N3 Vocabulary · Test 31

苦しい is read くるしい, meaning 'painful, hard, distressing'. The sentence means 'When I'm going through a hard time, I listen to this song.' Option 3 is the correct reading.

• 1かなしい is 悲しい (sad) — a different adjective with a similar emotional nuance but a different kanji and meaning.
• 2くやしい is 悔しい (frustrating/regrettable) — another emotional adjective that looks similar but is not the reading of 苦しい.
• 4さびしい is 寂しい (lonely) — yet another adjective ending in -しい, but it is not the reading of 苦しい.

• 苦くるしい — painful, hard, distressing
• 悲かなしい — sad
• 悔くやしい — frustrating, regrettable
• 寂さびしい — lonely

出張 is read しゅっちょう, meaning 'business trip'. The sentence means 'I plan to go on a business trip to Japan next month.' Option 4 is correct. Note the small っ (促音) and the long vowel ちょう.

• 1しゅちゅう is 集中 (concentration) — a real word but a different kanji compound with no 促音.
• 2しゅちょう is 主張 (assertion/claim) — a real word but lacks the small っ and has a different meaning.
• 3しゅっちゅう — this has the small っ but ends in ちゅう instead of ちょう; it is not a standard word.

• 出張しゅっちょう — business trip
• 集中しゅちゅう — concentration
• 主張しゅちょう — assertion, claim

席 is read せき, meaning 'seat'. The sentence means 'There was only one seat open.' Option 1 is correct.

• 2かぎ is 鍵 (key) — an unrelated word; the kanji 席 is never read this way.
• 3あな is 穴 (hole) — an unrelated word; not a reading of 席.
• 4ふた is 蓋 (lid/cover) — an unrelated word; not a reading of 席.

• 席せき — seat
• 空あく — to become vacant/open

根 is read ね, meaning 'root'. The sentence means 'I hear the root of that tree can also be used as medicine.' Option 1 is correct.

• 2は is 葉 (leaf) — a part of a tree, but not the reading of 根.
• 3かわ is 皮 (bark/skin) — another part of a tree, but not the reading of 根.
• 4め is 芽 (bud/sprout) — another plant-related word, but not the reading of 根.

• 根ね — root
• 葉は — leaf
• 皮かわ — bark, skin
• 芽め — bud, sprout

事情 is read じじょう, meaning 'circumstances, situation'. The sentence means 'I'm sorry, but due to certain circumstances I can't go today.' Option 2 is correct.

• 1じこ is 事故 (accident) — a real word but a different kanji compound.
• 3じこう is 事項 (item/matter) — a real word with a different meaning and kanji.
• 4じじょ is not a standard word; it may be a distractor resembling じじょう with a shortened second vowel.

• 事情じじょう — circumstances, situation
• 事故じこ — accident
• 事項じこう — item, matter

The word しんじて is written with the kanji 信じて. The verb 信じる（しんじる）means 'to believe' or 'to trust.' The sentence means 'I believe that he can do it.'

• 1真じて uses the kanji 真（しん）, which means 'true/real.' While it shares the reading しん, it is not used in the verb しんじる.
• 3心じて uses 心（こころ/しん）, meaning 'heart/mind.' It has the reading しん in some compounds, but the verb is not written with this kanji.
• 4親じて uses 親（おや/しん）, meaning 'parent/close.' Again it shares the reading しん, but it is not the correct kanji for しんじる.

• 信しんじて — believing (te-form of 信じる: to believe, to trust)
• 真しん — true, real, genuine
• 心しん — heart, mind (onyomi)
• 親しん — parent, close (onyomi)

The word おそく is written 遅く. The i-adjective 遅い（おそい）means 'late,' and 遅く is its adverbial form meaning 'late.' The sentence means 'This store stays open until late at night, so it's very convenient.'

• 1達く uses 達（たつ）, meaning 'to reach/accomplish.' It does not have the reading おそ and is unrelated.
• 2後く uses 後（のち/あと/うし）, which can mean 'after/later,' but it is not read おそ and does not mean 'late at night.'
• 4復く uses 復（ふく）, meaning 'to restore/repeat.' It is unrelated and does not have the reading おそ.

• 遅おそく — late (adverbial form of 遅い: late)
• 達たつ — to reach, to accomplish
• 後のち/あと — after, later
• 復ふく — to restore, to repeat

The word ようき is written 容器. 容器（ようき）means 'container' or 'receptacle.' 容 means 'contain/vessel' and 器 means 'utensil/instrument/vessel.' The sentence means 'This factory produces plastic containers.'

• 1溶器 uses 溶（よう）, meaning 'melt/dissolve.' While it shares the reading よう, a 'melting vessel' is not the standard word for 'container.'
• 3容機 uses 容（よう）correctly but pairs it with 機（き）, meaning 'machine/mechanism.' A container is a vessel (器), not a machine (機).
• 4溶機 combines 溶（よう, melt）and 機（き, machine）, which is not a real word and does not mean 'container.'

「つかれました」 is the past tense of つかれる, meaning 'to become tired.' The correct kanji is 疲れる (つかれる). After walking all day, your legs would naturally get tired, so 疲れました is the right choice.

• 2痛れました: This uses the kanji 痛 (いた・つう), related to pain. The verb 痛む (いたむ) exists, but 痛れる is not a standard word. Even if it were, the context is about tiredness, not pain.
• 3病れました: This uses 病 (やまい・びょう), related to illness. 病む (やむ) exists, but 病れる is not standard, and the meaning 'to become ill' does not fit the context of walking all day.
• 4症れました: This uses 症 (しょう), found in words like 症状 (しょうじょう, symptom). 症れる is not a real word.

• 疲つかれる — to become tired, to be exhausted

「かさねて」 is the te-form of かさねる, meaning 'to stack' or 'to pile up.' The correct kanji is 重ねる (かさねる). The sentence says to stack the plates and put them away on the shelf, so 重ねて is the right choice.

• 1整ねて: This uses 整 (せい), as in 整える (ととのえる, to arrange/organize) or 整理 (せいり). However, 整ねる is not a valid word; the kanji 整 does not carry the reading かさねる.
• 2列ねて: This uses 列 (れつ), as in 列 (れつ, line/row). 列ねる is not a standard verb, and 列 does not read as かさねる.
• 3階ねて: This uses 階 (かい), as in 階段 (かいだん, stairs) or 一階 (いっかい, first floor). 階ねる is not a real word, and 階 does not read as かさねる.

• 重かさねる — to stack, to pile up, to layer