N1 Vocabulary · Test 20

愚(おろ)かな means 'foolish' or 'stupid.' The sentence means 'That was a foolish action.' Option 4, おろか, is the correct reading of 愚か.

• 1したたか is 強か, meaning 'shrewd' or 'tough' — a near-opposite of what 愚か means.
• 2ひそか is 密か, meaning 'secret' or 'stealthy,' unrelated to 愚か.
• 3すみやか is 速やか, meaning 'prompt' or 'swift,' unrelated to 愚か.

• 愚おろか — foolish, stupid
• 強したたか — shrewd, tough
• 密ひそか — secret, stealthy
• 速すみやか — prompt, swift

巧妙(こうみょう)な means 'clever' or 'ingenious,' often used for a clever scheme or tactic. The sentence means 'I got caught in the opposing team's clever strategy.' Option 2, こうみょう, is the correct reading.

• 1こうしょう is not a standard reading for 巧妙; it is a distractor using a plausible-sounding on'yomi combination.
• 3きみょう is the reading of 奇妙, meaning 'strange' or 'bizarre' — a different word with similar kanji appearance.
• 4きしょう is not a standard reading for 巧妙; it is a distractor mixing readings.

• 巧妙こうみょう — clever, ingenious, skillful
• 奇妙きみょう — strange, bizarre, curious

憩(いこ)い means 'rest' or 'relaxation.' The sentence means 'The town park is cherished as a place of rest for people.' Option 4, いこい, is the correct reading of 憩い.

• 1うるおい is 潤い, meaning 'moisture' or 'richness,' unrelated to 憩い.
• 2つどい is 集い, meaning 'gathering' or 'assembly,' unrelated to 憩い.
• 3にぎわい is 賑わい, meaning 'bustle' or 'prosperity,' unrelated to 憩い.

• 憩いこい — rest, relaxation, repose
• 潤うるおい — moisture, richness
• 集つどい — gathering, assembly
• 賑にぎわい — bustle, liveliness, prosperity

需要(じゅよう) means 'demand' (economic term). The sentence means 'Demand for this product is high and production can't keep up.' Option 3, じゅよう, is the correct reading.

• 1しゅよう is the reading of 主要, meaning 'main' or 'primary' — a lookalike kanji distractor.
• 2じゅうよう is the reading of 重要, meaning 'important' — a near-homophone distractor (long vowel).
• 4しゅうよう is the reading of 集用 or 収用 (expropriation), not a match for 需要.

• 需要じゅよう — demand (economic)
• 主要しゅよう — main, primary
• 重要じゅうよう — important, significant

緩和(かんわ) means 'relief' or 'mitigation.' The sentence means 'Traffic congestion was alleviated by the road expansion work.' Option 3, かんわ, is the correct reading.

• 1たんわ is not a standard reading for 緩和; it is a distractor with a similar-sounding initial consonant.
• 2がんわ is not a standard reading for 緩和; it is a voiced-consonant distractor.
• 4だんわ is the reading of 談和 (not a common word) or could be confused with 談話(だんわ, conversation); it is a distractor.

• 緩和かんわ — relief, mitigation, alleviation

把握 is read はあく. It means 'grasp, comprehend, get a handle on (a situation)'. The sentence means 'After hearing from the people involved, I was finally able to grasp the current situation.' Option 4 (はあく) is the correct reading.

• 1ぱあおく — incorrect reading. There is no such word; the initial consonant should be 'h' not 'p', and the middle vowel is wrong.
• 2はおく — close but wrong; the second syllable should be あ not お.
• 3ぱあく — wrong initial consonant (p instead of h) and missing the く→ok the middle vowel is right but the first consonant is wrong.

• 把握はあく — grasp, comprehend, understand (a situation)
• 現状げんじょう — current situation, present state

憤り is read いきどおり. It means 'indignation, resentment, deep anger' — a stronger, more righteous anger than simple 怒り(いかり). The sentence means 'I feel indignation at the president's remarks.' Option 3 (いきどおり) is correct.

• 1あせり — this is 焦り, meaning 'impatience, anxiety, haste', a completely different word.
• 2こだわり — this is 拘り, meaning 'attachment, obsession, fussiness', unrelated.
• 4いかり — this is the reading of 怒り, meaning 'anger'. While similar in meaning, the kanji 憤り is specifically read いきどおり, not いかり.

• 憤いきどおり — indignation, resentment, deep anger
• 発言はつげん — statement, remark, utterance

趣旨 is read しゅし. It means 'purport, gist, main point, object (of a proposal/plan)'. The sentence means '..., I didn't really understand the gist of that talk.' Option 1 (しゅし) is correct.

• 2しゅじ — wrong voicing; the second character 旨 is read し (unvoiced), not じ.
• 3しゅうし — wrong; the first character 趣 is read しゅ (short vowel), not しゅう (long vowel).
• 4しゅうじ — wrong on both counts: long vowel しゅう and voiced じ.

• 趣旨しゅし — purport, gist, main point, purpose

日夜 is read にちや. It means 'day and night, around the clock, constantly'. The sentence means 'My older brother is devoting himself to research day and night at university.' Option 3 (にちや) is correct. 日 is read にち (as in 日常, 日本) and 夜 is read や (as in 夜間, 深夜).

• 1にちよ — wrong; the second character 夜 is read や, not よ.
• 2じつよ — wrong on both characters; 日 here is にち not じつ, and 夜 is や not よ.
• 4じつや — wrong first character reading; 日 is にち here, not じつ (which would be the reading in words like 毎日→まいにち is correct, but 日 alone as じつ appears in e.g. 本日). In this compound it is にち.

• 日夜にちや — day and night, around the clock, constantly
• 励はげむ — to strive, devote oneself, work hard

貫いた is read つらぬいた (past tense of 貫く). It means 'pushed through, carried through (to the end), stuck to'. The sentence means 'Kawada-san stuck to his own argument/position to the very end.' Option 1 (つらぬいた) is correct.

• 2つらむいた — wrong; the verb is つらぬく, not つらむく. There is no 'む' sound.
• 3すらぬいた — wrong initial consonant; the verb is つらぬく, not すらぬく.
• 4すらむいた — wrong on both counts; neither the initial consonant (す instead of つ) nor the middle syllable (む instead of ぬ) is correct.

• 貫つらぬく — to pierce, carry through, stick to (one's principles/position)
• 主張しゅちょう — assertion, claim, one's argument/position