Learning guides
Understand readings and expressions, then put them into practice with review and mock tests.
東 and 西: east and west of a building
Locate a library east of a station and a window on the west side, separating compass directions from a viewer’s left and right.
北 and 南: a location to the north and southward travel
Read a forest north of a lake and an instruction to walk south, distinguishing regional extent from the direction checked on a map and the direction traveled.
方面 and 方向: toward an area and a direction of movement
Compare a bus heading toward a hot-spring area with wind direction, separating a regional heading from confirmed arrival or stops.
向く and 向かう: facing a direction and heading to a destination
Compare facing a window with traveling toward a library, separating a destination heading from completed arrival.
真っ直ぐ and 直接: a straight path and going without a stopover
Separate a straight course from going directly to an office, without treating direct travel as proof that a road has no bends.
斜め and 垂直: a slant and a right angle to a reference
Compare a slanted line with perpendicular relations to a floor and wall, identifying the reference instead of assuming every perpendicular is upright.
角 and 交差点: a corner and a road intersection
Read turning at a corner and passing an intersection, without treating every turn as a crossing of intersecting roads.
反対 and 逆: an opposite side and a reversed route order
Compare a bus stop across the road with visiting stations in reverse order, checking the reference when opposite directions overlap.
近道 and 遠回り: a shorter route and a detour
Compare a shortcut through a park with a detour to a bridge, separating route length from access conditions and travel time.
道 and 道順: a path and directions to a destination
Compare a riverside path with directions from a station to a museum, separating the existence of a road from an ordered route.
通る and 渡る: passing along a route and crossing to another side
Compare using a riverside path with crossing a river, then examine the different focus of both verbs for a bridge.
登る and 降りる: climbing a mountain and descending stairs
Compare mountain climbing, going down stairs, and getting off a bus, separating direction of movement from reaching the summit.
越える and 通る: crossing a pass and passing through a tunnel
Compare going beyond a pass or boundary with following a tunnel route, keeping a completed crossing separate from the end of a journey.
進む and 戻る: continuing along a path and returning to an earlier point
Compare going farther along a road with returning to a fork, separating a return destination from walking backward.
離れる and 去る: moving away from a reference and leaving a place
Compare moving away from a door with leaving a room or town, without inferring a permanent departure.
巡る and 辿る: touring places and following a path or trace
Compare touring temples with following an old path or footprints, distinguishing places visited from the route or clues followed.
立ち止まる and 止まる: pausing while walking and a general stop
Compare stopping in front of an information board to read a map with a clock that has stopped, without adding sitting down to 立ち止まる.
寄る and 通る: stopping at a shop and passing in front of it
Compare visiting a pharmacy with taking a route past it, without inferring whether a visit occurred from passage alone.
追う and 追い越す: following behind and overtaking
Compare running after someone with overtaking a walking friend, keeping an attempt to pass separate from a completed pass.
抜ける and 出る: emerging through a space and leaving a place
Compare emerging from a forest with leaving a room, separating a tunnel exit from arrival at the next destination.
坂 and 階段: a sloping path and a flight of steps
Compare a sloping route with stairs, separating step counts from floor counts and allowing both structures along one route.
谷 and 峠: a valley and a mountain pass
Compare a road along a valley with one crossing a pass, separating a summit visible from a pass from the viewer’s position.
島 and 半島: an island and land projecting into water
Compare the land connections of an island and a peninsula, without changing an island into a peninsula merely because a bridge connects it.
岸 and 海岸: a bank or shore and a coast
Compare riverbanks and lakeshores with a sea coast, separating a viewer’s location from a boat’s position and the coast’s material.
川 and 橋: a watercourse and a structure spanning a gap
Compare a river with a bridge over it, using a bridge above railway tracks to avoid assuming that every bridge crosses a river.
水面 and 底: the water surface and the bottom below it
Compare sky reflected on water with a stone at a bucket’s bottom, separating depth below the surface from the container’s full height.
平ら and 坂: a level path, a slope, and a flat board’s orientation
Compare a level path with a sloping road, then use a flat board placed at an angle to separate surface shape from placement.
湾 and 半島: water extending inland and land extending into water
Compare a harbor inside a bay with a lighthouse at a peninsula’s tip, distinguishing water and land on a map.
池 and 沼: pond and swamp names versus observed water conditions
Read a garden pond and a swamp bordered by grass, separating the terms from size, depth, and observed cloudiness.
地形 and 地図: actual terrain and a map representing it
Compare a mountain road’s terrain with a mountain marked on a map, separating flat paper from level ground.