Rules
Country vs Country
Country vs Country (CvC) is an ongoing Japanese-learning event on Nihongo to Japan. What you study on the website and in the app becomes points for your country/region.
Seasons
- The event runs all year round. Each season lasts 4 months, with no break between seasons.
- Each day starts at 00:00 Japan time.
- Country/region points and personal points reset every season; your personal career points are kept forever. The Hall of Fame permanently shows each season's champion country/region and top 3 players.
Joining and countries/regions
- You're in as soon as you visit. You can score for your country/region even without signing in.
- The player board, friend bonuses, friend code rewards, and claiming prizes require signing in.
- Points you score without signing in are kept on this device (this browser). When you later sign in on the same device and browser, all of this season's points move into your account and count toward the player ranking. Points are not merged if you sign in on another device or browser, or if this device is already linked to a different account; points from past seasons are not merged.
- Your country/region is based on where you connect from (a country code provided by Cloudflare based on your IP) and is locked the first time you score each season: to your account if you're signed in, or to this device if you're not. We don't store your IP.
- If we can't determine your country/region, you're placed in “Other regions”: you can still score, but your points don't count toward the country rankings.
Base points
| Action | N5 | N4 | N3 | N2 | N1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Correct answer (only your first correct answer to each question counts per day) | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 | 30 |
| Wrong answer (up to 100 points per day) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Finish a lesson (each lesson counts once per season) | 100 | 120 | 140 | 160 | 180 |
Other ways to score
- Finish the level test +50 (once a day)
- Tap “Got it” on a flashcard +2 per card (up to 100 per day)
- Question of the day +10
- Reach 50 base points in a day for another +20
- 7-day / 30-day study streak: +100 / +500 extra that day (a day counts as studied only with 10+ base points)
- Content without a level counts as N5.
- Base points are capped at 20,000 per person per day (before multipliers). Normal studying won't hit this.
Multipliers
Final points = base points × (1 + friend bonus + friend duel bonus + Top Fan bonus + event bonus), with a total multiplier of up to ×3.
- Friend bonus: +10% for each active friend today, up to +50%. An active friend is a mutual friend whose account is at least 24 hours old and who has earned 100+ base points on their own today.
- Friend duels: question points in duels with friends are ×2.
- NTJ Top Fan: +10%.
- Double Weekend: +100% on the first weekend of each month (the Saturday that falls on the 1st–7th, plus the Sunday after).
Friend codes
- Everyone's friend code works as an invite link. When a new friend opens the link and signs in, you become friends automatically—no request to send and no approval to wait for.
- When your friend finishes their first lesson: the code owner gets +300 and the new friend gets +150.
- The code owner also earns 10% of the base points the friend earns in their first 30 days (nothing is taken from the friend).
- Friends from another country/region: the code owner gets an extra +100, and each of you scores for your own country/region.
- Friend code rewards count only for your first 100 friends each season, and only for new friends whose accounts are no more than 7 days old.
- Anyone with your link can add you as a friend directly. If you don't want that, you can switch to a new friend code anytime, and blocking still works as usual.
Rankings
- There are just two rankings: the country/region total and the player board (switchable between global and your country).
- The player board shows nicknames only. You can choose not to appear on it, and your points still count for your country/region.
- Rankings update every minute.
Fair play
- Points are calculated only on our servers.
- Up to 60 questions per player count per minute.
- Only your first correct answer to each question counts per day; wrong answers are capped at 100 points per day; base points are capped at 20,000 per day.
- Accounts less than 24 hours old don't give friend bonuses to others.
- If multiple accounts on the same device or network friend each other or use each other's friend codes, all related bonuses and rewards are void.
- Rule-breakers are disqualified for the season. We reserve the right to correct points and adjust the rules; rank rewards are reviewed manually before they're given out.
Rewards
- Country gold/silver/bronze medal (this season's exclusive design): every signed-in participant from the top 3 countries/regions by total points.
- Personal gold/silver/bronze medal (this season's exclusive design) + 3 months of NTJ Top Fan: the top 3 players worldwide.
- Reader badge: given to anyone who has bought an ebook (no points, always available).
- Every season has a different medal design. Season 1's theme is sakura.
Privacy
- We determine your country/region from where you connect, but we don't store your IP.
- Rankings show nicknames only—never accounts, email addresses, or any contact details.
- You can choose not to appear on the player board at any time.
- If you opt out of learning data statistics on this device on the privacy page, your answers aren't uploaded, so they can't be scored.
- When you delete your account, your points are deleted too; the Hall of Fame keeps only the nickname you used at the time.
Other
- No purchase is necessary to take part, and purchases do not earn points.
- Apple and Google are not sponsors of, and are not involved in any way with, this promotion.
- Any rule changes will be announced on this page.