N1 Vocabulary · Test 76

Option 3 is correct because the kanji compound 定義 is read ていぎ (teigi) and means 'definition'. In the context of the sentence, it refers to 'the definition of a person's death' (人の死の定義), which is a central ethical and logical issue in organ transplant debates.

• 1じょうぎ is incorrect. This is the reading for 定規 (じょうぎ), meaning 'ruler' or 'measuring tool'. While the kanji 定 has the on'yomi ジョウ, the compound 定義 is not read this way.
• 2じょうき is incorrect. This reading might be confused with words like 蒸気 (じょうき, steam/vapor) or 上記 (じょうき, aforementioned). The kanji 義 does not have the reading キ.
• 4ていき is incorrect. This might be confused with 定期 (ていき), as in 定期券 (ていきけん, commuter pass) or 定期的 (ていきてき, regular/periodic). The second kanji 義 is read ギ, not キ.

• 定義ていぎ — definition
• 臓器ぞうき — internal organ
• 移植いしょく — transplant
• 一概いちがいに — sweepingly, broadly (usually used with negative: cannot say broadly)

The intended word is 倫理的 (りんりてき), meaning 'ethical'. The topic of organ transplantation and the definition of death involves deep ethical dilemmas, making 'ethical issues' the correct context. The provided stem contains '論理的に' (ろんりてき, 'logically'), which is a common OCR/transcription error for '倫理的に' because the kanji 論 and 倫 look very similar. Since 'ろんりてき' is not among the options and 'りんりてき' is, the correct choice is 4.

• 1しんりてき (心理的) means 'psychological'. While organ transplantation can have psychological impacts, the sentence specifically discusses the 'definition of death,' which is a classic ethical (倫理的) issue rather than a psychological one.
• 2かんりてき (管理的) means 'managerial' or 'administrative'. This does not fit the context of debating the definition of death in relation to medical progress.
• 3うんりてき is not a standard Japanese word. It serves as a distractor with a similar sound pattern.

• 倫理的りんりてき — ethical
• 論理的ろんりてき — logical
• 心理的しんりてき — psychological
• 管理的かんりてき — managerial, administrative

The correct reading for 「微妙な」 is 「びみょうな」. 「微妙」(びみょう) means 'subtle', 'delicate', or 'nuanced'. In this context, it describes the issue surrounding the definition of death as being logically subtle and complex, meaning it cannot simply be celebrated as medical progress.

• 2「ちょうみょうな」 is an incorrect reading for 「微妙」. There is no common word read this way that fits the kanji.
• 3「ちょうしょうな」 is the reading for 「嘲笑」(ちょうしょう), which means 'ridicule' or 'sneer'. It does not match the kanji 「微妙」.
• 4「びしょうな」 is the reading for 「微笑」(びしょう), which means 'a faint smile'. It does not match the kanji 「微妙」.

• 微妙びみょう — subtle, delicate, nuanced
• 嘲笑ちょうしょう — ridicule, sneer, mockery
• 微笑びしょう — faint smile, smile

The correct option is 4. The kanji 絡む is read as からむ (karamu), meaning 'to be intertwined, involved, or entangled.' In the te-form, it becomes 絡んで (からんで). In this context, '微妙な問題も絡んでおり' means that subtle problems are also entangled/involved in the definition of death, making it impossible to simply rejoice in medical progress.

• 1ひそんで is incorrect. There is no common verb read as ひそむ that fits this kanji or context. (秘む is extremely rare and does not match the kanji 絡む.)
• 2はらんで is incorrect. 孕む (はらむ) means 'to become pregnant' or 'to harbor (a secret),' which does not fit the context or the kanji 絡む.
• 3ふくんで is incorrect. 含む (ふくむ) means 'to include or contain.' While '微妙な問題も含んでおり' (also includes subtle problems) is grammatically and contextually plausible, the kanji in the stem is 絡む, not 含む. This is a deliberate distractor using a near-synonym.

• 絡からむ — to be intertwined, to be involved/entangled

The correct reading of 一概に is いちがいに. In this sentence, 一概に〜ない / 〜ばかりはいられない means 'cannot simply/categorically say ~' or 'cannot broadly conclude ~'. The stem says that organ transplant topics involve subtle logical issues about the definition of death, so we cannot simply call it medical progress and just rejoice. 一概に is commonly used with negative expressions to mean 'not necessarily', 'not flatly', or 'cannot say categorically'.

• 1いちように corresponds to 一様に, meaning 'uniformly' or 'equally'. It is a plausible lookalike, but it does not fit the pattern 一概に〜ない meaning 'cannot simply say ~'.
• 2いっこうに corresponds to 一向に, meaning 'completely/not at all' and is used with negatives, e.g. 一向に〜ない. It is a near-synonym pattern but is not the reading of 一概に.
• 4いっぱんに corresponds to 一般に, meaning 'generally/in general'. It looks similar and has a related meaning, but it is not the reading of 一概に and does not convey the nuance of 'cannot flatly/categorically say ~'.

