N1 Vocabulary · Test 59

盛大 is read せいだい (seidai), meaning 'grand, magnificent, lavish.' The sentence means 'A grand celebration party was held, surrounding the coach of the championship team.' 盛 (せい) here uses the on-yomi, and 大 (だい) is the on-yomi.

• 1さいだい is the reading for 最大 (maximum, greatest). The first character 最 looks similar to 盛, but is a different kanji.
• 2じょうだい is the reading for 上代 (ancient times) or 場代. The first character 盛 is not read じょう.
• 4そうだい is the reading for 壮大 (grand, magnificent) or 増大 (increase). 壮大 is a near-synonym of 盛大, making this a deliberately plausible distractor, but the kanji is different (壮 vs 盛).

• 盛大せいだい — grand, magnificent, lavish
• 盛大せいだいな — grand (na-adjective form)

戯曲 is read ぎきょく, meaning 'play/drama' (a written theatrical work). 戯 is read ぎ (as in 戯れる ざれる, but in Sino-Japanese compounds ぎ), and 曲 is read きょく. Together: ぎきょく.

• 2げきょく is a misreading where 戯 is incorrectly given the reading げ. There is no such reading for 戯.
• 3がっきょく would imply a 促音 (doubled consonant) and a が reading for 戯, neither of which applies here.
• 4げききょく inserts an extra き and uses the wrong initial reading げ; this is a distractor designed to look plausible but is not a real word.

• 戯曲ぎきょく — play, drama (a written theatrical script)
• 脚本きゃくほん — script, screenplay
• 執筆しっぴつ — writing, authoring (a formal word for writing/composing)

芝居 is read しばい, meaning 'play, theatrical performance/drama.' 芝 is read しば (as in 芝生 しばふ, lawn), and 居 is read い (as in 居る いる, to exist/stay). Together: しばい.

• 1しばきょ incorrectly adds きょ to 芝居; 居 is simply い, not きょ.
• 3しきょ misreads 芝 as し and 居 as きょ; neither reading is correct for these kanji in this word.
• 4しい drops the ば from 芝 and misreads 居 as just い with the wrong first portion; しい is not a valid reading of 芝居.

• 芝居しばい — play, theatrical performance, drama
• 戯曲ぎきょく — play, drama (written theatrical work)
• 脚本きゃくほん — script, screenplay

脚本 is read きゃくほん, meaning 'script, screenplay.' 脚 is read きゃく (as in 脚 きゃく, leg/foot), and 本 is read ほん. Together: きゃくほん.

• 1きゃほん drops the く from きゃく, leaving an incomplete reading of 脚.
• 2きょほん misreads 脚 as きょ; 脚 has no such reading.
• 4きょくほん misreads 脚 as きょく (perhaps confusing it with 曲 きょく); 脚 is きゃく, not きょく.

• 脚本きゃくほん — script, screenplay (for a play, film, or broadcast)
• 執筆しっぴつ — writing, authoring

執筆 is read しっぴつ, meaning 'writing, authoring (a work).' 執 is read しつ, and 筆 is read ひつ. Due to 促音便 (rendaku-like assimilation), しつ＋ひつ → しっぴつ (the つ of しつ becomes a small っ before the ひ of ひつ).

• 1しつひつ fails to apply the 促音 assimilation; the correct form contracts しつ to しっ before ひつ.
• 3しゅうひつ uses the wrong reading しゅう for 執; 執 is read しつ in this compound, not しゅう.
• 4しゅっぴつ combines the wrong reading しゅ for 執 with an incorrect 促音 and rendaku; this is not a valid reading of 執筆.

• 執筆しっぴつ — writing, authoring, composing (a formal term for writing a book, article, script, etc.)
• 戯曲ぎきょく — play, drama

厳しい is read きびしい, meaning 'strict / severe / harsh.' In the context of 厳しい措置がとられた ('strict measures were taken'), きびしい is the natural and correct choice, describing rigorous or stern action.

• 1いちじるしい — 著しい (いちじるしい) means 'remarkable / conspicuous / significant.' While one could say the measures were 'significant,' the collocation 厳しい措置 ('strict measures') is far more natural, and the tested word is 厳しい, not 著しい.
• 2はなはだしい — 甚だしい (はなはだしい) means 'very great / egregious / extreme,' usually with a negative nuance (e.g., 甚だしい不正). It does not collocate naturally with 措置 in this way, and the tested kanji 厳 is not read はなはだしい.
• 4はげしい — 激しい (はげしい) means 'intense / violent / fierce,' used for storms, pain, emotions, etc. It does not naturally modify 措置 ('measures') the way 厳しい does, and the kanji 厳 is not read はげしい.

• 厳きびしい — strict, severe, harsh
• 措置そち — measure, step, action

措置 is read そち, meaning 'measures' or 'steps taken (by an authority).' The sentence says 'Strict measures were taken against the manufacturer that had been selling defective products.' 措置 is the correct word for official/administrative measures.

• 1しょうち would correspond to 承知 (acknowledging/understanding), which does not fit the context of punitive or administrative action.
• 2しょち is the reading of 処置 (measures/action taken), a near-synonym with a very similar meaning. However, the kanji in the stem is 措置, not 処置, so this reading does not match the tested word.
• 3そうち is the reading of 装置 (device/apparatus), which is unrelated to the context.

• 措置そち — measures, steps (taken by an authority)
• 処置しょち — measures, action taken (near-synonym, different kanji)
• 装置そうち — device, apparatus
• 承知しょうち — acknowledging, understanding
• 欠陥品けっかんひん — defective product

丘 is read おか, meaning 'hill.' The sentence describes a villa on top of a hill overlooking the sunset over a strait. おか is the standard and only common reading for 丘 in this sense.

• 2さか is the reading of 坂 (slope/hill), a lookalike kanji that also relates to elevated terrain but is a different word.
• 3みね is the reading of 峰 or 嶺 (mountain peak/ridge), which refers to a mountain summit, not a hill.
• 4みさき is the reading of 岬 (cape/promontory), a landform extending into the sea, not a hill.

• 丘おか — hill
• 坂さか — slope, hill
• 峰みね — mountain peak, ridge
• 岬みさき — cape, promontory

別荘 is read べっそう, meaning 'villa' or 'second home.' The kanji 荘 has the on-reading そう, and with the rendaku-like gemination from 別 (べつ) + 荘 (そう), the つ becomes っ, yielding べっそう.

• 1べっそ is missing the long vowel う; Japanese does not shorten this word to べっそ.
• 3べっしょ would use the reading しょ for 荘, which is incorrect. This may be confused with 別所 (べっしょ, a place name element).
• 4べっしょう would use the reading しょう for 荘, which is incorrect. This may be confused with words like 別賞 (べっしょう, special prize).

• 別荘べっそう — villa, vacation home

海峡 is read かいきょう, meaning 'strait' (a narrow channel of water between two landmasses). The kanji 海 (かい) + 峡 (きょう) combine to form かいきょう. The sentence describes watching the sunset sink into the strait from a hilltop villa.

• 1かいこう would be the reading if 峡 were read こう, but 峡 is read きょう (as in 峡谷 きょうこく). かいこう corresponds to 開港 (opening a port) or 海溝 (ocean trench), different words.
• 2かいそう is the reading of 海藻 (seaweed) or 改造 (modification), not 海峡.
• 4かいしょう is the reading of 海晶 or 会商, not 海峡. The kanji 峡 is never read しょう.

• 海峡かいきょう — strait, channel (between landmasses)
• 海溝かいこう — ocean trench
• 海藻かいそう — seaweed