N3 Vocabulary · Test 77

通勤（つうきん）means 'commuting to work.' The correct reading is つうきん, option 2. The sentence means 'Commuting takes a lot of time.'

• 1つうがく is 通学 'commuting to school,' a parallel compound with the wrong second kanji.
• 3つうやく is 通訳 'interpretation (translation),' a different compound sharing 通.
• 4つうしん is 通信 'communication,' another compound sharing 通.

• 通勤つうきん — commuting to work

The kanji 岩 is read as いわ (iwa), meaning 'rock' or 'boulder'. The sentence この海岸は岩が多い means 'This coast has many rocks.' Option 2 is the correct reading.

• 1かい is the reading for 貝 (shell), not 岩. It is a plausible distractor because shells are also found on a coast.
• 3すな is the reading for 砂 (sand), not 岩. It is plausible because coasts often have sand.
• 4なみ is the reading for 波 (wave), not 岩. It is plausible because waves are associated with the sea/coast.

• 岩いわ — rock, boulder
• 海岸かいがん — coast, beach
• 貝かい — shell
• 砂すな — sand
• 波なみ — wave

The word 努力 is read as どりょく (doryoku), meaning 'effort' or 'endeavor'. The sentence 努力することは大切だと思います means 'I think making an effort is important.' Option 3 is the correct reading.

• 1どうりょく has an extra う (long vowel) that is incorrect for 努力.
• 2とうりょく uses the wrong initial consonant と instead of ど (voiced sound).
• 4とりょく uses the wrong initial consonant と instead of ど (voiced sound) and lacks the う.

• 努力どりょく — effort, endeavor
• 大切たいせつ — important, precious

物語 (ものがたり) means 'story' or 'tale.' The sentence 物語は誰でも知っている means 'Everyone knows the story.' 物語 is the standard word for a narrative or tale that is widely known.

• 2物化 is not a real word with the reading ものがたり. These kanji do not form a standard Japanese term for 'story.'
• 3物記 is not a real word. While 記 (き, 'record') might seem plausible, this combination does not exist as a standard word and does not read as ものがたり.
• 4物源 is not a real word. 源 (げん, 'source/origin') does not combine with 物 to form ものがたり.

• 物語ものがたり — story, tale, narrative