Learning guides
Understand readings and expressions, then put them into practice with review and mock tests.
記載 and 記述: information entered and circumstances described
Compare a meeting place listed in a guide with an account of an accident in a report. Read the function of the document’s content rather than length or input medium.
弁解 and 説明: defending oneself and explaining content
Compare excuses listing reasons for failure with an explanation of machine use. Explanations can serve a defensive purpose, and excuses are not defined as universally false.
描写 and 説明: depicting a scene or feeling and explaining a method
Compare a novel’s landscape and anxiety depictions with an explanation of machine use. Depiction is not limited to visible objects or exclusively written expression.
要約, 抜粋, and 省略: summarizing, extracting, and omitting
Compare a three-line summary, a novel excerpt, and a statement that a detailed explanation will be omitted. Shortened text is not automatically a summary; identify how the original was handled.
引用 and 借用: quoted sentences and borrowed words or figures
Compare a quotation from a diary with a figure borrowed from research. Words can also be borrowed, so the terms do not form an exclusive words-versus-figures division.
略す and 省く: abbreviating a name and leaving material out
Compare deciding on a three-character organization-name abbreviation with omitting an explanation or unnecessary steps. The verbs can overlap in omitting detailed explanations.
補足 and 訂正: adding missing information and correcting an error
Compare supplementing an incomplete explanation with a diagram and correcting errors in materials or a statement. Missing and incorrect information call for different responses.
語彙 and 単語: a vocabulary range and an individual word
Compare usable vocabulary expanded through reading with an unfamiliar word written in a notebook. Context-sensitive word choice is not established by a card count alone.
口調 and 口頭: tone of voice and oral delivery
Compare a gentle explanation to a child with an explanation delivered orally. A change in a phone conversation’s tone differs from a change between speech and writing.
作文 and 写す: composing a text and copying existing wording
Compare a composition about summer vacation with blackboard text copied character by character. Writing in a notebook does not by itself establish original composition.
文, 段落, and 文章: sentences, paragraphs, and text
Identify a sentence to read, paragraphs formed where a text changes topic, and a connected text without defining them by fixed word, sentence, or line counts.
通訳 and 翻訳: communication tasks and the interpreter
Read interpreting work, the interpreter, and translated novels or manuals by their roles without imposing an exclusive speech-versus-writing division.
直訳 and 意訳: original form and meaning in translation
Compare word-order analysis in a literal translation with readability in a free translation, without using the strategy name to prove accuracy or added information.
原文 and 訳文: the source text and translated result
Identify source and translated texts by their relationship, without fixing their languages or treating comparison as proof of agreement.
表す and 述べる: what conveys meaning and who states it
Identify the roles of a red line showing temperature changes, a letter expressing gratitude, and a person stating reasons or witnessed events.
説得 and 説明: a desired response and explained content
Compare the family being persuaded and the stated permission outcome with the machine-use content being explained, without inferring persuasion from explanation alone.
訴える and 伝える: appealing for a response and conveying content
Identify the content, recipient, and desired response in appeals about noise or pain and in the transmission of meeting results or regional history.
呼ぶ: calling or inviting someone and using a name
Read a conditional request to call and an invitation home, then compare the object and name in a separately labeled author-written naming example.
叫ぶ and 怒鳴る: loud calls and the context of a shout
Compare a warning cry, a shout on stage, and an explanation given instead of yelling, without inferring anger from volume or a performer’s feelings from a scene.
明確 and 正確: clear meaning and accurate information
Compare clear purposes or instructions with accurate addresses or timekeeping, separating ease of understanding from factual or referential accuracy.
書評 and 要約: a review’s purpose and a summary portion
Read review and summary examples, then distinguish the purpose of a whole review from a condensed-content portion in an author-written scenario.
暗記 and 暗唱: memorizing and reciting from memory
Compare retaining content with speaking it from memory, without narrowing the Japanese memorization example’s presentation to recitation solely from its English translation.
文法 and 表記: grammatical relations and written forms
Compare an understandable sentence with a grammatical error, a check of a name’s written form, and standardized unit notation, without treating a check as proof of an error.
聞き取り: listening practice and an interview inquiry
Distinguish Japanese comprehension practice from gathering a witness’s account by the task and target, without inferring recording or verification.
取材 and 報告: gathering material and reporting content
Identify who gathers information, its source, reported content, and recipient to distinguish gathering information from conveying it.
注釈 and 補足: explaining an expression and adding information
Compare notes on terms or source text with diagrams and extra schedule information, without defining notes by location or treating a preservation goal as guaranteed success.
指摘 and 訂正: the error identified and the person correcting it
Read the teacher’s identification of a writing error and corrections to materials or a remark by their targets and actors, without joining separate examples into one event.
発表 and 通知: presenting content and notifying a recipient
Compare announcements of research results or successful applicants with notices about reservations or school closure by content, recipient, and form rather than audience size.
回答 and 解答: replies and problem answers with the same reading
Choose between the two forms pronounced かいとう by the function of an inquiry response or problem answer, keeping correctness a separate issue.
冗談 and 誇張: joking intent and exaggerated degree
Compare the intent of a joke with the degree of overstatement, preserving tentative wording and negation without guaranteeing laughter.