N1 Vocabulary · Test 96

「細心」(さいしん) means 'utmost care, meticulousness.' The fixed collocation is「細心の注意を払う」(to exercise the utmost care). Option 3 says 'Transporting art objects requires the utmost care,' which is the correct usage.

• 1「細心の思いをした」is wrong. The intended expression is「心細い思いをした」(こころぼそい, felt anxious/lonely), a completely different word.
• 2「細心のところ」is wrong. The intended word is「細部」(さいぶ, fine details) — 'in the fine details, the meanings differ.'
• 4「細心の説明」is wrong. The intended word is「詳細」(しょうさい, detailed) — 'the detailed explanation is not yet ready.'

• 細心さいしん — utmost care, meticulousness
• 細心の注意を払う（さいしんのちゅういをはらう） — to exercise the utmost care
• 細部さいぶ — fine details
• 詳細しょうさい — detailed, details
• 心細こころぼそい — anxious, lonely, insecure

「意地」(いじ) means 'stubbornness, pride, willfulness.' The fixed expression「意地を張る」(いじをはる) means 'to be stubborn, to refuse to yield.' Option 2 says 'Don't be so stubborn — you'd better apologize honestly,' which is the correct usage.

• 1For 'what one wants to do,' the correct word is「意思」(いし, intention/will) — 「意思がはっきりしない」(one's intentions are unclear). 意地 does not fit here.
• 3For explaining the purpose/intent of a survey, the correct word is「意図」(いと, intent/purpose). 意地 is wrong.
• 4For 'in line with customers' wishes/preferences,' the correct word is「意向」(いこう, wishes/intentions). 意地 is wrong.

• 意地いじ — stubbornness, pride, willfulness
• 意地を張る（いじをはる） — to be stubborn, to refuse to yield
• 意思いし — intention, will
• 意図いと — intent, purpose
• 意向いこう — wishes, intentions, preference

「めきめき」is an onomatopoeic adverb meaning 'remarkably, steadily (improving/progressing).' It collocates with verbs like 上達する (improve) or 伸びる (grow). Option 4 says 'Thanks to attending swimming school, (she/he) improved remarkably,' which is the correct usage.

• 1For opinions changing frequently, you'd use something like「ころころ」or「あっちこっち」— めきめき implies steady improvement, not instability.
• 2For deeply feeling the value of something, the correct word is「しみじみ」(deeply, earnestly) — 「しみじみ感じた」. めきめき does not mean 'deeply.'
• 3For 'go ahead and eat without hesitation,' you'd use「どんどん」or「遠慮なく」— めきめき is not used for encouraging someone to eat.

• めきめき — remarkably, steadily (improving/progressing)
• 上達じょうたつ — improvement (in skill)
• しみじみ — deeply, earnestly

「目先」(めさき) means 'immediate, near at hand, short-term.'「目先の利益」means 'immediate/short-term profit.' Option 3 says 'Rather than chasing short-term profit, we should consider the company's future,' which is the correct usage — contrasting 目先 (immediate) with 将来 (future).

• 1「目先に帰る」is meaningless. The intended expression might involve「先に帰る」(go home earlier), but 目先 does not fit here.
• 2For being ahead of trends, the correct expression is「先を行く」(さきをいく, to be ahead of). 「目先を行く」is not a valid collocation.
• 4For 'with the finals right ahead,' the correct expression is「目の前に控え」or「間近に控え」(まぢかにひかえ). 目先 does not mean 'right before/in front of one.'

• 目先めさき — immediate, near at hand, short-term
• 目先の利益（めさきのりえき） — short-term/immediate profit
• 先を行く（さきをいく） — to be ahead of (trends, etc.)
• 間近まぢか — near, close at hand

見落とす (みおとす) means 'to overlook/miss something unintentionally; to fail to notice something that is there.' Option 4 is correct: because there were too many emails, the speaker unintentionally missed an important message. This matches the core meaning of failing to notice something amid other information.

