N1 Vocabulary · Test 24

鈍る（にぶる）means 'to become dull/slow/sluggish.' In the sentence, as time passes, the athletes' movements become sluggish, so the reading is にぶって (te-form of 鈍る + きて). Option 1 is correct.

• 2とどこおって is the reading of 滞る (to be delayed/backlogged), which does not fit the context of physical movement slowing down.
• 3おとって is not a valid reading for 鈍る; it may be confused with 落ちる/劣る-type words.
• 4ちぢまって is the reading of 縮まる/縮む (to shrink/contract), not related to becoming sluggish.

• 鈍にぶる — to become dull, slow, sluggish (e.g. reflexes, movement)

漠然（ばくぜん）means 'vague, unclear, indistinct.' The student had only a vague idea of wanting to work overseas. The correct reading is ばくぜん (option 2).

• 1まくぜん is an incorrect reading; 漠 is read ばく, not まく.
• 3もうぜん is an incorrect reading; neither character has a もう reading here.
• 4ばうぜん is an incorrect reading; 然 is read ぜん, and the first character is ばく, not ばう.

• 漠然ばくぜん — vague, unclear, indistinct (about thoughts/plans)

閲覧（えつらん）means 'viewing, browsing, perusal (of documents).' The sentence says to return the viewed materials to the counter. The correct reading is えつらん (option 3).

• 1はいらん is not a valid reading for 閲覧; it may be confused with 排覧 or similar.
• 2はいけん is the reading of 拝見 (humble 'to look at/see'), a different word.
• 4えつけん is not a valid reading; 閲 is えつ but 覧 is らん, not けん.

• 閲覧えつらん — viewing, browsing, perusal (of documents/materials)

釈明（しゃくめい）means 'explanation, justification, clarification (of one's words/actions).' The Prime Minister was pressed to explain/justify his own remarks. The correct reading is しゃくめい (option 4).

• 1しゅくめい is the reading of 宿命 (destiny/fate), a different word.
• 2やくめい is not a standard reading for 釈明; it may be confused with 役命-type compounds.
• 3たくめい is not a valid reading for 釈明; 釈 is read しゃく, not たく.

• 釈明しゃくめい — explanation, justification, clarification (of one's statements/actions)

合併（がっぺい）means 'merger.' The company will change its name on the occasion of this merger. The correct reading is がっぺい (option 3), with 合 undergoing rendaku-like voicing to がっ before 併(へい).

• 1ごうべい is incorrect; 合 is not ごう in this compound.
• 2ごうべん is incorrect; neither the reading of 合 nor of 併 is correct here.
• 4がっぺん is incorrect; 併 is read へい, not へん.

• 合併がっぺい — merger (of companies/organizations)

繁盛 is read はんじょう, meaning 'prosperous' or 'doing a brisk business.' The sentence means 'Every shop in front of the station is thriving.' The correct reading uses the on'yomi はん for 繁 and じょう for 盛.

• 1びんしょう — wrong initial consonant for 繁; there is no 'びん' reading for this kanji.
• 2びんじょう — same error: 繁 is not read 'びん'.
• 3はんしょう — correct first character reading but wrong voicing for 盛 (should be じょう, not しょう).

• 繁盛はんじょう — prosperous; doing brisk business

契約 is read けいやく, meaning 'contract' or 'agreement.' The sentence says 'Please refer to this document regarding the contents of the contract.' けいやく is the standard on'yomi.

• 1せいやく — this is 製薬 (pharmaceutical manufacturing) or 制約 (restriction), not 契約.
• 3こうやく — this corresponds to 公約 (public pledge/manifesto), a different word.
• 4ようやく — this is 漸く (finally/at last), an unrelated word.

• 契約けいやく — contract; agreement

潤う is read うるおう, meaning 'to be enriched,' 'to profit,' or 'to be moistened.' Here it means the country has been enriched/profited through trade. The conjugated form 潤って is read うるおって.

• 1もうかって — 儲かる (もうかる) means 'to be profitable,' a near-synonym but a completely different kanji and verb.
• 2まかなって — 賄う (まかなう) means 'to provide/cover (expenses),' not matching 潤う.
• 3あきなって — 商う (あきなう) means 'to trade/deal in,' a related concept but the wrong kanji and reading.

• 潤うるおう — to be enriched; to profit; to be moistened

手薄 is read てうす, meaning 'thinly staffed,' 'undermanned,' or 'lacking in security/guarding.' The sentence means 'They checked whether there were any places where security was thin.' 手 is read て (kun'yomi) and 薄 is read うす (kun'yomi).

• 1しゅうす — attempts an on'yomi for 手 (しゅ), but 手薄 is a kun'yomi compound.
• 2しゅはく — wrong on'yomi attempt for both characters.
• 4てはく — correct て for 手 but wrong reading for 薄 (should be うす, not はく).

• 手薄てうす — thinly staffed; undermanned; lacking (security/resources)

壊す is read こわす, meaning 'to break/destroy.' The passive form 壊される is read こわされる. The sentence means 'Old buildings are being destroyed one after another for redevelopment.'

• 2くずされて — 崩す (くずす) means 'to collapse/tear down (a structure),' a plausible near-synonym, but the kanji 壊 is not read くず.
• 3たおされて — 倒す (たおす) means 'to knock down/overthrow,' but 壊 is not read たお.
• 4つぶされて — 潰す (つぶす) means 'to crush/destroy,' a near-synonym, but 壊 is not read つぶ.

• 壊こわす — to break; to destroy; to demolish