Learning guides
Understand readings and expressions, then put them into practice with review and mock tests.
育つ and 育てる: growing and the care behind it
Compare the environment in which people or plants grow with the act of raising them, and distinguish birthplace from where someone grew up.
助かる and 助ける: rescue and practical help
Compare receiving help with helping, distinguishing survival from everyday expressions of practical relief.
済む and 済ませる: completed tasks and simple solutions
Compare a task being settled with completing it, and examine で済む for a sufficient means or limited burden.
抜ける and 抜く: missing parts and taking things out
Compare a tooth coming out with unplugging something, and examine omissions and skipping meals with standalone 抜く.
外れる and 外す: detached parts and missed expectations
Compare a part coming loose with removing it, and examine incorrect predictions and briefly leaving one's place.
隠れる and 隠す: hiding places and concealed objects
Compare a person's hiding place with concealing an object, including things obscured without intent, such as the moon behind clouds.
離れる and 離す: moving away and letting go
Distinguish distance between people from releasing a held hand, comparing から for the starting point with を for the separated object.
回る and 回す: rotation and passing things around
Compare an object rotating with someone turning it, then examine visiting several places and passing material around.
曲がる and 曲げる: street corners and bent knees
Compare changing direction in a street with bending an object or body part, separating a bent state from its cause.
倒れる and 倒す: falling over and tilting something down
Compare an object falling with knocking it over, and distinguish reclining a seat from defeating an opponent.
流れる and 流す: water flowing and music playing
Compare water flowing with making it flow, and examine the meanings involving music and tears.
溶ける and 溶かす: melting and dissolving ingredients
Compare ingredients melting with those dissolving in liquid, checking particles for the result and the action.
寄る and 寄せる: stopping by and moving closer
Compare a place stopped at along the way with an object moved closer, distinguishing a stopover from the final destination.
乗せる and 載せる: giving rides and publishing text
Read のせる in rides, loading luggage, and publishing text, including transport contexts where the spellings overlap.
写る and 写す: appearing in a photo and copying content
Compare a person appearing in a photo with taking the photograph, and examine 写す for copying written content.
移る and 移す: changing seats and transferring files
Compare people or activities moving elsewhere with transferring an object, and distinguish moving a file from copying one.
映る and 映す: reflections and screen images
Compare a reflection in a mirror with showing an image on a screen, distinguishing 映る from 写る in photographs.
探す and 捜す: looking for something wanted or lost
Compare looking for a suitable item with searching for something lost, without treating overlapping spellings as absolute rules.
捕まる and 捕まえる: being caught and doing the catching
Separate the caught party from the catcher, comparing insects, arrest, and finding a busy person available.
経つ and 立つ: time passing and standing
Distinguish time passing from standing with the shared reading たつ, comparing elapsed time, future waiting time, and standing location.
にとって: whose perspective makes something important?
Identify whose perspective supports an evaluation such as importance or difficulty. Distinguish this from the recipient of an action or benefit, and read evaluations from different viewpoints.
において: specifying an event's setting or a field of discussion
Identify the location of an event or the field where a judgment applies in notices and reports. Distinguish everyday で, existential に, and noun-modifying における.
を通じて: an experience as a channel or an entire period
Distinguish results gained through a channel or experience from conditions extending throughout a period. Explore overlap with を通して and the extent of continuity within a period.
に従って and につれて: following instructions or linked changes
Distinguish acting according to a standard from a change progressing alongside another. Compare shared change contexts with instruction contexts where the expressions cannot be exchanged.
に伴って: effects accompanying a change
Describe related developments that accompany a change or event. Check noun and verb connections and how much the sentence actually says about timing and causation.
に基づいて: stating the basis of a judgment or action
Distinguish decisions founded on evidence or rules from adjustments suited to a situation. Check whether a stated basis guarantees accuracy, and learn the noun-modifying form.
に応じて: adapting a response to people or circumstances
Learn how explanations, quantities, or methods are adjusted to differing conditions. Compare this with a simple cause and with expressions that disregard differences.
にかかわらず and を問わず: the same result despite different conditions
Compare expressions that do not make weather, experience, or age a condition of an outcome. Distinguish not asking a question from not using a category to restrict eligibility.
に限らず: extending eligibility beyond a particular group
Expand a scope that might seem limited to one group. Separate eligibility from usage requirements, and check why an extension does not remove every restriction.
に限って: precisely the wrong occasion or trust in one person
Read an unexpected event on a particular occasion and a strong belief about a particular person. Explore the speaker's stance in context alongside the restrictions of formal に限り notices.