N2 Vocabulary · Test 4

The tested word is 憎む (にくむ, 'to hate/detest'). In the te-form it becomes 憎んで (にくんで). The sentence means 'Nobody hates you, so please don't worry.' Option 4 (にくんで) is the correct reading.

• 1なやんで is the te-form of 悩む (なやむ, 'to worry/be troubled'). It is a plausible distractor because the kanji 悩 looks somewhat similar and the meaning can loosely relate to negative feelings, but it does not match 憎.
• 2くやんで is the te-form of 悔やむ (くやむ, 'to regret/rue'). The kanji 悔 is visually similar to 憎, but the reading and meaning are different.
• 3うらんで is the te-form of 恨む (うらむ, 'to bear a grudge/resent'). This is a near-synonym of 憎む and a deliberate distractor, but the kanji is 恨, not 憑.

• 憎にくむ — to hate, to detest
• 悩なやむ — to worry, to be troubled
• 悔くやむ — to regret
• 恨うらむ — to bear a grudge, to resent

偶然 is read ぐうぜん, meaning 'by chance/coincidence'. The sentence means 'I coincidentally met a friend at the station.' Option 2 (ぐうぜん) is correct.

• 1とつぜん is the reading of 突然 ('suddenly'). It is a deliberate distractor because both words describe something unexpected happening, but the kanji and reading differ.
• 3ぐぜん is an incorrect shortened reading that does not correspond to any standard word.
• 4とぜん is an incorrect reading mixing elements of 突然 and 偶然; it is not a real word.

• 偶然ぐうぜん — by chance, coincidental
• 突然とつぜん — suddenly, abruptly

刺激 is read しげき, meaning 'stimulus/stimulation'. The sentence means 'In my university seminar I received various kinds of stimulation.' Option 3 (しげき) is correct.

• 1さてき is not a valid reading for 刺激; it is a fabricated distractor using the on'yomi of 刺 (さ) incorrectly.
• 2さげき is not a valid reading; it does not correspond to a real word and is designed to look plausible.
• 4してき is the reading of 指摘 (してき, 'pointing out'). It is a deliberate distractor because the kanji 指摘 is thematically related to academic discussion, but it does not match 刺激.

• 刺激しげき — stimulus, stimulation
• 指摘してき — pointing out, indication

恥 is read はじ, meaning 'shame/embarrassment'. The phrase 恥をかく (はじをかく) means 'to be put to shame / to lose face'. The sentence means 'I failed and was put to shame, but I was comforted by a kind word from my senior.' Option 2 (はじ) is correct.

• 1はし is the reading of words like 橋 ('bridge') or 端 ('edge'), not 恥.
• 3はず is the reading of 筈 ('expectation/supposed to'), a deliberate lookalike distractor.
• 4はす is the reading of 菱 ('diamond shape') or 斜 ('diagonal'), not 恥.

• 恥はじ — shame, embarrassment
• 恥はじをかく — to be put to shame, to lose face

圧倒的 is read あっとうてき, meaning 'overwhelming'. The sentence means 'His strength is overwhelming.' The kanji 圧 is read あつ, and in compound readings the つ becomes a small っ before と, giving あっとうてき. Option 1 is correct.

• 2おっとうてき incorrectly uses お instead of あ for the first mora; this is a deliberate distractor testing whether the learner knows the initial sound of 圧.
• 3あつどうてき incorrectly uses つど instead of っと; it fails to apply the gemination (small っ) rule and misreads 倒 as どう instead of とう.
• 4おつどうてき combines both errors: wrong initial vowel お and failure to apply gemination with どう instead of とう.

• 圧倒的あっとうてき — overwhelming, decisive

趣味 (しゅみ) means 'hobby' or 'pastime.' The sentence says 'My hobby is playing the piano,' so 趣味 is the correct kanji.

• 2興味 (きょうみ) means 'interest' (e.g., 興味がある 'to be interested in'). It is not used with は～ことだ to describe one's hobby.
• 3好味 is not a standard word. It looks like it combines 好 (like) + 味 (taste/flavor), but it does not mean 'hobby.'
• 4習味 is not a real word. 習 (learn/practice) + 味 (taste) is a fabricated distractor.

• 趣味しゅみ — hobby, pastime
• 興味きょうみ — interest, curiosity

濃い (こい) means 'dark' or 'thick/dense,' and for a pencil it refers to a darker (harder/black) lead. The sentence says 'I want a slightly darker pencil,' so 濃い is correct.

• 1軟い is not a standard kanji writing. The word for 'soft' (of pencil lead) is 柔らかい or 軟らかい (やわらかい), not 軟い.
• 2薄い (うすい) means 'light/pale' (the opposite of what is wanted here) and is read うすい, not こい.
• 3硬い (かたい) means 'hard/stiff' and is read かたい, not こい. While pencils can be described as hard, the reading こい does not match.

• 濃こい — dark, thick, dense (of color/lead)
• 薄うすい — light, pale, thin
• 硬かたい — hard, stiff

混じった (まじった) is the past tense of 混じる (まじる), meaning 'to be mixed/blended in.' The sentence says the plate's color looks like white with a little blue mixed in, so 混じった is correct.

• 1組じった is not a valid form. 組む (くむ) means 'to assemble/combine' and its past is 組んだ (くんだ), not 組じった.
• 2含じった is not a valid form. 含む (ふくむ) means 'to contain/include' and its past is 含んだ (ふくんだ), not 含じった.
• 4加じった is not a valid form. 加える (くわえる) or 加わる (くわわる) are the verbs for 'to add/join,' and neither conjugates to 加じった.

• 混まじる — to be mixed in, to be blended
• 組くむ — to assemble, to pair
• 含ふくむ — to contain, to include

損 (そん) means 'loss' or 'disadvantage.' 損になる is a common phrase meaning 'to end up losing (money) / to be at a disadvantage.' The sentence says 'He is always doing things that cause him to lose out,' so 損 is correct.

• 1罪 (つみ) means 'sin/crime' and is read つみ, not そん.
• 2害 (がい) means 'harm/damage' and is read がい, not そん.
• 4毒 (どく) means 'poison' and is read どく, not そん.

• 損そん — loss, disadvantage
• 損そんになる — to lose out, to be at a disadvantage
• 罪つみ — sin, crime, guilt
• 害がい — harm, damage
• 毒どく — poison

演技 (えんぎ) means 'acting' or 'performance (by an actor).' The sentence says 'I was moved by the wonderful acting/performance,' so 演技 is correct.

• 1演劇 is read えんげき (engeki), not えんぎ. It means 'theater/drama' as an art form, and does not match the reading えんぎ.
• 3園技 is not a real word. It combines 園 (garden/park) + 技 (skill) and is a fabricated distractor.
• 4園劇 is not a real word. It combines 園 (garden/park) + 劇 (play/drama) and is a fabricated distractor.

• 演技えんぎ — acting, performance (by an actor)
• 演劇えんげき — theater, drama (as an art form)