N3 Vocabulary · Test 48

鈍る（にぶる）means 'to become dull/slow/sluggish.' In the て-form, it becomes 鈍って（にぶって）. The sentence means 'As time passed, the athletes' movements became sluggish,' which fits perfectly.

• 2滞る（とどこおる）means 'to be delayed/to fall behind (in payments/work).' While it could relate to time passing, it doesn't describe physical movement becoming slow, and the て-form would be とどこおって, which doesn't match the kanji 鈍.
• 3There is no common verb 読み as おとる that fits here. 劣る（おとる）means 'to be inferior,' but its て-form is おとって and the kanji would be 劣, not 鈍.
• 4縮まる（ちぢまる）means 'to shrink/contract.' The kanji is 縮, not 鈍, and shrinking doesn't describe movements becoming sluggish.

• 鈍にぶる — to become dull, slow, or sluggish (e.g. reflexes, movements)
• 滞とどこおる — to be delayed, to fall behind (in work/payments)
• 縮ちぢまる — to shrink, to contract

漠然（ばくぜん）means 'vague, indistinct, not clearly defined.' The reading is ばくぜん, and 漠然と（ばくぜんと）is a common adverbial expression meaning 'vaguely.' The sentence says 'When I was a high school student, I vaguely thought I wanted to work overseas someday.'

• 1まくぜん is an incorrect reading of 漠然. The kanji 漠 is read with the on'yomi バク, not マク.
• 3もうぜん is an incorrect reading. There is no common word もうぜん that matches 漠然.
• 4ぼうぜん is the reading of 呆然（ぼうぜん）, meaning 'dumbfounded, in a daze.' This is a different word with a different kanji and meaning — it describes being stunned, not having a vague idea.

• 漠然ばくぜん — vague, indistinct, unclear
• 漠然ばくぜんと — vaguely, in a vague manner
• 呆然ぼうぜん — dumbfounded, in a daze

閲覧（えつらん）means 'reading, viewing, browsing (documents/materials).' The reading is えつらん. The sentence means 'Please return the materials you have viewed to the counter.'

• 1はいらん is an incorrect reading. There is no standard word はいらん matching 閲覧.
• 2はいけん is the reading of 拝見（はいけん）, a humble form of 'to see/look at.' The kanji would be 拝見, not 閲覧.
• 4えつけん is an incorrect reading. There is no standard word えつけん matching 閲覧; this is a distractor combining the first kanji's reading えつ with a wrong second element.

• 閲覧えつらん — reading, viewing, browsing (documents, materials)
• 拝見はいけん — to look at, to see (humble language)

釈明（しゃくめい）means 'explanation, justification, clarification (of one's words/actions).' The reading is しゃくめい. The sentence means 'The Prime Minister was forced to explain/justify his own remarks.' におわれた (was forced to ~) indicates he had to make an explanation.

• 1しゅくめい is the reading of 宿命（しゅくめい）, meaning 'destiny, fate.' This is a completely different word with different kanji.
• 2やくめい is not a standard word. It may be a distractor resembling 役目（やくめ）, meaning 'role/duty,' but it doesn't match 釈明.
• 3たくめい is not a standard word and doesn't match the reading of 釈明.

• 釈明しゃくめい — explanation, justification, clarification of one's statements or actions
• 宿命しゅくめい — destiny, fate

合併（がっぺい）means 'merger, consolidation (of companies/organizations).' The reading is がっぺい, with the on'yoku (rendaku/sequential voicing) making 合 read as がっ. The sentence means 'Our company will change its name on the occasion of this merger.'

• 1ごうべい is an incorrect reading. 合 has the on'yomi ゴウ, but in 合併 the reading is がっ (a shortened/voiced form), not ごう. Also べい is wrong for 併.
• 2ごうべん is an incorrect reading. Same issue with ごう, and 併 is read ヘイ, not ベン.
• 4がっぺん is an incorrect reading. While がっ is correct for 合, the second kanji 併 is read ヘイ, not ペン.

