N2 Vocabulary · Test 121

「思いつく」(思い付く) means 'to come up with (an idea)' — a new idea popping into your head. The definition '新しい考えが頭に浮かぶ' (a new idea comes to mind) matches exactly.

• 1「思いこむ」(思い込む) means 'to be fully convinced' or 'to jump to a conclusion' — believing something strongly, not coming up with a new idea.
• 2「思いあう」(思い合う) means 'to feel mutual affection/sympathy' — a reciprocal feeling between people, not generating an idea.
• 3「思いだす」(思い出す) means 'to recall' or 'to remember' something from the past — retrieving a memory, not producing a new idea.

• 思おもいつく — to come up with an idea, to think of
• 思おもいこむ — to be convinced, to jump to a conclusion
• 思おもいあう — to feel mutual affection/sympathy
• 思おもいだす — to recall, to remember
• 浮うかぶ — to come to mind, to float

「たっぷり」means 'plentifully,' 'amply,' or 'with enough/to spare.' The definition '量が十分にある様子' (the state of having a sufficient amount) matches perfectly.

• 1「めっきり」means 'noticeably' or 'markedly' — describing a conspicuous change (e.g., めっきり寒くなった). It does not describe quantity.
• 3「ぴったり」means 'exactly,' 'perfectly,' or 'tightly' — a close fit in size, timing, or resemblance. It does not mean 'plentiful.'
• 4「すっきり」means 'refreshed,' 'clear,' or 'neat' — a feeling of clarity or relief. It does not describe quantity.

• たっぷり — plentifully, amply, with enough to spare
• めっきり — noticeably, markedly
• ぴったり — exactly, perfectly, tightly
• すっきり — refreshed, clear, neat
• 様子ようす — state, condition, appearance

「秘密」(ひみつ) means 'secret' — something you cannot tell others and want to keep hidden. The definition 'ほかの人に言えないこと。隠しておきたいこと。' (something you can't tell others; something you want to keep hidden) matches exactly.

• 1「恐怖」(きょうふ) means 'terror, fear.' It is an emotion, not something hidden from others.
• 2「暗記」(あんき) means 'memorization.' It is a study method, unrelated to secrecy.
• 4「我慢」(がまん) means 'patience, endurance, self-control.' It is about enduring something, not about keeping something hidden.

• 秘密ひみつ — secret
• 恐怖きょうふ — terror, fear
• 暗記あんき — memorization
• 我慢がまん — patience, endurance, self-control
• 隠かくす — to hide, to conceal

「ベテラン」(veteran) means a person with rich experience in a particular field. The definition '特定の分野で豊富な経験のある人' (a person with abundant experience in a specific field) matches exactly.

• 1「コーチ」(coach) means a person who trains/teaches athletes or a team. A coach may be experienced, but the word itself refers to the role of instructing, not to having rich experience.
• 3「キャプテン」(captain) means the leader of a team. It refers to a leadership role, not to extensive experience.
• 4「ジャーナリスト」(journalist) means a person who reports news. It is a profession, not a term for someone with rich experience in a field.

• ベテラン — veteran, experienced person
• コーチ — coach
• キャプテン — captain (team leader)
• ジャーナリスト — journalist
• 豊富ほうふ — abundant, plentiful

消極的 (しょうきょくてき) means 'passive' or 'reluctant to take action.' The sentence describes someone who has no inclination to do something on their own initiative, which is the essence of being 消極的.

• 2積極的 (せっきょくてき) means 'proactive, positive, taking initiative' — the exact opposite of what the sentence describes.
• 3肯定的 (こうていてき) means 'affirmative, approving' — it describes agreeing with or approving of something, not a reluctance to act.
• 4否定的 (ひていてき) means 'negative, denying' — it describes a rejecting attitude toward a proposition, not a passive reluctance to act.

• 消極的しょうきょくてき — passive, reluctant, unenthusiastic
• 積極的せっきょくてき — proactive, positive, taking initiative
• 肯定的こうていてき — affirmative, approving
• 否定的ひていてき — negative, denying

まご (孫) means 'grandchild,' i.e., one's child's child. The definition 自分の子どもの子ども directly describes a grandchild.

• 2おい (甥) means 'nephew' (one's sibling's son), not one's child's child.
• 3むすこ (息子) means 'son' (one's own male child), not a grandchild.
• 4ふたご (双子) means 'twins,' which is unrelated.

• 孫まご — grandchild
• 甥おい — nephew
• 息子むすこ — son
• 双子ふたご — twins

うらやましい (羨ましい) means 'envious, jealous.' The definition describes the feeling of wanting what someone else has, or wishing you were in their situation — which is exactly envy.

• 1まぶしい (眩しい) means 'dazzling, bright (to the eyes),' and has nothing to do with wanting what others have.
• 2たのもしい (頼もしい) means 'reliable, promising, dependable' and describes a person's character, not a feeling of envy.
• 4もったいない means 'wasteful, too good (for one),' expressing gratitude or reluctance to waste — not envy.

• 羨うらやましい — envious, jealous
• 眩まぶしい — dazzling
• 頼たのもしい — reliable, dependable
• もったいない — wasteful, too good

謙遜する (けんそんする) means 'to be modest, to humble oneself.' When praised, responding with phrases like そんなことありません ('Not at all') or いいえ、まだまだです ('No, I still have a long way to go') is the classic Japanese act of 謙遜 — deflecting praise out of modesty.

• 1失礼する (しつれいする) means 'to be rude' or 'to take one's leave (失礼します).' It does not describe the act of humbly deflecting praise.
• 2遠慮する (えんりょする) means 'to hold back, to be reserved, to hesitate.' While related to modesty, it refers to restraint rather than the specific verbal act of downplaying compliments.
• 4批判する (ひはんする) means 'to criticize,' which is the opposite of what is described.

• 謙遜けんそんする — to be modest, to humble oneself
• 失礼しつれいする — to be rude, to take leave
• 遠慮えんりょする — to hold back, to be reserved
• 批判ひはんする — to criticize

ぐっすり is an onomatopoeic adverb meaning 'soundly, deeply asleep.' よく眠っている様子 (the state of sleeping well) is best captured by ぐっすり, as in ぐっすり眠る (to sleep soundly).

• 1にっこり means 'smilingly' (a gentle smile) and has nothing to do with sleeping.
• 2こっそり means 'secretly, stealthily' and is unrelated to sleeping.
• 3すっきり means 'refreshed, clear' — it can describe how you feel after good sleep, but it does not describe the state of being deeply asleep.

• ぐっすり — soundly (sleeping)
• にっこり — smilingly
• こっそり — secretly, stealthily
• すっきり — refreshed, clear

常識 (じょうしき) means 'common sense' — knowledge that everyone in a given society is expected to naturally possess. The definition 'ある社会の中でだれでも当然知っているべきものごと' (things that anyone in a society should naturally know) matches 常識 perfectly.

• 1知識 (ちしき) means 'knowledge' in a general sense — facts or information one has learned. It does not carry the nuance of 'what everyone in a society is expected to know,' so it is too broad here.
• 2意識 (いしき) means 'consciousness / awareness' — a mental state of being aware, not a body of shared knowledge.
• 4認識 (にんしき) means 'recognition / understanding / perception' — the act of recognizing or understanding something, not the shared common knowledge of a society.

• 常識じょうしき — common sense
• 知識ちしき — knowledge
• 意識いしき — consciousness, awareness
• 認識にんしき — recognition, understanding