N3 Vocabulary · Test 13

建築（けんちく） means 'construction' — specifically the act of constructing a building or structure. Option 4 says 'This library was constructed 50 years ago, and repairs are currently being carried out,' which is the correct usage: a library is a building that can be 建築される (be constructed).

• 1A painting (絵) is not a building or structure, so it cannot be 建築される. Paintings are 描かれる (painted) or 作られる (made), not 'constructed.'
• 2Cars (自動車) are manufactured products, not buildings. They are 生産される or 作られる, not 建築される. 建築 only applies to buildings/structures.
• 3A work environment (働きやすい環境) is an abstract concept, not a physical building. It cannot be 建築される. One might say 整えられる (be arranged/prepared) instead.

• 建築けんちく — construction (of a building); architecture

埋める（うめる） means 'to bury' or 'to fill in (a hole/gap).' Option 2 says 'At my house, we bury kitchen waste by digging holes in the garden,' which is the correct usage: digging a hole and burying something in the ground is exactly what 埋める describes.

• 1Buttons (ボタン) are fastened (留める/とめる) or buttoned, not 'buried' or 'filled in.' 埋める does not mean to fasten or attach.
• 3Rose bushes (ばらの木) are planted (植える/うえる) in a flower bed, not 'buried.' 埋める implies covering something completely underground, not planting a living plant.
• 4Cakes are placed or packed (詰める/つめる) into a box, not 'buried' or 'filled in.' 埋める does not mean to pack items into a container.

• 埋うめる — to bury (in the ground); to fill in (a hole)

重大（じゅうだい） means 'serious, grave, weighty' and is used for problems, matters, or decisions that have serious consequences. Option 2 says 'A serious problem was found in K Company's computers, and it seems they will recall them,' which is correct: 重大な問題 (a serious/grave problem) is a standard collocation.

• 1苦労 (hardship/trouble) is not described as 重大な. One says 大変な苦労 or ひどい苦労, but 重大 implies gravity/seriousness of a matter, not the severity of personal hardship.
• 3時間 (time) is not described as 重大な. One might say 貴重な時間 (precious time) or 多くの時間 (a lot of time), but 重大な時間 is not a natural collocation.
• 4思い出 (memories) are described as 大切な (precious) or すばらしい (wonderful), not 重大な. 重大 carries a sense of gravity/seriousness that does not fit nostalgic memories.

• 重大じゅうだい — serious, grave, weighty (used for problems, matters, decisions with serious consequences)

延期（えんき） means 'postponement' — pushing a scheduled event to a later date. Option 1 says 'Because a typhoon is coming, tomorrow's match will be postponed to next week,' which is correct: a scheduled event (試合) being moved to a later date (来週) is exactly 延期.

• 2Delaying one's departure time for work by a little bit is 遅れる (おくれる) or 遅らせる (おくらせる), not 延期. 延期 applies to scheduled events/appointments being moved to another day, not to a person's daily commute timing.
• 3Studying longer than usual is 延長する (えんちょうする: to extend) or 長く勉強する, not 延期. 延期 means postponing, not extending an activity's duration.
• 4Exceeding the 5-minute speech time limit is 時間をオーバーする or 長く話す, not 延期. 延期 means rescheduling to a later time, not speaking too long.

• 延期えんき — postponement (rescheduling a planned event to a later date)

知り合う（しりあう） means 'to become acquainted with someone; to meet someone (and get to know them).' Option 3 says 'I became acquainted with Sato-san at a travel destination 10 years ago,' which is correct: two people meeting and getting to know each other is exactly what 知り合う describes.

• 1If you waved at Hayashi-san, the issue is whether he noticed/recognized you, not whether he 'became acquainted.' 気づかなかった (didn't notice) would fit here, but 知り合わなかった implies they didn't become acquainted, which doesn't fit the context of waving at someone you already know.
• 2You can learn about Kimura-san's victory through the news (知る/しる: to learn/know), but you don't 'become acquainted with' (知り合う) a fact through the news. 知り合う is specifically about interpersonal relationships.
• 4You read instructions to understand (分かる/わかる or 理解する/りかいする) a machine, not to 'become acquainted with' it. 知り合う is only used between people, not with objects or machines.

• 知り合う（しりあう） — to become acquainted with (someone); to meet and get to know each other

汚い is read きたない, meaning 'dirty.' The sentence says 'This place is dirty, so let's go somewhere else,' which fits perfectly.

• 1せまい (狭い) means 'narrow/cramped.' It is a plausible distractor because it describes an undesirable place, but it is not the reading of 汚い.
• 2くさい (臭い) means 'smelly.' It shares the kun-yomi ending 〜い and describes something unpleasant, but it is not the reading of 汚い.
• 4うるさい (煩い/五月蝿い) means 'noisy/annoying.' Again an 〜い adjective describing an unpleasant environment, but not the reading of 汚い.

• 汚きたない — dirty
• 狭せまい — narrow, cramped
• 臭くさい — smelly
• うるさい — noisy, annoying

商品 is read しょうひん, meaning 'merchandise/goods.' The sentence says 'I check whether the goods have any defects.'

• 1しょひん is an incorrect short reading of 商品; the correct on-yomi of 商 is しょう (with the long vowel).
• 3せいひん (製品) means 'manufactured product.' It is a real word with similar meaning, making it a tempting distractor, but it is not the reading of 商品.
• 4せひん is not a valid reading of 商品; it mixes incorrect on-yomi.

• 商品しょうひん — merchandise, goods
• 製品せいひん — manufactured product

冷えて is the て-form of 冷える, read ひえて, meaning 'to become cold/chilled.' The sentence says 'It hasn't chilled yet, so please wait a little longer.'

• 1もえて is the て-form of 燃える (もえる), meaning 'to burn/catch fire.' Unrelated to chilling.
• 3にえて is the て-form of 煮える (にえる), meaning 'to boil/cook.' A plausible lookalike but wrong meaning.
• 4うえて is the て-form of 植える (うえる), meaning 'to plant.' Unrelated.

• 冷ひえる — to become cold, to chill
• 燃もえる — to burn
• 煮にえる — to be boiled, to cook
• 植うえる — to plant

早退 is read そうたい, meaning 'to leave work/school early.' The sentence says 'I didn't feel well, so I left early.'

• 1そうてい has the wrong second kanji reading; 退 is たい here, not てい.
• 2ぞうたい is an incorrect voicing (rendaku) attempt; neither character uses a dakuten in this word.
• 4ぞうてi combines incorrect voicing and wrong reading of 退.

• 早退そうたい — leaving early (from work/school)

下線 is read かせん, meaning 'underline.' The sentence says 'Please underline the important words.'

• 1げぜん uses wrong readings for both kanji (下 is か here, 線 is せん).
• 2かぜん has the correct reading for 下 but the wrong reading for 線 (せん, not ぜん).
• 3げせん has the wrong reading for 下 (か, not げ) and correct reading for 線.

• 下線かせん — underline