Learning guides
Understand readings and expressions, then put them into practice with review and mock tests.
天気 and 気候: a lunch condition and regional climate
Compare 天気 in a conditional lunch and watching mountain weather with 気候 in a region's mild climate and a comparison using data. Separate the condition, observation, and completed comparison.
天候 and 気象: a possible schedule change and weather records
Read 天候 in a canceled hike and a departure time that may change, then 気象 in records and an exhibit. Preserve the overlapping weather meanings while distinguishing possibility from completed actions.
晴れる: a clearing sky and feeling relieved
Read 晴れた with 空 and 気持ち. Separate rain stopping before noon from the sky clearing in the afternoon, and distinguish feeling relieved after speaking from having every worry resolved.
曇る and 曇り: a cloudy sky and fogged glasses
Distinguish 曇る as a change from 曇り as a state or object. Read the sky and glasses separately, preserving tomorrow's cloudy forecast and the past act of wiping fog from glasses.
降雨 and 降水: rainfall records and precipitation displays
Compare daily 降雨量 records with a 降水 distribution chart and a color-coded model. Read rainfall and precipitation as data terms, keeping classroom representation distinct from field measurement.
降雪 and 積雪: snowfall preparation and accumulated depth
Compare 降雪 covering a road or prompting preparation with 積雪 as snow cover about ten centimeters deep and snow checked on a roof. Separate preparation, accumulated state, and checking.
吹く: wind blowing and a person blowing on soup
Read the subject in 風が吹く and the object in スープを吹く. Distinguish the seasonal wind from the completed sequence of blowing on soup, cooling it, and taking one sip.
台風 and 暴風: story, path map, and return because a storm was expected
Compare a 台風 approaching in a story and its path map read in class with 暴風 shaking a tree or being expected. Separate the named phenomenon and context from the boat's completed return.
雷, 稲妻, 落雷, and 雷鳴: sound, visible lightning, and representation
Use the verbs and objects to read rumbling 雷, visible 稲妻, actual or feared 落雷, and 雷鳴 represented with drums. Distinguish a lightning strike from theatrical thunder.
露 and 霜: dew wetting shoes and frost beginning to melt
Compare 露 shining on grass or wetting shoes with 霜 on a field or beginning to melt on a roof. Read the cause of wetness separately from the object and stage of melting.
雪解け: snowmelt and signs of a thaw in a relationship
Read 雪解け in soil beginning to appear on a mountain path and signs of improving relations. Distinguish a physical process and its beginning from a figurative sign of change.
凍る and 凍結: frozen roads and a plan temporarily on hold
Compare possible freezing of pond water and an already frozen road with 凍結 for a road or a plan. Read the targets and preserve temporary suspension due to a lack of funds.
結露 and 湿気: surface condensation and moisture in a room
Read 結露 on windows or walls alongside 湿気 in a room and a shelf with less moisture. Distinguish the surface phenomenon, humid conditions, and the completed move of boxes.
日照, 陽光, and 日陰: exposure, sunlight, and shade
Compare 日照 affecting a room or surrounding area, 陽光 entering through curtains or lighting leaves, and 日陰 as a place to rest or grow. Read exposure conditions, light itself, and location.
涼しい and 蒸し暑い: a cool time for work and a muggy night
Read a cool breeze and 涼しいうちに alongside a hot, humid room and night. Preserve the time condition for beginning fieldwork and the past act of sleeping with the window slightly open.
梅雨, 雨季, and 乾季: a repair wish and regional seasonal changes
Compare laundry and flowers during 梅雨, a roof-repair wish before 雨季, and river-level changes in some regions during 乾季. Read the seasonal names, regional limits, and actions stated.
小雨 and 豪雨: weaker rain and a temporarily impassable road
Read 小雨 when rain weakens and 豪雨 when a road becomes impassable for a while. Preserve the slightly brighter sky, temporary result, and action taken in preparation for heavy rain.
天然 and 自然: natural fragrance and a natural manner of speaking
Compare 天然 describing fragrance and a cave with 自然 for nature in the mountains and 自然に speaking to guests. Distinguish origin, an object of experience, and manner.
野生 and 生息: wild status and a possible habitat
Compare a wild deer and a bird returned to the wild with birds researched in a guide and a tank modeled on a habitable environment. Separate status, habitation, possibility, and reported actions.
飼育 and 栽培: animal care and choosing a plant that can be grown
Compare raising fish and recording animal care with growing vegetables and choosing a suitable plant. Identify the animal or plant, the ongoing activities, and choice based on cultivation being possible.
繁殖, 生殖 and 増殖: reproduction, process and proliferation
Compare 繁殖, 生殖 and 増殖 in fish, plants and cells. Separate organisms reproducing from people studying or observing their processes while preserving overlap between the names.
発芽 and 芽: germination, a soil sprout and a branch bud
Read 発芽 and 芽 through soaked beans sprouting, a sprout emerging from soil and branch buds swelling. Separate the observed result, investigation and gradual change.
開花 and 満開: blossoms opening, talent flourishing and full bloom
Compare 開花 for plum blossoms and flourishing talent with 満開 for flowers in full bloom. Identify the object, the change and the fully blooming state in each example.
散る: blossoms falling in the wind and birds scattering at a signal
Read 散る through falling cherry blossoms and scattering birds. Compare their subjects, triggers and the past 散った with the nonpast 散る.
枯れる and 萎れる: flowers withering, a dry well and dejection
Compare the overlapping flower meanings of 枯れる and 萎れる with a well drying up and a brother becoming a little dejected. Keep conditions, results and objects distinct.
紅葉 as もみじ and こうよう: maple objects and autumn color
Read 紅葉 as もみじ for a maple tree or leaf and こうよう for autumn foliage or trees beginning to change color. Compare the named objects and the changing action.
落葉 and 常緑: collected leaves, leaf fall and year-round greenery
Compare 落葉 as gathered leaves or the start of leaf fall with 常緑 in planted evergreens and a green hill. Separate an object, an onset and a continuing state.
哺乳類 and 魚類: a whale's sea habitat and classification
Read 哺乳類 and 魚類 in whale, exhibition, aquarium and picture examples. Keep living in the sea and being a mammal as coexisting statements in the whale sentence.
幼虫 and 羽化: a larva and emergence as an adult
Compare 幼虫 in discovery and picture-guide comparisons with 羽化 in a butterfly's adult emergence and a recorded time. Separate the stage noun from the change.
渡り鳥 and 群れ: migratory birds, flocks and guided sheep
Compare 渡り鳥 returning or being searched for with 群れ in birds flying south and sheep guided by a sheepdog. Read the group members and guiding agent separately.