N1 Vocabulary · Test 106

In the context of a flower bed (花壇), め refers to a plant sprout/bud, written 芽. The sentence says sprouts appeared in the kindergarten flower bed and the children innocently cheered. 芽(め) is the correct kanji for 'sprout/bud.'

• 1目(め) means 'eye.' While it shares the reading め, it does not fit the context of plants sprouting in a flower bed.
• 2茎(くき) means 'stem (of a plant).' It does not read め, so it fails both the reading and the contextual requirement (a stem doesn't 'appear' as a new sprout would).
• 4眼(がん) means 'eyeball/eye.' It reads がん, not め, and is unrelated to plants.

• 芽め — sprout, bud (of a plant)
• 花壇かだん — flower bed

むじゃき is written 無邪気, meaning 'innocent, naive, artless.' The children are innocently/naively cheering at the sprouts. 無(む) = 'without,' 邪(じゃ) = 'wicked/crooked,' 気(き) = 'spirit/mind.' Together: 'without wickedness' = innocent.

• 2無蛇気 uses 蛇(じゃ/へび), meaning 'snake.' It shares the reading じゃ but is the wrong kanji — there is no such word as 無蛇気.
• 3無砂気 uses 砂(さ/すな), meaning 'sand.' It does not even read じゃ, and 無砂気 is not a real word.
• 4無駄気 uses 駄(だ), meaning 'futile/worthless.' It reads だ, not じゃ, and 無駄気 is not a real word (though 無駄 むだ exists).

• 無邪気むじゃき — innocent, naive, artless

かんせい in the context of children cheering is 歓声, meaning 'cheer, shout of joy.' The phrase 歓声をあげる means 'to raise a cheer / let out a joyful shout.' 歓(かん) = 'joy/delight,' 声(せい/こえ) = 'voice.'

• 1感声 is not a standard Japanese word. 感(かん) means 'feeling/emotion,' but 感声 does not exist as a compound.
• 2嘆声(たんせい) means 'groan, lamentation.' It reads たんせい, not かんせい, and conveys sorrow — the opposite of the joyful context here.
• 3関声 is not a standard Japanese word. 関(かん) means 'barrier/related,' but 関声 is not a real compound.

• 歓声かんせい — cheer, shout of joy
• 歓声かんせいをあげる — to raise a cheer, to let out a joyful shout

さんがく is written 山岳, meaning 'mountains.' The compound 山岳地帯(さんがくちたい) is a common term meaning 'mountainous region/zone.' 山(さん) = 'mountain,' 岳(がく) = 'high mountain/peak.'

• 1山谷 reads さんこく (or やまや), meaning 'valley.' It does not read さんがく and refers to a valley, not a mountain area.
• 3山岡 reads さんこう (or やまおか), meaning 'hill/hilltop.' It does not read さんがく.
• 4山脈 reads さんみゃく, meaning 'mountain range.' While related to mountains, it does not read さんがく and refers to a connected chain of mountains rather than a mountainous zone.

• 山岳さんがく — mountains, mountainous district
• 山岳地帯さんがくちたい — mountainous region/zone

へだてて (te-form of へだてる) is written 隔てて, meaning 'separating, putting between, dividing.' The sentence says two ethnic groups are separated by a river. 隔てる(へだてる) = 'to separate/interpose.'

• 1壁てて is not valid Japanese. 壁(かべ) means 'wall' and does not read へだ. This is a fake okurigana trap.
• 2癖てて is not valid Japanese. 癖(くせ) means 'habit/quirk' and does not read へだ.
• 4融てて is not valid Japanese. 融(ゆう) means 'melt/dissolve/fuse' and does not read へだ.

• 隔へだてて — separating, putting in between (te-form of 隔てる)
• 隔へだてる — to separate, to interpose, to put between

「いんきょ」is written 隠居, meaning 'to retire (from one's working life/position), often living quietly.' 隠(いん) means 'hide/retire' and 居(きょ) means 'reside/dwelling.'

• 2隠据 — 据(きょ) is not used in this word; 隠据 is not a real term.
• 3穏居 — 穏(おん) means 'calm/gentle,' a lookalike for 隠; 穏居 is not a real word.
• 4穏据 — combines both wrong kanji; not a real word.

• 隠居いんきょ — retirement; retiring from active life

「いなか」is written 田舎, meaning 'countryside; rural area; one's hometown.' 田(いな) here relates to 'rice field' and 舎(か) means 'dwelling/hut,' together conveying a rural dwelling area.

• 2田郷 — 郷(ごう/きょう) means 'hometown/rural area,' but the correct second kanji is 舎; 田郷 is not the standard writing.
• 3稲舎 — 稲(いな) means 'rice plant,' a plausible lookalike for 田, but the established kanji is 田舎.
• 4稲郷 — combines both wrong kanji; not the standard word.

• 田舎いなか — countryside; rural area; one's home town

「しっそ」is written 質素, meaning 'simple; plain; frugal.' 質(しつ) means 'quality/substance' and 素(そ) means 'plain/unadorned.' Together they mean living simply without luxury.

• 1質阻 — 阻(そ) means 'obstruct,' a lookalike for 素; 質阻 is not a real word.
• 2質粗 — 粗(そ) means 'coarse/rough,' a near-synonym-like kanji, but the correct word is 質素.
• 3質組 — 組(そ) means 'group/assemble,' a lookalike; 質組 is not a real word.

• 質素しっそ — simple, plain, frugal

「もうれつ」is written 猛烈, meaning 'fierce; intense; violent.' 猛(もう) means 'fierce/ferocious' and 烈(れつ) means 'intense/violent.' 猛烈な暑さ means 'intense heat.'

• 2猛列 — 列(れつ) means 'row/line,' a lookalike for 烈; 猛列 is not a real word.
• 3孟烈 — 孟(もう) is a lookalike kanji (used in names and 孟夏 etc.), but the correct first kanji is 猛.
• 4孟列 — combines both wrong kanji; not a real word.

• 猛烈もうれつ — fierce, intense, violent

「わずらわしい」is written 煩わしい, meaning 'troublesome; annoying; bothersome.' 煩(わずら) means 'to be troubled/annoyed,' and the adjective suffix ～わしい expresses the feeling of being bothered by something.

• 1焦わしい — 焦(こ/しょう) means 'burn/anxious'; 焦わしい is not a standard word, though it may evoke a sense of impatience.
• 2飽わしい — 飽(あ) means 'grow tired of/bored'; 飽わしい is not a real word.
• 4嫌わしい — 嫌(いや/きら) means 'dislike'; 嫌わしい is not standard (嫌らしい/嫌な are real, but not this form).

• 煩わずらわしい — troublesome, annoying, bothersome