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Anzan Kentei 4 kyu mock exam

The 4 kyu paper of the League of Japan Abacus Associations (Nishuren) finishes the widening of the mitori column that began at 6 kyu: all five rows now have two digits. Multiplication and division stay exactly as at 6 and 5 kyu, which makes this the last paper before pre-3 kyu brings in 3-digit mitori rows and larger multiplication and division.

  • 80 questions
  • 12 minutes
  • Pass: 400 of 500
  • Mitori: 2 keta, 5 kuchi, 10 ji

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4 kyu

80 questions (20 mitori, 30 kake, 30 wari) · 12 minutes · pass: 400 of 500

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The mock exam builds a different 4 kyu paper every time, 80 questions to the published specification, and marks it the way the paper is marked: 10 points a mitori question, 5 a multiplication or division, 400 to pass. Choose the official 12-minute clock, or untimed to work on accuracy first, and take the sections in any order. It is a Kani Math practice paper, not an official exam.

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

4 kyu paper (Nishuren)

SectionQuestionsContentPoints
A: Mitori anzanNos. 1–202 keta, 5 kuchi, 10 ji: five 2-digit rows200 (10 each)
B: Kake anzanNos. 21–50Jitsuho 3 keta, shown on the official sample as 2-digit × 1-digit150 (5 each)
C: Wari anzanNos. 51–80Hosho 3 keta, shown on the official sample as a 1-digit divisor with a 2-digit quotient150 (5 each)
Whole paper80 questionsA single 12-minute clock; answer in any order500; pass at 400

Section totals are those printed on the official sample papers, with per-question points derived from them. No row is subtracted on the official 4 kyu sample.

Sample paper

Printed below is a fixed 30-question sample to the 4 kyu specification: 10 mitori columns of five 2-digit rows, 10 multiplications of a 2-digit number by a 1-digit number, and 10 divisions pairing a 1-digit divisor with a 2-digit quotient. Its numbering runs 1 to 30 across all three sections, whereas the real paper numbers mitori 1 to 20, multiplication 21 to 50 and division 51 to 80. Matching the official samples, all rows are added and all divisions are exact, and the answers come after the questions. This is a Kani Math sample, not an official Nishuren paper.

4 kyuSample paper

Printed below is a fixed 30-question sample to the 4 kyu specification: 10 mitori columns of five 2-digit rows, 10 multiplications of a 2-digit number by a 1-digit number, and 10 divisions pairing a 1-digit divisor with a 2-digit quotient. Its numbering runs 1 to 30 across all three sections, whereas the real paper numbers mitori 1 to 20, multiplication 21 to 50 and division 51 to 80. Matching the official samples, all rows are added and all divisions are exact, and the answers come after the questions. This is a Kani Math sample, not an official Nishuren paper.

Mitori anzan: columns

  1. No. 11730873288
  2. No. 23316974778
  3. No. 39887429728
  4. No. 43319384049
  5. No. 59255475482
  6. No. 68183855356
  7. No. 77596529766
  8. No. 84721241432
  9. No. 99365171936
  10. No. 104323149859

Kake anzan: multiplication

  1. No. 1116 × 8 =
  2. No. 1292 × 6 =
  3. No. 1323 × 4 =
  4. No. 1470 × 3 =
  5. No. 1584 × 9 =
  6. No. 1618 × 3 =
  7. No. 1742 × 7 =
  8. No. 1891 × 5 =
  9. No. 1922 × 4 =
  10. No. 2026 × 9 =

Wari anzan: division

  1. No. 21238 ÷ 7 =
  2. No. 22664 ÷ 8 =
  3. No. 23616 ÷ 8 =
  4. No. 24378 ÷ 6 =
  5. No. 25261 ÷ 3 =
  6. No. 2684 ÷ 4 =
  7. No. 27196 ÷ 4 =
  8. No. 28162 ÷ 6 =
  9. No. 29276 ÷ 6 =
  10. No. 3064 ÷ 4 =

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. 254
  2. 271
  3. 352
  4. 179
  5. 330
  6. 358
  7. 386
  8. 138
  9. 230
  10. 237
  11. 128
  12. 552
  13. 92
  14. 210
  15. 756
  16. 54
  17. 294
  18. 455
  19. 88
  20. 234
  21. 34
  22. 83
  23. 77
  24. 63
  25. 87
  26. 21
  27. 49
  28. 27
  29. 46
  30. 16

How it is scored

The paper is scored as at 6 and 5 kyu: section totals of 200, 150 and 150 on the official sample, which works out to 10 points a mitori question and 5 a multiplication or division, with 400 of 500 needed to pass.

At 4 kyu section A is the hardest it has been, and it still carries double points per question. A candidate who gets 15 of the 20 mitori questions right has 150 points from section A and needs 250 from the other two, which means 50 of the 60 multiplications and divisions. At 12 of 20, the requirement rises to 56 of 60.

So judge readiness by the mitori score first: below 12 correct on the mock exam, even near-perfect multiplication and division leave almost no room for a slip.

