacus Associations (Nishuren), the League for Soroban Education of Japan (Zenshuren), the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry or any other exam body. The sample papers and mock exam on these pages are written to the published specification; they are not official papers, and a mock result is not a certification. Flash Anzan is a trademark of its owner. Exam details can change, so confirm them with whoever runs your sitting.

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