Learning guides
Understand readings and expressions, then put them into practice with review and mock tests.
手紙 and 葉書: exchanging letters and postcards
Distinguish the written medium from sending and receiving actions.
封筒 and 切手: inserting letters and attaching stamps
Distinguish mailing supplies and the targets of inserting and attaching.
郵便 and 宅配: postal mail and delivery to a home
Separate sending methods, delivery locations, requests, and completion.
荷物 and 小包: baggage and wrapped parcels
Compare the broad category of goods to carry with a parcel sent as a package.
宛名 and 住所: recipient details and addresses
Distinguish the person addressed from location information on mail.
電話 and 伝言: calling and leaving a message
Distinguish the communication medium from the message to be passed on.
番号 and 記号: identifying numbers and symbols
Distinguish identifying information from quantities when reading numbers and symbols.
新聞 and 雑誌: publication and reading scope
Distinguish publication names, issue dates, and what was actually read.
記事 and 広告: articles and promotional text
Distinguish the role of a published text from facts learned through it.
放送 and 番組: broadcasting and programs
Separate transmitting content from the program being transmitted.
音楽 and 歌: music broadly and songs
Distinguish the music category from songs performed with the voice.
声 and 音: voices and sources of sound
Distinguish human or animal vocal sounds from the broader sound category.
絵 and 写真: drawn pictures and photographs
Choose medium-specific verbs and identify who recorded what.
映画 and 演劇: watching film and theater
Distinguish a work's medium from viewing, creating, or performing in it.
小説 and 物語: the novel form and a story
Distinguish a literary genre from a story that can appear in several media.
図書館 and 書店: activities at libraries and bookshops
Distinguish a facility for using books from a shop for buying them.
散歩 and 遠足: walks and planned outings
Distinguish walking for leisure from an organized outing and its preparation.
趣味 and 娯楽: personal hobbies and entertainment
Distinguish a personal interest from the broader range of entertainment.
読書 and 朗読: reading books and reading aloud
Distinguish reading activity from presenting text through the voice.
観客 and 聴衆: spectators and listeners
Distinguish an audience viewed as watching from one viewed as listening.
喜び and 悲しみ: naming emotions
Distinguish an emotion from the people involved when describing feeling or sharing joy and sorrow.
不安 and 安心: following changes in worry
Track the content of a worry, what brings relief, and anxiety that remains over time.
期待 and 失望: expectations and disappointment
Separate looking forward to a result from disappointment about it, without treating an expectation as a guarantee.
満足 and 不満: targets and degrees of evaluation
Identify what someone is satisfied or dissatisfied with, distinguishing partial evaluations from voicing a complaint.
興味 and 関心: common patterns for interest
Learn the objects and expressions used with two overlapping nouns instead of forcing a rigid distinction.
自信 and 誇り: confidence and pride
Distinguish belief in one's ability from pride in something valued through common sentence patterns.
勇気 and 恐怖: acting with courage despite fear
Separate feeling fear from finding courage, including sentences in which both are present.
希望 and 願い: preferences and wishes
Distinguish who wants something from its fulfillment when stating preferences or describing wishes.
我慢 and 辛抱: enduring and holding back
Learn common patterns for two overlapping words, separating duration from the ability to keep going.
怒り and 驚き: emotions and visible reactions
Distinguish anger from surprise, using context to decide whether a surprise is welcome or unwelcome.