What changes at this level

  • Every mitori row now has two digits. The specification is 2 keta, 5 kuchi, 10 ji: five rows, each two digits wide, ten digits in all, up from eight at 5 kyu. For example, 46, 72, 18, 93, 57 makes 286. Totals can run as high as 495.
  • Because every row is the same width, the column is easier to scan than 5 kyu's mix of widths, but there is more to carry: the tens digits of five rows can add to 45 before the units are counted. Some children add each row whole, on a mental image of the beads; others take the tens down the column and then the units. Either way, from about the third row on, the running total is usually in the hundreds.
  • Sections B and C are unchanged for the third paper in a row: jitsuho 3 keta and hosho 3 keta, shown on the official sample as a 2-digit number times a 1-digit number and as a 1-digit divisor with a 2-digit quotient. Typical questions of those shapes are 83 × 7 = 581 and 392 ÷ 7 = 56.

Pacing

Twelve minutes still covers 80 questions, 9 seconds each on average, but the mitori section now holds 200 digits: 20 questions of 10 digits. That is two-thirds more reading than at 6 kyu, on the same clock.

A plan that respects that: 16 seconds a mitori question (5 minutes 20 seconds), 5 seconds a multiplication (2 minutes 30 seconds) and 6 seconds a division (3 minutes). The total is 10 minutes 50 seconds, which leaves 70 seconds to check or return to skipped questions.

Sixteen seconds for five 2-digit rows is about 3 seconds a row. If a child's mitori takes closer to 20 seconds a question, section A alone uses 6 minutes 40 seconds and leaves 5 minutes 20 seconds for 60 multiplications and divisions: 5.3 seconds each, with nothing left over for checking. That is why speed in sections B and C, unchanged since 6 kyu, is worth training at this level.

How Zenshuren's exam differs

The League for Soroban Education of Japan (Zenshuren) sets its 4 kyu in the same three kinds of work, multiplication, division and mitori, with each section on its own 3-minute clock, marked out of 100, and 70 or more needed in every section to pass.

Time cannot be moved between sections at Zenshuren: a slow mitori section cannot borrow from a quick multiplication section, as it can within Nishuren's single 12-minute clock. And as of September 2026 Zenshuren holds kyu exams every month, where Nishuren has unified dates in June, October and February plus anytime sittings.

From 3 kyu upward, dan included, Zenshuren's anzan exam has carried the backing of Japan's education ministry (MEXT) since its 422nd exam on 21 July 2024. Zenshuren publishes no per-level question specifications online.

How to prepare

  1. Build 2-digit column fluency

    Work five-row columns in which every row has two digits, untimed at first and then toward about 16 seconds a column.

  2. Get comfortable in the hundreds

    Five 2-digit rows average more than 250 together, so most running totals end in the hundreds. Practise adding a 2-digit number to a 3-digit total, such as 229 + 57, until it no longer needs a pause.

  3. Push sections B and C toward 5 seconds

    Timed sets of 30 multiplications, aiming to finish inside 2 minutes 30 seconds, turn sections B and C into banked time for section A. The Kani Math app's everyday drills can keep the tables quick, as general practice rather than exam preparation.

  4. Check divisions by multiplying back

    Every division on the official samples is exact, so a quick multiplication back, 7 × 56 = 392, confirms an answer. If it does not match, look again before moving on.

  5. Look ahead to pre-3 kyu

    The next Nishuren paper, pre-3 kyu, keeps half of 4 kyu's shapes and adds 3-digit ones. Its second 10 mitori questions have five 3-digit rows, and on the official sample its second 15 multiplications are 3-digit by 1-digit and its second 15 divisions have 3-digit quotients, such as 1,705 ÷ 5. Some 3-digit rows in daily practice smooth that step.

Common questions

Is 4 kyu much harder than 5 kyu?
Only in section A. The mitori columns go from eight digits to ten, with every row two digits wide, and totals can reach 495. Sections B and C are specified exactly as at 5 kyu.
What comes after 4 kyu?
At Nishuren the next paper is pre-3 kyu (jun-sankyu), a half-step created in fiscal 2014, then 3 kyu. Pre-3 kyu mixes 4 kyu's shapes with 3-digit ones. At 3 kyu every mitori row has three digits, and on the official sample every multiplication is 3-digit by 1-digit (such as 506 × 8) and every division has a 1-digit divisor and a 3-digit quotient (such as 724 ÷ 2).
Can my child go from 4 kyu straight to 3 kyu?
Yes. Nishuren's FAQ says candidates may start at any grade, so pre-3 kyu is optional. It suits a child who would benefit from a paper where half the questions are still 4 kyu shapes.
Does 4 kyu mitori include subtraction?
Not on the official sample, where every row is added. No Nishuren sample from 10 kyu to 2 kyu has a subtracted row; they appear from pre-1 kyu, in the 10-row problems.
Should my child sit the Nishuren or the Zenshuren exam?
It usually comes down to which exam your school or local venue runs. At 4 kyu the main differences are the clock (one 12-minute clock against three 3-minute sections) and the pass rule (a 400-point total against 70 in every section). They reward slightly different habits rather than one being better.
Can the mock exam tell me whether my child is ready?
It marks a fresh paper the way the real one is marked, so a run of passes on the 12-minute clock is a reasonable sign. It cannot reproduce exam-day conditions, and it is not an official paper: Kani Math is not affiliated with, endorsed by or licensed by Nishuren, Zenshuren, the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry or any other exam body.

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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