N2 Vocabulary · Test 31

大幅 is read おおはば, meaning 'large-scale' or 'substantial.' The sentence means 'The price of gasoline went up substantially.' The first kanji 大 has the kun'yomi reading おお (as in 大きい), and 幅 is read はば (meaning 'width' or 'range'). Together, おおはば means 'on a large scale / by a wide margin.'

• 2おおふく uses the correct initial kun'yomi おお but misreads 幅 as ふく. There is no such reading for 幅; this is a deliberate distractor using a similar-looking/sounding syllable.
• 3だいはば uses the on'yomi だい for 大 (as in 大学), but in this compound 大幅 takes the kun'yomi おお. This is a common trap for learners who default to on'yomi.
• 4だいふく misreads both kanji using on'yomi-style readings. だいふく actually refers to 大福 (a type of Japanese sweet), which is a completely different word.

• 大幅おおはば — large-scale, substantial, by a wide margin
• 値段ねだん — price

悔しい is read くやしい, meaning 'frustrating' or 'vexing' — the feeling of regret and frustration when something doesn't go your way. The sentence means 'Yesterday, there was a very frustrating incident.' This is a kun'yomi reading of 悔.

• 1かなしい is the reading of 悲しい (sad), a different kanji and different emotion. The test is checking whether you can distinguish 悔しい from the similar emotional adjective 悲しい.
• 3はずかしい is the reading of 恥ずかしい (embarrassed/shy), another different kanji and emotion.
• 4おそろしい is the reading of 恐ろしい (frightening/terrible), yet another different kanji and emotion.

• 悔くやしい — frustrating, vexing, regrettable
• 出来事できごと — incident, event

幼稚 is read ようち, meaning 'infantile' or 'childish/immature.' The sentence means 'I intended to write in an easy-to-understand way, but it ended up being a childish piece of writing.' Both kanji use their on'yomi readings: 幼 → よう (as in 幼児 ようじ) and 稚 → ち (as in 稚内 わっかない is a place name, but 稚 in compounds like 稚拙 ちせつ uses ち).

• 1ゆうち swaps the readings: it gives 幼 the reading ゆう (incorrect) and keeps 稚 as ち. There is no common reading ゆう for 幼.
• 2ようし gives 幼 the correct よう but misreads 稚 as し. This is a plausible distractor since し is a common on'yomi ending, but 稚 is read ち here.
• 4ゆうし misreads both kanji — ゆう for 幼 and し for 稚 — neither of which is correct for this word.

• 幼稚ようち — infantile, childish, immature
• 文章ぶんしょう — writing, text, composition

圧勝 is read あっしょう, meaning 'overwhelming victory' or 'landslide win.' The sentence means 'This time, it was an overwhelming victory for Tanaka.' Both kanji use on'yomi: 圧 → あっ (as in 圧力 あつりょく, with rendaku/assimilation to あっ) and 勝 → しょう (as in 勝利 しょうり).

• 2ゆうしょう is the reading of 優勝 (championship/victory in a competition). This is a deliberate distractor: 優勝 and 圧勝 are near-homophones conceptually related to winning, but 圧勝 is あっしょう, not ゆうしょう.
• 3あっしゅう keeps the correct あっ for 圧 but misreads 勝 as しゅう instead of しょう. This plays on the similarity between しょう and しゅう.
• 4ゆうしゅう is the reading of 優秀 (excellent/superior). This is another deliberate distractor using similar-sounding syllables that form a real but unrelated word.

• 圧勝あっしょう — overwhelming victory, landslide win
• 選手せんしゅ — player, athlete

傷みやすい is read いたみやすい, meaning 'easy to spoil/perish' (referring to food). The sentence means 'In hot seasons, food spoils easily.' The kanji 傷 is read いた (kun'yomi, as in 傷く → 傷む いたむ 'to spoil/go bad'), combined with み (a nominalizing/verb-stem connector) and やすい ('easy to ~').

