Learning guides
Understand readings and expressions, then put them into practice with review and mock tests.
至る: a reached conclusion and a path to the summit
Distinguish the actual conclusion reached after a long discussion from the destination of a path that passes through a forest.
及ぶ: damage across three villages and a five-hour meeting
Read the three-village extent of heavy-rain damage and the five-hour duration of a meeting, keeping spatial and temporal units distinct.
隔たる: separated villages and closeness across an age gap
Distinguish villages separated by a mountain from two people's age difference and the personal closeness their shared hobby brought.
余る: food for two people and cloth for a possible pouch
Read the portions left after too much food was made and the possibility of making a small pouch with a little remaining cloth.
余す: full use of available strength and all the materials
Read 余すところなく and 余すことなく as leaving none unused, with the athlete's available strength and the materials as their stated bounds.
兼ねる: two uses of one room and two roles of one owner
Identify the guest-room and study functions of the same room, and the owner and chef roles held by the same person.
控える: avoiding sweet drinks and standing by offstage
Separate restraint over sweet drinks for health from the next presenter waiting at the side of the stage.
受ける: receiving a birthday gift and taking an exam
Use the gift and certification-exam objects to distinguish receiving from taking an exam, retaining the birthday event and next-month plan.
募る: festival-helper recruitment and growing anxiety
Distinguish people recruited from the neighborhood to help with a festival from anxiety that keeps growing while no reply arrives.
通す: maintaining a position and passing thread through a hole
Read the reported maintenance of one's own position until the end, comparing it with passing thread through a small hole.
弾む: a bouncing ball and a lively conversation
Read 弾む through a new ball and a shared hobby. Distinguish bouncing from a conversation becoming lively without assuming a bounce height, agreement on every opinion, or a romantic relationship.
浮かぶ: floating petals and a kitchen brought to mind
Compare petals on a pond with a scent recalling a grandmother's kitchen in 浮かぶ. Distinguish a floating state from an evoked memory without making the kitchen move or treating it as a current visit.
潤う: fields moistened by rain and shops' prospects
Compare dry fields receiving rain with village shops' prospects in 潤う. Preserve the tourist-increase condition and prediction rather than reporting actual visitor growth, higher sales, or complete recovery.
澄む: clear air and a clear voice in a quiet hall
Read 澄む through distant mountains visible after rain and a voice in a quiet hall. Distinguish visual clarity from clear sound without adding loud volume, perfect pitch, or a precise viewing distance.
鋭い and 鈍い: knife blades, questions, and responses
Compare sharp and dull blades with a pointed question and a slow response in 鋭い and 鈍い. Identify the particular quality without turning it into a correct answer, completed understanding, or a judgment of overall ability.
寄せる and 寄せられた: comments coming in from readers
Read the source and passive delivery of readers' comments in 寄せられた, compared with moving desks in 寄せる. Preserve the aisle-widening aim without assuming readers gathered or every comment was positive.
取る: trying to get a box and taking a break
Compare a box as the goal of standing on tiptoe with an actual break in 休憩を取る. Read the object and activity without assuming the box was obtained or turning a break into approved leave.
湧く: water from rocks and courage after good news
Compare cold water springing from rocks with courage arising after good news in 湧く. Identify what emerges without replacing the water with boiling or the feeling with a completed brave action.
淡い: pale pink and a memory like a faint shadow
Compare the sky's pale pink with a childhood memory remaining like a faint shadow in 淡い. Preserve the simile and the memory's continued presence without inventing a physical shadow or complete forgetting.
振る: a signal flag and a silent shake of the head
Read 振る through a waved signal flag and a quiet head movement. Distinguish the ship starting to move from a nonverbal response without inventing a spoken answer or treating every head shake as refusal.
条件 and 前提: Participation Requirements and Planning Premises
Compare the same ability to participate as a requirement and a premise of a plan. Also read a condition for playing a match and a request to confirm shared premises.
仮定 and 仮説: A Calculation Premise and an Explanatory Proposal
Compare assuming everyone walks at the same speed for a calculation with proposing a hypothesis from observations. Identify the input premise and the explanation proposed for further checking.
原則 and 例外: General Rules and a Vacancy Exception
Read a library rule separately from a reservation example with an exception for available seats. Identify the stated exception without assigning both examples to one facility.
必然 and 偶然: Interpreting Meetings and Results
Compare a result described as inevitable and a meeting interpreted as inevitable with a chance encounter and a resemblance attributed to coincidence. Keep the speaker’s interpretation in view.
確実 and 確か: Reliable Delivery and Recalled Certainty
Read checking a destination to ensure delivery and withholding certainty about success. Compare certainty that someone came with a recollection about leaving a key.
主観 and 客観: Separating Records from Personal Impressions
Compare subjectivity in an evaluation with writing objective records separately from personal impressions. Read the use of additional material without assuming infallibility or the complete absence of subjectivity.
概念 and 定義: A Concept to Explain and a Meaning to Define
Compare a difficult concept explained through a familiar example with checking definitions before discussion. Also read thinking about time in a story and a teacher’s statement about defining happiness.
意味 and 意義: Word Meaning and the Value of an Action
Read a word’s dictionary meaning and the meaning of failure alongside the significance of preservation and of taking on a challenge. Preserve overlap between meaning and value.
具体 and 抽象: Specific Information and Abstract Representation
Compare a request for specific figures with a painting without concrete forms. Read the purpose of making a proposal concrete separately from the difficulty of an abstract explanation.
絶対: A Strong Prohibition and a Qualified Criterion
Compare a strong request to stay out of a dangerous place with a qualification about a record as an absolute criterion. Read the action and the status of the criterion separately.