N3 Vocabulary · Test 40

募集（ぼしゅう）means 'to recruit / to call for applicants,' i.e., publicly asking people to sign up or volunteer for something. Option 3, 'スピーチ大会の参加者を募集しています' ('We are recruiting participants for the speech contest'), is the correct usage: you 募集 participants for an event or organization.

• 1You do not 募集 ('recruit') students into a specific classroom for an explanation. The natural verb here would be 集める ('to gather/collect people').
• 2Collecting coins from various countries is a hobby of collecting objects, not recruiting people. The correct word is 収集（しゅうしゅう）, 'to collect (items).'
• 4Garbage is collected by the city, not 'recruited.' The correct word is 収集（しゅうしゅう）or 回収（かいしゅう）, 'to collect/gather (things).'

• 募集ぼしゅう — recruiting, calling for applicants/participants
• 収集しゅうしゅう — collecting (items, e.g., stamps, coins)
• 参加者さんかしゃ — participant(s)

空（から）as an adjective means 'empty' — containing nothing inside. Option 4, '飲み終わって空になったビンはここに置いてください' ('Please put the bottles that have become empty after drinking here'), correctly uses 空 to describe a container with nothing left inside.

• 1'空の日' to mean 'a free/available day' is incorrect. The right word is 暇（ひま）, 'free time / not busy.'
• 2'内容が空' to mean 'empty/hollow content' is not natural Japanese. One would say 中身がない or 乏しい. 空 describes physical emptiness of a container/space, not abstract emptiness of content in this way.
• 3'家が空だ' to mean 'nobody is home' is not standard usage of the adjective 空（から）. The natural expression would be 留守（るす）だ or 誰もいない. Note: 空家（あきや）exists as a noun ('vacant house'), but the adjective usage here is wrong.

• 空（から） — empty (nothing inside)
• 暇ひま — free time, leisure
• 留守るす — away from home, nobody home

活動（かつどう）means 'activity/activities,' especially organized or purposeful activities carried out by a group or organization toward a goal. Option 1, 'この団体は、日本文化を紹介するために、文化教室を開くなどの活動をしている' ('This organization engages in activities such as holding culture classes in order to introduce Japanese culture'), correctly uses 活動 for an organization's purposeful activities.

• 2Household chores like cleaning and laundry are 仕事（しごと）or 家事（かじ）, not 活動. 活動 implies organized/purposeful group action, not routine chores.
• 3An elevator resuming operation is 運転（うんてん）or 動き（うごき）, not 活動. 活動 is not used for mechanical operation.
• 4Truck traffic/movement increasing is 運行（うんこう）or 出入り（でいり）, not 活動. 活動 does not describe vehicle movement.

• 活動かつどう — activity/activities (organized, purposeful, often by a group)
• 団体だんたい — organization, group
• 家事かじ — housework, chores
• 運行うんこう — operation (of vehicles/trains)

行き先（いきさき）means 'destination' — the place one is heading to. Option 2, '仕事中に外出するときは、必ず誰かに行き先を伝えておいてください' ('When going out during work, make sure to tell someone your destination beforehand'), correctly uses 行き先 for where a person is going.

• 1The destination of an email is 宛先（あてさき）, not 行き先. 行き先 refers to a person's physical destination, not a message recipient.
• 3Asking whether the station is in a certain direction would use 方向（ほうこう）or 道（みち）, not 行き先. 行き先 is a destination, not a direction sign.
• 4A river splitting into two and flowing into lakes describes its 流れ（ながれ）or 下流（かりゅう）, not 行き先. 行き先 is for people/travelers, not rivers.

• 行き先（いきさき） — destination (where one is going)
• 宛先あてさき — address/recipient (of mail or email)
• 方向ほうこう — direction

経由（けいゆ）means 'via / by way of' — passing through a place en route to a destination. Option 2, 'このバスは市役所を経由して駅へ向かいます' ('This bus goes to the station via city hall'), correctly uses 経由 for a route that passes through an intermediate point.

• 1Taking a shortcut through a park would use 通る（とおる）or 抜ける（ぬける）, not 経由. 経由 implies a scheduled/official stop along a route, not casually cutting through.
• 3Going through being a company employee before entering university would use 経て（へて）, 'having gone through (a stage/experience).' 経由 is for routes/paths, not career stages.
• 4A meeting continuing through the lunch break would use 通して（とおして）or またいで, not 経由. 経由 is for spatial routes, not temporal continuation.

• 経由けいゆ — via, by way of (passing through a place en route)
• 経へて — having gone through (a stage/process)
• 市役所しやくしょ — city hall

「首都」 means 'capital city.' The correct reading is 「しゅと」. 首(しゅ) = head/chief, 都(と) = city/metropolis. Together they mean the chief city, i.e., the capital.

• 1「しゅとう」 adds an unnecessary long vowel う and is not a real word.
• 2「しゅうと」 inserts an extra う and changes と to とう; this is not a valid reading.
• 4「しゅうとう」 adds long vowels to both kanji; not a real word.

• 首都しゅと — capital city

「地球」 means 'the Earth/globe.' The correct reading is 「ちきゅう」. 地(ち) = ground/earth, 球(きゅう) = ball/sphere. Together: the sphere we live on.

• 1「じきゅう」 uses the wrong reading じ for 地 (on'yomi used in words like 地下(じか)) and a short きゅう.
• 3「じきゅ」 uses wrong じ and drops the う from きゅう.
• 4「ちきゅ」 has the right first kanji but drops the う, making きゅう into きゅ.

• 地球ちきゅう — the Earth, the globe

「遅れて」 is the te-form of 「遅れる(おくれる)」, meaning 'to be late / to be behind (schedule).' The sentence says the clock is running behind. The correct reading is 「おくれて」.

• 1「こわれて」 is 壊れて (to be broken) — a plausible distractor since a broken clock also doesn't work, but the kanji is 遅れる, not 壊れる.
• 3「たおれて」 is 倒れて (to fall over/collapse) — wrong meaning and wrong kanji.
• 4「よごれて」 is 汚れて (to get dirty) — wrong meaning and wrong kanji.

• 遅おくれる — to be late, to be behind schedule

「協力」 means 'cooperation / working together.' The correct reading is 「きょうりょく」. 協(きょう) = together/cooperate, 力(りょく) = power/effort.

• 1「きょりょく」 drops the う from きょう, making it a short syllable; not a valid word.
• 2「どりょく」 is the reading of 努力(どりょく, effort) — a near-synonym distractor with the wrong first kanji reading.
• 4「どうりょく」 similarly mimics 動力(どうりょく, motive power) — wrong reading and not the word in the sentence.

• 協力きょうりょく — cooperation, working together

「応募」 means 'to apply / to respond to a call (for a job, scholarship, contest).' The correct reading is 「おうぼ」. 応(おう) = respond, 募(ぼ) = recruit/invite applications.

• 2「おうも」 uses the wrong reading も for 募; the on'yomi is ぼ.
• 3「おうほう」 reads 募 as ほう, which is incorrect.
• 4「おうもう」 reads 募 as もう, which is incorrect.

• 応募おうぼ — to apply, to respond to a recruitment call