• 合併がっぺい — merger, consolidation (of companies, organizations)
• 併へい — join, combine (on'yomi used in 合併)

The correct answer is 1 「猛（もう）」. The word being tested is 「猛反対（もうはんたい）」, a common compound meaning 'fierce/strenuous opposition.' The sentence means: 'When I said I would quit university, my mother fiercely opposed it.' 「猛」is used as a prefix meaning 'fierce, intense' in compounds like 猛反対, 猛練習, 猛暑.

• 2「強（きょう）」—「強反対」is not an established compound word. While 強い means 'strong,' the idiomatic prefix for 'fierce opposition' is 猛, not 強.
• 3「頑（がん）」—There is no word 「頑反対」. 頑 appears in words like 頑張る or 頑固, but not as a prefix for 反対.
• 4「厳（げん）」—There is no word 「厳反対」. 厳 means 'strict' (e.g., 厳しい) but is not used with 反対.

• 猛反対もうはんたい — fierce/strenuous opposition
• 猛もう — fierce, intense (prefix in compounds)

The correct answer is 2 「無謀（むぼう）」, meaning 'reckless, rash, imprudent.' The sentence means: 'Climbing a winter mountain in such light clothing is reckless.' 無謀 describes an undertaking done without proper planning or regard for danger—perfect for this context.

• 1「無残（むざん）」means 'cruel, miserable, tragic' (e.g., 無残な死に方). It describes a pitiful outcome, not a reckless action.
• 3「無実（むじつ）」means 'innocence, false charge' (e.g., 無実の罪). It relates to legal guilt/innocence, not recklessness.
• 4「無念（むねん）」means 'regret, chagrin, frustration' (e.g., 無念の思い). It describes an emotional state of regret, not a reckless act.

• 無謀むぼう — reckless, rash, imprudent
• 軽装けいそう — light clothing/equipment (without proper gear)

The correct answer is 3 「会心（かいしん）」. The fixed expression 「会心の出来（かいしんのでき）」means 'a work one is fully satisfied with, a masterpiece one is proud of.' The sentence means: 'This work can be said to be a satisfying achievement for him.' 会心 originally conveys 'heart's delight / gratification.'

• 1「核心（かくしん）」means 'core, essence, crux' (e.g., 核心に触れる). It refers to the central point of a matter, not a satisfying result.
• 2「真心（まごころ）」means 'sincerity, devotion.' While positive, it does not collocate with の出来 to mean a satisfying work.
• 4「気心（きごころ）」means 'disposition, nature' and appears in expressions like 気心が合う (get along well). It does not fit the pattern ～の出来.

• 会心の出来（かいしんのでき） — a work one is fully satisfied with; a proud achievement
• 会心かいしん — gratification, heart's delight

The correct answer is 3 「ニュアンス」, meaning 'nuance'—a subtle shade of meaning or feeling. The sentence means: 'This word contains a slightly critical nuance.' ニュアンス is the natural choice for describing a subtle tone embedded in language.

• 1「センス」means 'sense, taste, aesthetic sense' (e.g., センスがいい). It refers to aesthetic judgment, not a subtle shade of meaning in a word.
• 2「キャラクター」means 'character, personality.' It describes a person's or fictional figure's personality, not a subtle meaning within a word.
• 4「インスピレーション」means 'inspiration.' It refers to a sudden creative idea, not a subtle nuance contained in language.

• ニュアンス — nuance, subtle shade of meaning/feeling
• 批判的ひはんてき — critical

The correct answer is 4 「並行（へいこう）」. 「並行して走っている」means 'running parallel (to each other).' The sentence means: 'In this area, the highway and the railway run parallel.' 並行する is the standard verb for two things proceeding side by side in the same direction.

• 1「同調（どうちょう）」means 'sympathy, agreement, conforming' (e.g., 同調圧力). It describes agreement in opinion, not physical parallel movement.
• 2「並列（へいれつ）」means 'juxtaposition, placing side by side' and is used for arranging items or in computing (parallel processing). It does not naturally collocate with して走る for roads/railways running parallel.
• 3「同伴（どうはん）」means 'accompanying someone' (e.g., 子供同伴). It refers to a person accompanying another, not physical parallel layout.

• 並行へいこう — running parallel, proceeding side by side
• 並行へいこうして — in parallel, side by side