Learning guides
Understand readings and expressions, then put them into practice with review and mock tests.
稽古 and 武道: practicing a dance and studying martial arts
Compare dance practice and a teacher's advice in 稽古 with study and courtesy in 武道.
体力 and 筋力: stamina for a mountain walk and muscle strength
Read required stamina and ongoing recovery in 体力 alongside leg training and classroom data in 筋力.
規律 and 規則: necessary discipline and the limit of discipline alone
Compare communal discipline and its stated limitation with a library rule and an explanation of a new rule.
球 and 球技: a ball or sphere and a category of sports
Compare a thrown ball and a dirt sphere with preferences and possible participation in ball sports.
戦術, 戦略, and 作戦: overlapping defense plans and a route-marking decision
Compare defensive plans, an explicitly long-term business strategy, and a decision to mark a route.
挑発 and 抗議: provocation and protest about a problem
Read deliberate provocative speech and continued conversation alongside protests about a ruling and construction noise.
水泳 and 泳ぐ: a learned activity and human or fish movement
Compare swimming basics and weekly competition practice with a summer habit and fish swimming at a past moment.
相撲: watching a broadcast and playing on the beach
Compare watching a sumo broadcast with 相撲を取る in children's beach play.
跳ぶ and 飛ぶ: shared とぶ and overlapping jump examples
Read an athlete's leap and turn-taking jumps alongside a bird's flight and a child's jump with 飛ぶ.
挑戦 and 挑む: forms of challenge and unreported achievement
Compare competition commitments and an expedition's goal with the stated change to a work from a technique attempt.
投げる and 受け止める: a throw's direction and a stated catch
Compare throwing a ball or rope end with catching a ball and accepting opinions as advice.
蹴る: kicking a ball and rejecting unsuitable terms
Compare a physical kick with rejecting an offer, following the object and stated reason.
打つ and 撃つ: shared うつ with striking and shooting objects
Compare a ball and drum with a film's signal shot and a game's scoring condition.
完走 and 走行: a finished race, a finishing goal, and driving
Read marathon completion and a goal set at the start alongside prototype driving and rainy-day visibility.
速度 and 歩幅: adjusted speed and a naturally changing stride
Compare bicycle and work speed with a companion-based stride adjustment and natural lengthening while hurrying.
敏捷, 俊敏, and 機敏: shared cat jumps and human responses
Compare overlapping cat-and-wall scenes with dodging an attack, helping a group catch up, and responding to a customer.
闘志: spirit retained after a conceded point and fueled by a performance
Compare maintained fighting spirit with the fire metaphor, keeping final results and subject information within each sentence.
好調 and 不振: form, sales trends, and the scope of a cause
Compare a pitcher's practice form and strong sales with analyzed poor sales and a stated practice-related seasonal slump.
調子 and 状態: varied conditions and restoration before inspection
Compare machine and body condition with an unscratched package and restoration to a safe state before inspection begins.
平等 and 公平: equal opportunities, shared candy, and fair criteria
Read an obligation about opportunities, an equal division, and fair judging alongside a conditional claim about deciding an order.
真剣: Serious Expressions and a Sword on Display
Compare athletes listening with serious expressions with a request not to touch a real sword on display. Use the context to distinguish a quality from a physical object.
本気: Pursuing a Goal and Conditional Practice Advice
Compare seriously pursuing a singing career with encouragement under If you are serious. Distinguish an ongoing goal, an unconfirmed condition, and proposed practice.
気楽 and 息抜き: Feeling at Ease and Taking a Break
Read being able to take it easy, the lonely yet carefree sides of solo travel, and walks or tea breaks between activities. Separate possibility, coexisting feelings, and break-taking actions.
余暇 and 娯楽: Time for Reading and Reading for Enjoyment
Compare spare time used for gardening or reading with a father's enjoyment of books and research into past amusements. Distinguish available time from an enjoyed activity.
遊び, 遊ぶ, and 遊戯: Naming Play and Describing Play in Progress
Compare a stone game, absorbed play, park and block play, and festival or group games. Read activity nouns, the verb, and past play in progress without fixed age or formality rules.
将棋 and 囲碁: Playing, Watching, and Learning
Compare holiday games with watching a match while predicting a move and learning basic rules. Connect 指す and 一局打つ to the examples without turning observation into participation.
駒 and 札: Board Pieces and Name or Handling Labels
Compare a moved white piece and old pieces on a Japanese chessboard with labels on a door and a box. Read 札 as ふだ and track each object's location and displayed content.
賭け and 賭博: A Juice Bet, a Life Gamble, and Reported Suspicion
Compare a race for juice and the figurative risk of opening a shop with an arrest on suspicion and a preventive counseling service. Preserve the target, figure of speech, and reported stages.
棄権 and 辞退: Withdrawal, Abstention, and a Declined Offer
Compare withdrawing from a final, three members supporting neither voting side, a health-related tournament withdrawal, and a politely declined offer. Track the object and stated reason.
失格 and 退場: Disqualification, a Stage Exit, and an Exit Order
Compare rule and deadline disqualification with leaving a stage after performing and an order following repeated fouls. Keep the Japanese exit order distinct from the English ejected wording.