• 1見落とす describes an unintentional failure to notice, so combining it with わけにはいかない ('cannot allow oneself to...') is unnatural. For deliberately not ignoring someone in trouble, words like 見過ごす or 無視する are appropriate.
• 2This sentence needs 'to look down at/from above,' which is 見下ろす (みおろす), not 見落とす. 見落とす does not mean 'to gaze downward.'
• 3This describes deliberately letting a failure pass even though one noticed it, i.e. 'to let slide / turn a blind eye,' which is 見逃す (みのがす). 見落とす is unintentional, so it conflicts with 気づいていた ('had noticed').

• 見落みおとす — to overlook, to miss; to fail to notice (unintentionally)
• 見下みおろす — to look down at/from above
• 見逃みのがす — to let pass, to overlook deliberately; to miss (a chance)
• 見過みすごす — to overlook, to pass over without noticing or acting

きゅうでん means 'palace' and is written 宮殿. 宮 (きゅう) means 'imperial palace' and 殿 (でん) means 'hall/mansion'. Together they form きゅうでん, a palace building.

• 1宴廷 is not a standard word; 宴 reads えん, not きゅう.
• 3宮廷 is read きゅうてい ('imperial court') — close in meaning and shares the kanji 宮, but the reading is きゅうてい, not きゅうでん.
• 4宴殿 is not a standard compound for this reading; 宴 reads えん.

• 宮殿きゅうでん — palace
• 宮廷きゅうてい — imperial court
• 使用しよう — use

うつわ means 'vessel/container/utensil' and is written 器. In the context of items used in a palace and then displayed, 器 (vessels/utensils) fits perfectly.

• 1皿 is read さら ('plate') — a specific type of dish, not the general word うつわ.
• 2瓶 is read びん ('bottle') — a specific container, not the general term.
• 3缶 is read かん ('can/tin') — a modern container, not matching うつわ.

• 器うつわ — vessel, container, utensil
• 皿さら — plate
• 瓶びん — bottle
• 缶かん — can, tin

ちんれつ means 'to display/exhibit' and is written 陳列. 陳 (ちん) means 'to display/lay out' and 列 (れつ) means 'row/line'. 陳列する means 'to display items' — fitting the context of exhibiting vessels in a display room.

• 1陳烈 — 烈 reads れつ but means 'fierce/intense', not 'row'. This is not a real word.
• 2珍烈 — 珍 reads ちん but means 'rare/precious', not 'display'. Not a real word.
• 4珍列 — 珍 reads ちん but means 'rare', wrong kanji for this compound. Not a real word.

• 陳列ちんれつ — display, exhibition (する: to display)
• 展示室てんじしつ — display room, exhibition room

すいたい means 'decline/stagnation' and is written 衰退. 衰 (すい) means 'decline/wane' and 退 (たい) means 'recede/retreat'. 衰退 fits the context of preventing economic decline.

• 1哀退 — 哀 reads あい ('sorrow/grief'), not すい. Not a real word.
• 2衰怠 — 怠 reads たい ('laziness/negligence'), wrong meaning. Not a real word.
• 3哀怠 — both kanji are wrong readings. Not a real word.

• 衰退すいたい — decline, stagnation
• 経済けいざい — economy
• 試こころみ — attempt, effort
• 実態じったい — actual situation, reality

The reading こころみ corresponds to 試み, meaning 'attempt' or 'trial.' The sentence says 'various attempts were made to prevent the economic decline of this region.' 試みがなされる (こころみがなされる) is a common expression meaning 'attempts were made.'

• 2諮み is not a standard word with the reading こころみ. 諮る (はかる) means 'to consult,' but 諮み as a noun does not exist in common usage.
• 3案み is not a real word. 案 (あん) means 'plan/idea,' but there is no verb 案む or noun 案み.
• 4験み is not a standard word. 験 (けん) appears in words like 経験 (けいけん, experience) and 試験 (しけん, exam/test), but 験み as a standalone noun with reading こころみ does not exist.

• 試こころみ — attempt, trial
• 衰退すいたい — decline, decay
• 防ふせぐ — to prevent, to avert