Learning guides
Understand readings and expressions, then put them into practice with review and mock tests.
有効 and 無効: a valid ticket and one without validity
Read validity periods and eligible weekdays, and distinguish ticket validity from the effectiveness of a method.
無料 and 有料: a free first trial and paid later use
Compare a free trial with paid use, reading how 初回 and 以降 distinguish the first use from later uses and when charges apply.
割引 and 値引き: a conditional discount and a reduced selling price
Compare a student discount with a reduction for scratched goods, without dividing the words solely into percentages and fixed amounts.
定価 and 価格: a list price and the selling price
Distinguish list price, selling price, and purchase timing, without applying a later price change to a past payment.
送料 and 料金: shipping costs and the direction of delivery
Separate shipping included in the item price from return shipping, checking conditions tied to direction and destination.
現金 and 小銭: cash including banknotes and small change
Distinguish cash from coins or small amounts of money, reading situations with cash but no small change and the separate meaning of お釣り.
予算 and 会計: a planned budget and the actual bill
Distinguish a purchase budget from restaurant checkout, reading cases where the amount spent differs from the planned amount.
見積もり and 請求: estimating an amount and requesting payment
Compare the timing and purpose of estimates and bills, distinguishing receipt of a bill from making payment.
数量 and 分量: order quantities and amounts of ingredients
Compare product quantities, ingredients, and text length, without turning a serving count such as 二人分 into a number of ingredients.
単位 and 基準: units for quantities and criteria for judgment
Compare boxes, item counts, and length units with evaluation criteria, keeping units attached to the numbers you read.
始発 and 終電: the first service, the last train, and the starting station
Distinguish the first-service and origin-station meanings of 始発 from the last train, keeping station and direction attached to timetable information.
通過 and 経由: passing through and traveling via a place
Compare a station passed without stopping with a route via a location, without assuming a stop or transfer from 経由 alone.
欠航 and 中止: a canceled flight or sailing and a canceled activity
Compare cancellations of flights and sailings with cancellation of an event, limiting each statement to the service or activity named.
直通 and 乗り換え: a through service and a transfer
Avoid reading a through service as nonstop or necessarily fastest, keeping transfers separate from the number of stops.
満員 and 空席: a place full of people and an empty seat
Compare a crowded place with seat availability, distinguishing a visibly empty seat from permission to occupy it.
開店 and 閉店: daily opening and closing, and a new shop opening
Distinguish daily opening times from a new shop launch, interpreting closing notices with their dates and repetition.
営業 and 休業: operating hours and a period without business
Read notices dividing morning closure from afternoon operation, without inferring closing time from a sign that says the business is open.
受付 and 締め切り: reception hours and an application deadline
Read different time limits for a reception counter and online applications, without treating counter closure as the end of every application method.
日程 and 予定: a day-by-day schedule and a planned activity
Separate changes to a trip's detailed schedule from the plan to travel, reading undecided dates alongside an existing travel plan.
必須 and 任意: required fields and optional fields
Read required and optional form labels, distinguishing optional completion from 任意 used for an arbitrary choice of number.
前 and 手前: in front of something and on the near side
Compare a position in front of a building with a point before reaching it, keeping the reference object and approach direction clear.
後ろ and 裏: behind a person and on an object’s reverse side
Separate a position behind someone in a line from the back of an envelope, then examine overlap behind a building.
内側 and 外側: inside and outside a specified boundary
Read the sides of a box and a fence boundary, allowing an inside and an outside position to coexist when their reference objects differ.
間 and 隙間: a position between things and a physical gap
Compare 間 read あいだ with 隙間, distinguishing a position between two references from an unfilled gap.
奥 and 底: deep inside and at the bottom of a container
Separate the back of a drawer from the bottom of a box, reading 奥 and 底 as different location references.
向こう and 対岸: beyond a reference and on the opposite shore
Compare a view beyond a window with the opposite riverbank, without restricting everything described by 向こう to a shoreline.
周辺 and 周囲: a surrounding area and a perimeter
Compare finding an area around a station with measuring around an object, keeping perimeter length separate from area.
端 and 隅: an edge and a corner area
Compare a desk’s edge with a room’s corner, using the object’s shape rather than limiting 端 to corner points.
中央 and 中心: a middle area, a center point, and a central district
Compare a room’s middle with a circle’s center point, without reducing a city center to the exact midpoint of a map.
幅 and 奥行き: width from the front and depth from front to back
Read furniture’s side-to-side width separately from its front-to-back depth when checking the space available for placement.