N2 Vocabulary · Test 5

The correct answer is 1 (悪). The compound word formed is 悪影響 (あくえいきょう), meaning 'bad/negative influence.' The sentence means: 'Playing games too much gives a bad influence on the eyes.' 悪 combines with 影響 to form the common compound 悪影響を与える ('to exert a bad influence'), a fixed collocation frequently tested at N2.

• 2重 (じゅう) would form 重影響, which is not an established compound word in Japanese. While 重 means 'heavy/serious,' it does not collocate with 影響.
• 3高 (こう) would form 高影響, which is not a real word. 高 means 'high,' but 影響 is not modified by 高 in compound form.
• 4大 (だい) would form 大影響, which is not a standard compound. One can say 大きな影響 (big influence) using the adjective, but 大影響 as a single compound noun is not established.

• 悪影響あくえいきょう — bad influence, negative effect
• 影響を与える（えいきょうをあたえる） — to exert an influence on

The correct answer is 4 (流). The compound is アメリカ流 (アメリカりゅう), meaning 'American style/way.' アメリカ流のビジネス means 'American-style business.' 流 attaches to a noun to indicate 'in the style/manner of ~,' and is a productive suffix commonly seen in compounds like 日本流 (Japanese style) or アメリカ流 (American style).

• 1形 (けい/がた) means 'form/shape.' アメリカ形 is not an established compound. While 形 can appear in compounds like 流通形, it does not combine with country names to mean 'style.'
• 2質 (しつ) means 'quality/nature.' アメリカ質 is not a real word. 質 appears in compounds like 物質 (substance) or 性質 (nature), but not with country names in this way.
• 3性 (せい) means 'nature/property.' アメリカ性 is not a standard compound. 性 attaches to nouns to indicate a property (e.g., 安全性 safety), but not to country names to mean 'style.'

• ～流（～りゅう） — style/way/manner of ~ (suffix indicating a particular school or method)
• アメリカ流（アメリカりゅう） — American style, the American way

The correct answer is 2 (際). The compound is 別れ際 (わかれぎわ), meaning 'the moment of parting / at the time of leaving.' 別れ際に means 'at the moment of parting.' 際 (ぎわ) is a suffix meaning 'the moment/time when something happens,' and combines with the ren'yōkei (stem) form of verbs: 別れ + 際 = 別れ際. Other examples include 帰り際 (on the way home) and 死に際 (moment of death).

• 1刻 (こく) means 'time/moment' in words like 時刻 (time) or 刻一刻 (moment by moment), but 別れ刻 is not an established compound. The suffix 際 (ぎわ), not 刻, attaches to verb stems for this meaning.
• 3間 (かん/けん) means 'interval/space between.' 別れ間 is not a real word. While 間 can indicate a time span, it does not form this type of compound with 別れ.
• 4期 (き) means 'period/time.' 別れ期 is not a standard compound. 期 appears in words like 期間 (period) or 時期 (time/season), but does not attach to verb stems like 別れ to mean 'the moment of parting.'

• 別れ際（わかれぎわ） — the moment of parting, the time of saying goodbye
• ～際（～ぎわ） — the moment/time when ~ happens (suffix attaching to a verb stem)

プレッシャーをかける is a fixed collocation meaning 'to put pressure on someone.' The boss gave the speaker the budget and staff they wanted, so the boss is saying 'I expect results' — that is applying pressure. The passive form プレッシャーをかけられた means 'pressure was put on me (by the boss).'

• 1ショック means 'shock.' You say ショックを受けた ('I was shocked'), not ショックをかける. It does not collocate with かける in this sense.
• 3ダメージ means 'damage.' ダメージを与える ('to cause damage') is the usual collocation, not ダメージをかける.
• 4コンプレックス means 'inferiority complex.' コンプレックスを抱く ('to harbor a complex') is the pattern, not コンプレックスをかける.

• プレッシャー — pressure (psychological)
• プレッシャーをかける — to put pressure on someone
• ショック — shock
• ダメージ — damage
• コンプレックス — inferiority complex

不安定 (ふあんてい) means 'unstable, fluctuating.' The sentence says some months have many work shifts and some have few, so monthly income goes up and down — that is exactly 不安定. The pattern 収入が不安定だ is natural.

• 2不自由 (ふじゆう) means 'lack of freedom, inconvenience, shortage (of something necessary).' It does not describe fluctuating income; you would say お金に不自由する ('to struggle financially'), not 収入が不自由だ.
• 3不都合 (ふつごう) means 'inconvenient, improper, troublesome.' It describes a situation being problematic, not something fluctuating.
• 4不公平 (ふこうへい) means 'unfair, unequal.' Income varying month to month is not a matter of fairness; it is a matter of instability.

• 不安定ふあんてい — unstable, fluctuating
• 不自由ふじゆう — lack of freedom, inconvenience, shortage
• 不都合ふつごう — inconvenient, improper, troublesome
• 不公平ふこうへい — unfair, unequal

あいまいな返事 means 'a vague/ambiguous reply.' The second clause says 'so I don't know whether he will come to the party' — a vague reply is exactly what would cause that uncertainty. あいまいな modifies 返事 naturally.

• 1地味な (じみな) means 'plain, modest, unflashy.' It describes style or appearance (e.g., 地味な服), not a reply's clarity.
• 2かすかな (微かな) means 'faint, slight.' You can say かすかな声 ('faint voice') or かすかな希望 ('faint hope'), but かすかな返事 is not idiomatic and does not mean 'ambiguous.'
• 4鈍感な (どんかんな) means 'insensitive, slow to perceive.' It describes a person's personality, not a reply.

• あいまい — vague, ambiguous
• 地味じみ — plain, modest, unflashy
• 微かすか — faint, slight
• 鈍感どんかん — insensitive, dull (to perception)

おとろえた (衰えた) is the past tense of 衰える, meaning 'to decline, weaken (with age/time).' 記憶力が衰える ('memory declines') is a standard collocation. The sentence wonders whether difficulty remembering new things is because memory has weakened.

• 1傷んだ (いたんだ) is from 傷む, meaning 'to be damaged, spoil, rot' — used for food going bad, buildings deteriorating, clothes wearing out. Not used for 記憶力.
• 2散った (ちった) is from 散る, meaning 'to fall/scatter (leaves, flowers), to dissipate.' Not used for 記憶力.
• 3かれた (枯れた) is from 枯れる, meaning 'to wither, dry up (plants), or one's voice to become hoarse.' Not used for 記憶力.

• 衰おとろえる — to decline, weaken (with age/time)
• 記憶力きおくりょく — memory (faculty)
• 傷いたむ — to be damaged, spoil, deteriorate
• 散ちる — to fall/scatter (leaves, flowers)
• 枯かれる — to wither, dry up

油断 (ゆだん) means 'carelessness, letting one's guard down.' 油断する means 'to be careless, to let one's guard down.' The sentence says 'Thinking the opponent was weak, I let my guard down — and lost.' This is the classic 油断 pattern.

• 1納得 (なっとく) means 'understanding, being convinced/satisfied.' 納得する means 'to be convinced,' which does not fit 'thinking the opponent was weak and then losing.'
• 3失望 (しつぼう) means 'disappointment.' 失望する means 'to be disappointed,' which does not fit the causal structure here.
• 4覚悟 (かくご) means 'preparedness, mental readiness.' 覚悟する means 'to prepare oneself (for something difficult),' the opposite of letting one's guard down.

• 油断ゆだん — carelessness, letting one's guard down
• 納得なっとく — understanding, being convinced
• 失望しつぼう — disappointment
• 覚悟かくご — preparedness, mental readiness