• 1きずみやすい reads 傷 as きず, which is indeed a valid kun'yomi of 傷 (as in 傷 きず 'a wound/scratch'), but in the verb 傷む (to spoil, of food), the reading is いたむ, not きずむ. This is the key distinction being tested.
• 2きみやすい is not a valid reading of 傷 at all; it appears to be a fabricated distractor with no basis in any real reading of the kanji.
• 3いだみやすい uses いだ for 傷, which is actually the reading of 抱く (いだく, 'to harbor/hold') or 挙る — not 傷. This is a deliberate distractor using a similar-sounding reading from a different kanji.

• 傷いたみやすい — easy to spoil (of food)
• 傷いたむ — to spoil, go bad (of food)

「しめっぽい」is written 湿っぽい. The stem says 洗濯物がまだしめっぽい ('The laundry is still damp'), and 湿っぽい means damp/humid, which fits perfectly for laundry that hasn't fully dried.

• 1汚っぽい reads きたなっぽい ('dirty-looking'), not しめっぽい. It uses a different stem 汚(きたな)+っぽい.
• 2泡っぽい reads あわっぽい ('frothy/bubbly-looking'), not しめっぽい. The kanji 泡(あわ) doesn't match the reading しめ.
• 3汗っぽい reads あせっぽい ('sweaty'), not しめっぽい. The kanji 汗(あせ) doesn't match the reading しめ.

• 湿しめっぽい — damp, humid, moist
• 汚きたなっぽい — dirty-looking
• 泡あわっぽい — frothy, bubbly-looking
• 汗あせっぽい — sweaty

「せつぞく」is written 接続. The stem says プリンターがせつぞくされている ('a printer is connected'), and 接続 means connection/connecting, which fits the context of connecting a printer to a computer.

• 1設属 is not a real word. The kanji 設(せつ) shares the on-reading but 属 doesn't produce the reading ぞく in a valid compound here.
• 2接属 is not a real word. While 接 has the reading せつ, 属 alone doesn't form the standard word for 'connection.'
• 3設続 is not a real word. 設(せつ)+続(ぞく) gives the right readings but is not an established compound.

• 接続せつぞく — connection, connecting (e.g., devices)

「さからって」is written 逆らって. The stem says 親にさからって大学に進学した ('went against my parents' wishes and went to university'), and 逆らう means to go against/defy (someone's wishes or authority), which fits perfectly.

• 2敵らって is not a real word. 敵 is read てき or かたき, and there is no verb さからう written with 敵.
• 3拒って reads こばって ('to refuse/reject'), not さからって. It's a real word but has a different reading and a slightly different nuance — refusing outright rather than defying.
• 4争って reads あらそって ('to compete/fight/struggle'), not さからって. It's a real word but with a different reading and meaning.

• 逆さからう — to go against, to defy, to disobey
• 拒う（こばむ） — to refuse, to reject
• 争あらそう — to compete, to fight, to struggle

「ひはん」is written 批判. The stem says 強引なやり方をひはんする人もいる ('there are also people who criticize the president's forceful approach'), and 批判 means criticism/critique, which fits perfectly.

• 1非判 is not a real word. 非(ひ) is a valid kanji but 判(はん/はん) doesn't combine with it to form a recognized compound.
• 3批反 is not a real word. While 批(ひ) is correct, 反(はん) doesn't form the standard word for 'criticism.'
• 4非反 is not a real word. Neither kanji combination produces the established word 批判.

• 批判ひはん — criticism, critique
• 強引ごういん — forceful, pushy, high-handed

「おとって」is written 劣って. The stem says 機能の面ではおとっていると思う ('I think (A company's product) is inferior in terms of functionality'), and 劣る means to be inferior to / to fall short of, which fits perfectly.

• 1悪って is not a valid conjugation form here. 悪(わる)い is an i-adjective and doesn't conjugate to おとる/おとって.
• 2負って reads おって from 負う ('to bear/carry on the back' or 'to owe'), not おとって. It's a real word but with a different reading and meaning.
• 4乏って reads とぼって from 乏しい ('to be scarce/lacking'), not おとって. It's a real word but with a different reading and meaning.

• 劣おとる — to be inferior to, to fall short of
• 負おう — to bear, to carry on the back, to owe
• 乏とぼしい — scarce, lacking, meager