N3 Vocabulary · Test 30

「きつい」means tough, hard, or demanding (physically or mentally). 「大変（たいへん）」also means hard/demanding, so option 4 is the closest in meaning.

• 1「簡単（かんたん）」means easy/simple — the opposite of きつい.
• 2「つまらない」means boring/uninteresting — not the same as physically or mentally demanding.
• 3「楽しい（たのしい）」means fun/enjoyable — unrelated to きつい.

• きつい — tough, hard, demanding, strict
• 大変たいへん — hard, demanding, tough

「案（あん）」means a plan, idea, or proposal. 「アイデア」(idea) is the closest paraphrase, so option 3 is correct.

• 1「チャンス」means chance/opportunity — not the same as a plan or idea.
• 2「サービス」means service — unrelated to 案.
• 4「ニュース」means news — not the same as an idea or proposal.

• 案あん — idea, plan, proposal

「くたびれた」is the past form of くたびれる, meaning to get exhausted/worn out. 「疲れた（つかれた）」means got tired, which is the closest paraphrase. Option 1 is correct.

• 2「困った（こまった）」means was in trouble/didn't know what to do — not the same as being tired.
• 3「眠かった（ねむかった）」means was sleepy — related but not the same as exhausted from effort.
• 4「恥ずかしかった（はずかしかった）」means was embarrassed — unrelated.

• くたびれる — to get exhausted, to become worn out
• 疲つかれる — to get tired

「約（やく）」means approximately/about. 「だいたい」also means approximately/roughly, so option 4 is the closest paraphrase.

• 1「10キロ以上（いじょう）」means 10 kg or more — 約 does not imply a minimum.
• 2「10キロ以下（いか）」means 10 kg or less — 約 does not imply a maximum.
• 3「ちょうど10キロ」means exactly 10 kg — 約 implies an approximation, not exactness.

• 約やく — approximately, about
• だいたい — approximately, roughly, about

「指導（しどう）しています」means is instructing/teaching (someone how to do something). 「教えています（おしえています）」means is teaching/telling, which is the closest paraphrase. Option 3 is correct.

• 1「考えています（かんがえています）」means is thinking — not the same as instructing.
• 2「習っています（ならっています）」means is learning — the opposite direction; Yamada is the one teaching, not learning.
• 4「調べています（しらべています）」means is investigating/checking — unrelated to 指導.

• 指導しどうする — to instruct, to guide, to teach
• 教おしえる — to teach, to tell

溜まる（たまる）means for things to accumulate, pile up, or build up over time. In option 2, 'もう少しお金がたまったら' means 'when a little more money has accumulated (saved up),' which is a correct and natural usage. Money saving up over time is a classic example of たまる.

• 1たまる describes things accumulating, not people gathering. For people gathering at a venue, the correct verb is 集まる（あつまる）.
• 3人気（にんき）does not たまる. Popularity rising would be expressed with 集まる or 高まる（たかまる）.
• 4店（みせ）gathering around a new road would use 集まる, not たまる. たまる implies passive accumulation of a substance/quantity, not entities congregating.

• 溜たまる — to accumulate, to pile up, to build up (over time)

縮小（しゅくしょう）is a noun/suru-verb meaning 'reduction' or 'scaling down,' commonly used for reducing the size of documents, images, or plans. Option 3, 'コピーするときに少し縮小してください' ('please reduce the size a little when copying'), is the correct and natural usage.

• 1For lowering one's voice, you would say 声を小さくする, not 縮小する. 縮小 is not used for volume/sound.
• 2An eraser physically wearing down/shrinking would be described as 小さくなる or 減る（へる）, not 縮小する. 縮小 implies intentional or proportional reduction, not physical wear.
• 4Interest diminishing would be 興味が減る（きょうみがへる）or 薄れる（うすれる）, not 縮小する.

• 縮小しゅくしょう — reduction, scaling down, shrinking (of size/scope)

制限（せいげん）means 'restriction' or 'limit' — a rule or constraint placed on something. Option 1, '10人までという制限があります' ('there is a restriction of up to 10 people'), correctly uses 制限 to describe an imposed numerical limit on the number of riders.

• 2A deadline for homework is 期限（きげん）or 締め切り（しめきり）, not 制限. 制限 refers to a constraint, not a due date.
• 3Reaching the limit of one's physical strength is expressed with 限界（げんかい）, as in 体力の限界で. 制限 implies an externally imposed restriction, not a personal capacity boundary.
• 4Insufficient Japanese ability would be expressed as 日本語が不足している or 日本語の力が足りない. Saying 日本語の制限がある to mean 'limited Japanese' is unnatural; 制限 refers to imposed constraints, not lack of ability.

• 制限せいげん — restriction, limit, limitation (imposed constraint)

話しかける（はなしかける）means 'to speak to someone / to address someone,' i.e., initiating conversation with a person. Option 2, '列車の中で近くの人にその国の言葉で話しかけてみた' ('tried speaking to a nearby person in that country's language on the train'), correctly captures the act of initiating conversation with someone.

• 1Reporting your name and reservation number at a reception desk is 伝える（つたえる）or 言う（いう）, not 話しかける. 話しかける specifically means addressing/initiating talk to a person, not giving information.
• 3Announcing or talking about a schedule to an audience is 話す（はなす）, not 話しかける. 話しかける requires a specific person being addressed directly, not a general announcement.
• 4Having someone talk about their experiences is 話してもらう, not 話しかけてもらう. 話しかける focuses on the act of initiating speech toward someone, not narrating content.

• 話はなしかける — to speak to (someone), to address, to initiate conversation with

離す（はなす）means 'to put apart, to separate, to put distance between.' Option 4, '火からもっと離して置いてください' ('please place it further away from the fire'), correctly uses 離す to mean increasing the distance between an object and a source of danger.

• 1Removing a lightbulb to replace it is 外す（はずす）, not 離す. 離す means to separate things spatially, not to detach/remove a component.
• 2Taking off a wristwatch is 外す（はずす）, not 離す. 離す does not mean removing something from one's body.
• 3Removing fine dust from the floor with a vacuum cleaner is 吸い取る（すいとる）or 取る（とる）, not 離す. 離す means to create distance/separation, not to suction up debris.

• 離はなす — to separate, to put apart, to put at a distance from