N1 Vocabulary · Test 78

クレーム (from English 'claim') in Japanese specifically means 'complaint' or 'grievance' (especially from customers). 苦情（くじょう）is the native Japanese equivalent meaning 'complaint, dissatisfaction expressed by a customer.' The sentence: 'Suzuki-san's job is to handle complaints from customers.'

• 1返品（へんぴん）means 'return (of goods).' A return is one possible result of a complaint, but it is not the same as クレーム.
• 2注文（ちゅうもん）means 'order.' This is the opposite direction of a complaint.
• 4質問（しつもん）means 'question.' A question is an inquiry, not a complaint.

• クレーム（くれーむ） — complaint (from a customer); grievance
• 苦情くじょう — complaint; grievance

助言（じょげん）means 'advice' or 'counsel.' アドバイス (advice) is the direct katakana equivalent. The sentence: 'By nature of my profession, I am asked for advice about business by various companies.'

• 2インタビュー means 'interview.' This is not synonymous with 助言.
• 3プレゼン means 'presentation.' This is not advice.
• 4トレーニング means 'training.' This is not advice.

• 助言じょげん — advice; counsel
• アドバイス（あどばいす） — advice

錯覚（さっかく）する means 'to have an illusion' or 'to perceive something wrongly.' In this context, being told something would cause Satō-san to form a mistaken impression. 勘違いする（かんちがいする）means 'to misunderstand' or 'to get the wrong idea,' which is the closest paraphrase.

• 1疑う（うたがう）means 'to doubt/suspect.' Doubting is not the same as having a false perception.
• 3焦る（あせる）means 'to be in a hurry / to panic.' This is about emotional urgency, not misperception.
• 4油断する（ゆだんする）means 'to let one's guard down / to be careless.' This is about negligence, not a mistaken impression.

• 錯覚さっかく — illusion; false perception
• 勘違かんちがいする — to misunderstand; to get the wrong idea

殺到 (さっとう) means 'to rush/flock in large numbers all at once.' The sentence says tourists 殺到した (flocked) because of the news report. Option 1, 一度に大勢来た ('came in large numbers at once'), correctly captures this meaning.

• 2急に来なくなった means 'suddenly stopped coming,' which is the opposite of 殺到.
• 3増え続けた means 'kept on increasing,' implying a gradual, ongoing rise rather than a sudden rush of many people at once.
• 4減り続けた means 'kept on decreasing,' the opposite of what 殺到 describes.

• 殺到さっとう — to rush/flock in large numbers (all at once)

没頭 (ぼっとう) means 'to be completely absorbed/immersed in something,' typically an activity like study, research, or work. Option 4 says 'during graduate school, I was so absorbed in research in my specialty that I spared even sleeping time' — researchに没頭していた is a perfect usage.

• 1充実感に没頭した is unnatural; you don't 没頭 (immerse yourself) in a feeling like 充実感 (sense of fulfillment). 没頭 targets an activity, not an emotion.
• 2治療に没頭したい is unnatural; you undergo treatment, you don't immerse yourself in it as an absorbing activity.
• 3地位に没頭していない is unnatural; 地位 (status/position) is not something you 没頭 into. One might be 熱中 or 執着 about status, but not 没頭.

• 没頭ぼっとう — to be completely absorbed/immersed in (an activity)

うろたえる means 'to be flustered/to panic.' 慌てる (あわてる) means 'to panic/be flustered,' so うろたえずに ≈ 慌てずに (without panicking). The sentence says Takahashi dealt with any situation without panicking.

• 1嫌がらずに (いやがらずに) means 'without disliking/without reluctance.' うろたえる is about panic, not dislike.
• 3怒らずに (おこらずに) means 'without getting angry.' うろたえる is not about anger.
• 4あきらめずに (あきらめずに) means 'without giving up.' うろたえる is about being flustered, not about giving up.

• うろたえる — to be flustered/to panic
• 慌あわてる — to panic/be flustered
• 対処たいしょする — to deal with/handle
• 事態じたい — situation/state of affairs

糸口 (いとぐち) literally means 'end of a thread' and figuratively means 'clue/hint/starting point.' ヒント (hint) is the closest match. The sentence says Suzuki's remark became a clue to solving the problem.

• 1ストップ (stop) is the opposite in meaning; a 糸口 helps you start or proceed, not stop.
• 2マイナス (minus) implies something negative; 糸口 is a positive lead or clue.
• 4アドバイス (advice) is close but differs in nuance: アドバイス is guidance given by someone, whereas 糸口 is a clue or opening that leads to a solution — not necessarily advice.

• 糸口いとぐち — clue/hint/starting point
• 一言ひとこと — a single word/remark
• 問題解決もんだいかいけつ — problem solving

ふいに means 'suddenly/unexpectedly.' 突然 (とつぜん) means 'suddenly,' making it the best synonym. The sentence says Sato suddenly visited last night.

• 1わざわざ means 'going out of one's way/deliberately,' which is nearly the opposite of the unexpected nuance of ふいに.
• 2久しぶりに (ひさしぶりに) means 'for the first time in a while,' which relates to time elapsed, not suddenness.
• 3再び (ふたたび) means 'again/once more,' which implies repetition, not suddenness.

• ふいに — suddenly/unexpectedly
• 突然とつぜん — suddenly
• 訪たずねてくる — to come visit
• わざわざ — going out of one's way/deliberately
• 久ひさしぶりに — for the first time in a while
• 再ふたたび — again/once more

誇張する（こちょうする）means 'to exaggerate, to overstate.' 大げさに（おおげさに）means 'in an exaggerated way,' which is the closest paraphrase. 'あの人は大げさに話すことが多い' = 'That person often talks in an exaggerated way,' matching the original sentence perfectly.

• 1積極的に（せっきょくてきに）means 'actively, proactively.' This describes attitude, not exaggeration.
• 2自慢して（じまんして）means 'boasting.' While related to talking big, boasting is about praising oneself, not necessarily exaggerating facts.
• 4大ざっぱに（おおざっぱに）means 'roughly, approximately.' This is about lack of precision, not exaggeration.

• 誇張こちょうする — to exaggerate, to overstate
• 大おおげさ — exaggerated, overstated
• 大おおざっぱ — rough, approximate

辞任（じにん）means 'to resign from a position/post one holds,' typically taking responsibility. Option 4: 'The president, having heard the press conference, expressed his intention to resign (辞任する) to take responsibility for this problem.' This is the correct usage — a person in an official post stepping down from that post.

• 1辞任 is for resigning a position you already hold, not for declining to run as a candidate. The correct word here is 辞退（じたい）'to decline/withdraw.'
• 2Retiring from being an active athlete is 引退（いんたい）'to retire (from a career),' not 辞任. 辞任 is for official posts/positions.
• 3Withdrawing from a role/performance due to injury is 降板（こうばん）'to step down from a cast/role' or 辞退, not 辞任. 辞任 implies holding an official position and stepping down from it.

• 辞任じにん — to resign from one's post/position
• 辞退じたい — to decline, to withdraw (from candidacy, offer, etc.)
• 引退いんたい — to retire from one's career/profession
• 降板こうばん — to step down from a role (in a performance/broadcast)