• 一概いちがいに — broadly; flatly; categorically; often used with a negative as 一概に〜ない meaning 'cannot simply/categorically say ~'
• 一様いちように — uniformly; equally
• 一向いっこうに — completely; not at all (with negative)
• 一般いっぱんに — generally; in general

The correct reading for 義務 is ぎむ. In the context of the sentence, it forms the word 義務教育 (ぎむきょういく), meaning 'compulsory education'. The kanji 義 is read here with its on'yomi 'ぎ', and 務 is read with its on'yomi 'む'.

• 1きむ is incorrect because the first kanji 義 is read with a voiced consonant 'ぎ', not an unvoiced 'き'.
• 3きんむ is incorrect. While this is a valid reading for the kanji 勤務 (meaning 'service' or 'work'), it does not apply to 義務. It also incorrectly inserts a 'ん' and uses the wrong kanji reading.
• 4ぎんむ is incorrect because it unnecessarily inserts a 'ん' sound. Neither 義 nor 務 has a reading with 'ん' in this word.

• 義務ぎむ — obligation, duty
• 義務教育ぎむきょういく — compulsory education
• 普及ふきゅう — dissemination, spread,普及
• 徹底てっていした — thorough, complete

The correct reading for 「表向き」 is 「おもてむき」. In this sentence, it means 'on the surface' or 'officially', contrasting with the internal reality (内部では). The kanji 「表」 uses its kun'yomi reading 「おもて」 in this word.

• 1「ひょうむき」 is incorrect. While 「ひょう」 is a valid on'yomi for the kanji 「表」 (as in 表現ひょうげん or 代表だいひょう), it is not used in the word 「表向き」.
• 2「まえむき」 is the reading for a different word, 「前向き」, which means 'positive' or 'forward-looking'. This is a deliberate distractor using a similar-looking concept.
• 4「うわむき」 is the reading for a different word, 「上向き」, which means 'upward' or 'looking up'. This is another deliberate distractor.

• 表向おもてむき — on the surface, officially, publicly

The correct reading for 装って is よそおって. The verb 装う (よそう) means 'to feign', 'to pretend', or 'to put on a false appearance'. In the context of the sentence, the company is outwardly pretending to be calm (冷静を装っている), making this the perfect fit both in meaning and reading.

• 2おおって is the reading for 覆って (覆う - おおう), which means 'to cover' or 'to hide'. While it might seem plausible in a context of hiding something, it does not match the kanji 装って, nor does it collocate well with 冷静 (calmness).
• 3まかなって is the reading for 賄って (賄う - まかなう), meaning 'to provide', 'to manage', or 'to cover expenses'. It is completely unrelated to the kanji 装 and does not fit the context of pretending to be calm.
• 4いつわって is the reading for 偽って (偽る - いつわる), meaning 'to deceive' or 'to tell a lie'. While semantically close to 'pretending', it is the reading for a different kanji (偽). The question specifically asks for the reading of 装って.

• 装よそう — to feign, to pretend, to put on a false appearance
• 覆おおう — to cover, to hide, to conceal
• 賄まかなう — to provide, to manage, to cover (expenses)
• 偽いつわる — to deceive, to falsify, to tell a lie

Option 3 is correct. The kanji 混乱 is read こんらん (konran) and means 'confusion' or 'turmoil.' In the sentence, the company is outwardly pretending to be calm, but internally it is in considerable confusion. This fits perfectly with the context of a company trying to hide its internal state after causing an incident.

• 1Option 1, こんなん, is the reading for 困難 (konnan), meaning 'difficulty' or 'hardship.' While it might seem plausible in context, it is not the reading for the kanji 混乱.
• 2Option 2, こんだん, is the reading for 懇談 (kondan), meaning 'friendly talk' or 'discussion.' This is completely unrelated to the meaning of the sentence and the kanji 混乱.
• 4Option 4, こんとん, is the reading for 混沌 (konton), meaning 'chaos' or 'primordial chaos.' Although it shares a similar meaning to 混乱, it is a different word and not the correct reading for the kanji 混乱.

• 混乱こんらん — confusion, turmoil, chaos
• 困難こんなん — difficulty, hardship
• 懇談こんだん — friendly talk, discussion
• 混沌こんとん — chaos, primordial chaos

The correct reading for 模様 in this context is 「もよう」. In the sentence, 「〜模様である」 is used to mean 'it appears that...' or 'the situation is that...', describing the state of affairs inside the company. While 模様 can also mean 'pattern' or 'design', here it indicates an observed situation or likelihood.

• 1「もんよう」 is the reading for 文様, which means a traditional pattern or design (often used for kimono or architectural motifs). It is a deliberate distractor because it shares a similar meaning of 'pattern' but uses different kanji and has the wrong reading for 模様.
• 3「ぼよう」 is an incorrect reading for 模様. The kanji 模 has the On'yomi 'モ' and 'ボ', but in the word 模様, it is always read with the Kun'yomi/Nanori-derived reading 'も'.
• 4「ぼうよう」 is an incorrect reading for 模様. It might be confused with words like 棒状 (ぼうじょう) or 傍観 (ぼうかん), but it is not a valid reading for this word.

• 模様もよう — pattern, design; state of affairs, situation (as in 〜模様である: it appears that...)