N1 Vocabulary · Test 25

本筋 is read ほんすじ, meaning the main point or main thread of a story/discussion. The sentence means 'The talk deviated from the main point.'

• 1もとすじ is a plausible misreading using the kun-reading of 本 as もと, but the compound is read with on/kun mix ほんすじ.
• 2もときん is wrong; 筋 is not read きん, and 本 is not もと here.
• 4ほんきん is wrong; 筋 has no reading きん.

• 本筋ほんすじ — main point, main thread (of a story/argument)
• ずれる — to deviate, to drift off

伴奏 is read ばんそう, meaning accompaniment (musical). The sentence means 'I was asked by a friend to do piano accompaniment.' The rendaku changes はんそう to ばんそう.

• 1はんそう is the unvoiced reading; the correct compound uses rendaku, giving ばんそう.
• 3はんそ is missing the final う and uses the unvoiced reading.
• 4ばんそ is missing the final う.

• 伴奏ばんそう — accompaniment (music)
• 頼たのまれる — to be asked/requested

推理 is read すいり, meaning reasoning/deduction. The sentence means 'With the great detective's deduction, the case was safely resolved.'

• 1しんり (真理) means 'truth' — a different word with similar appearance.
• 3どうり (道理) means 'reason/logic' — plausible lookalike but not the reading of 推理.
• 4ろんり (論理) means 'logic' — another near-synonym lookalike.

• 推理すいり — deduction, reasoning
• 探偵たんてい — detective
• 無事ぶじ — safely, without incident

極めて is read きわめて, meaning 'extremely, exceedingly'. The sentence means 'At the meeting the other day, an extremely important problem was discussed.'

• 2あらためて (改めて) means 'anew, once again' — wrong meaning for this context.
• 3つとめて (努めて) means 'with effort, trying hard' — wrong meaning.
• 4つきつめて (突き詰めて) means 'pursuing to the bottom, thoroughly' — wrong word/meaning.

• 極きわめて — extremely, exceedingly
• 改あらためて — anew, once again
• 努つとめて — with effort
• 突き詰める（つきつめる） — to pursue to the bottom

練って is the て-form of 練る (ねる), meaning to refine/polish (an idea/plan). The sentence means 'I'll talk after refining the idea a bit more.'

• 1けずって (削って) means 'cutting down/scraping' — wrong meaning.
• 2つのって (募って) means 'recruiting/growing (e.g. of feelings)' — wrong meaning.
• 3ほって (掘って) means 'digging' — wrong meaning.

• 練ねる — to refine, to polish (an idea/plan)
• 削けずる — to shave, to cut down
• 募つのる — to recruit, to grow/intensify
• 掘ほる — to dig

人柄 is read ひとがら, meaning 'personality, character, personal qualities.' The word is a native Japanese compound: 人 (ひと, person) + 柄 (がら, build/character/pattern). It describes someone's personal disposition, which fits the sentence: 'He has a good personality (人柄がよく), considers everyone's circumstances, and takes the initiative to help others with their work.'

• 2ひとから is a misreading that treats 柄 as から. While 柄 can appear in words like 柄 (から, handle), in 人柄 the reading is がら, not から.
• 3じんへい uses the on'yomi じん for 人 and a fabricated reading へい for 柄. This is not a real reading.
• 4じんぺい similarly uses on'yomi じん for 人 and a fabricated reading ぺい for 柄. This is not a real reading.

• 人柄ひとがら — personality, character, personal disposition

考慮 is read こうりょ, meaning 'consideration, taking into account.' It is a Sino-Japanese compound: 考 (こう, think/consider) + 慮 (りょ, deliberation). The sentence says he 'considers (考慮し) everyone's circumstances,' which fits perfectly.

• 1こうろ is a misreading that swaps the second kanji's reading りょ for ろ. There is no word こうろ with this meaning.
• 3こうさ is the reading of 考査 (examination/inspection), a different word. It does not fit the context of 'taking circumstances into consideration.'
• 4こうさつ is the reading of 考察 (investigation/study) or 高札, neither of which means 'consideration.' It is a plausible distractor sharing the first kanji 考.

• 考慮こうりょ — consideration, taking something into account
• 考査こうさ — examination, inspection
• 考察こうさつ — investigation, study, observation

率先 is read そっせん, meaning 'taking the initiative, leading the way.' It is a Sino-Japanese compound: 率 (そつ, lead) + 先 (せん, first/ahead). The つ of そつ assimilates (renjō) with せ, producing そっせん. The phrase 率先して means 'taking the initiative to do something,' fitting the sentence: 'He takes the initiative (率先して) to help others with their work.'

• 1りつせん uses the on'yomi りつ for 率, which is the reading used in words like 率直 (りっちょく). However, in 率先 the correct reading is そっせん, not りつせん.
• 2りっせん similarly uses りつ for 率 with renjō. While りつ does appear in some compounds, 率先 is read そっせん.
• 3そつせん has the correct first element そつ but lacks the renjō (assimilation) that turns そつせん into そっせん. Japanese phonology requires the small っ here.

• 率先そっせん — taking the initiative, leading the way
• 率先そっせんして — taking the initiative to do something

中旬 is read ちゅうじゅん, meaning 'the middle (ten days) of a month.' It is a Sino-Japanese compound: 中 (ちゅう, middle) + 旬 (じゅん, ten-day period/dekad). The sentence says 'It is now mid-February (2月も中旬なり),' which fits perfectly.

• 2ちゅうと is not a real reading for 中旬. と is not a valid reading for 旬.
• 3なかば is the kun'yomi reading of 中半 (or 中ば), meaning 'middle/halfway.' While it has a similar meaning, the kanji compound 中旬 specifically uses the on'yomi ちゅうじゅん. The distractor exploits the semantic overlap.
• 4なかごろ means 'around the middle' and is written 中頃. It is semantically similar but is not the reading of the kanji compound 中旬.

• 中旬ちゅうじゅん — the middle ten days of a month
• 中半なかば — middle, halfway
• 中頃なかごろ — around the middle

訪れ is read おとずれ, meaning 'arrival, coming (of a season, etc.),' the noun form of 訪れる (おとずれる, to visit/arrive). The phrase 春の訪れ means 'the arrival of spring,' fitting the sentence: 'weather like the arrival of spring (春の訪れのような) has continued.'

• 1たずれ is a misreading that uses the reading たず (from たずねる, to visit/ask) plus れ. While 訪ねる is read たずねる, the compound 訪れる is read おとずれる, and its noun form 訪れ is おとずれ.
• 2あらわれ is the noun form of 現れる (あらわれる, to appear), written 現れ. It is a different kanji and word, though semantically 'appearance' is somewhat close to 'arrival.'
• 3あわれ (哀れ/憐れ) means 'pity, pathos, sadness' and is written with entirely different kanji. It is a lookalike distractor based on the hiragana shape similarity.

• 訪おとずれ — arrival, coming (of a season, etc.)
• 訪おとずれる — to visit, to arrive (of a season)
• 訪たずねる — to visit (someone), to call on
• 現あらわれ — appearance, manifestation