N4 Vocabulary · Test 18

「とちゅう（途中）」means 'on the way / in the middle of (a process or action)'. Option 4, 「かいぎの とちゅうで 電話が なりました」('During the meeting, the phone rang'), correctly uses とちゅう to mean 'in the middle of an ongoing event/meeting'. This is the most natural and standard usage.

• 1「こんやの とちゅう」is incomplete — とちゅう needs to refer to a specific journey or process (e.g., 帰りのとちゅう 'on the way home'). Saying just 'tonight's とちゅう' without specifying what journey/action is unnatural.
• 2The middle of a physical object like a table is 「なか」or 「まんなか」, not とちゅう. とちゅう refers to a point in a process or journey, not a physical center of an object.
• 3Between two buildings is 「ビルとビルの あいだ」, not とちゅう. とちゅう means 'along the way / during', not 'between two physical things'.

• 途中とちゅう — on the way, in the middle of (a process/journey)

「おとなしい（大人しい）」means 'quiet, gentle, docile' and is most naturally used to describe the temperament of a person or animal. Option 3, 「たなかさんの いぬは おとなしいですね」('Tanaka-san's dog is gentle/quiet, isn't it?'), is the correct and most natural usage.

• 1A work schedule (よてい) being おとなしい is unnatural. You might say よていが すくない ('the schedule is not full') or よていが あいている, but not おとなしい.
• 2While おとなしい can occasionally describe weather as 'calm', this is far less common and not the standard usage tested at N4. The more natural word for calm/quiet weather is しずか or おだやか.
• 4Describing a restaurant as おとなしい is unnatural. For a quiet restaurant, you would use しずか（な）. おとなしい describes temperament/character of living beings, not places.

• 大人おとなしい — quiet, gentle, docile (describing temperament of a person or animal)

「つたえる（伝える）」means 'to convey, communicate, pass on (information/news)'. Option 2, 「学生に しけんの 時間を つたえました」('Conveyed the exam time to the students'), correctly uses つたえる for communicating information to someone.

• 1Translating a novel from one language to another is 「ほんやく（翻訳）する」, not つたえる. While 伝える can mean 'to convey meaning', translating a whole novel is 翻訳.
• 3Sending luggage from a post office is 「おくる（送る）」or 「はいたつ（配達）する」, not つたえる. つたえる is for conveying information, not physical objects/packages.
• 4Giving flowers to a friend on their birthday is 「おくる（送る）」or 「おくる（贈る）」, not つたえる. Flowers are a physical gift, not information to be conveyed.

• 伝つたえる — to convey, communicate, pass on (information/news to someone)

「かたづける（片付ける）」means 'to tidy up, put in order, clean up (a room/space)'. Option 1, 「へやを かたづけて パーティーの じゅんびを しました」('Tidied up the room and prepared for the party'), correctly uses かたづける for cleaning/organizing a room.

• 2Dividing students into groups is 「わける（分ける）」, not かたづける. かたづける means to tidy/organize, not to sort people into groups.
• 3Putting a gift into a box is 「つめる（詰める）」or 「いれる（入れる）」, not かたづける. While かたづける can mean 'to put things away', packing a present into a box is not its usage.
• 4かたづける cannot be applied to opinions (いけん). You might まとめる ('organize/summarize') opinions, but かたづける is for tidying physical spaces or resolving matters, not for 'handling' opinions in this way.

• 片付かたづける — to tidy up, put in order, clean up (a room or space)

「にあう（似合う）」means 'to suit, to look good on (someone), to match (clothes/accessories with a person)'. Option 2, 「やまださんは あかい ふくが にあいますね」('Yamada-san, the red clothes suit you, don't they?'), correctly uses にあう to say that clothing looks good on someone.

• 1「いみの にあって いる ことば」does not make sense. If the intended meaning is 'words that match the meaning', the correct verb would be 「あう（合う）」(to match/fit), not 似合う which is specifically about appearance/suitability of clothing or accessories.
• 3Resembling a parent (e.g., eyes looking like the mother's) is 「〜に にている（似ている）」, not にあう. 似合う is about suitability (clothes suiting someone), not physical resemblance.
• 4Numbers not matching/adding up is 「あわない（合わない）」from 「あう（合う）」(to match), not 似合う. 似合う is about appearance/suitability, not numerical agreement.

• 似合にあう — to suit, to look good on (someone); to match (clothing/accessories with a person)

軽い(かるい) means 'light in weight.' The sentence says 'This luggage is light, so I can carry it by myself.' The correct reading is かるい.

• 1うすい is the reading for 薄い, meaning 'thin (in thickness/density)' — not used for weight.
• 3ほそい is the reading for 細い, meaning 'thin/slim (in shape)' — not used for weight.
• 4こまかい is the reading for 細かい, meaning 'fine/detailed' — unrelated to weight.

• 軽かるい — light (in weight)
• 荷物にもつ — luggage, baggage
• 持もてます — can hold/carry (potential form of 持つ)

持てます is the potential form of 持つ(もつ, 'to hold/carry'), meaning 'can carry/hold.' The correct reading is もてます. The sentence means 'This luggage is light, so I can carry it by myself.'

• 1いてます is not a valid reading for 持てます; it may be confused with 居る(いる) te-form 居て.
• 2たてます is the potential form of 立つ(たつ, 'to stand'), meaning 'can stand' — wrong verb.
• 3まてます is the potential form of 待つ(まつ, 'to wait'), meaning 'can wait' — wrong verb.

• 持もてます — can hold/carry (potential form of 持つ)
• ひとりで — by oneself, alone

急いで(いそいで) is the te-form of 急ぐ(いそぐ, 'to hurry'), meaning 'hurrying.' The sentence means 'If we don't hurry and leave, we'll be late.' The correct reading is いそいで.

• 2すぐいで is not a valid reading; 急 does not read as すぐ. This is a distractor playing on すぐ ('immediately').
• 3はやいで is not a valid reading; 急 does not read as はやい. This distractor plays on 早い/速い(はやい, 'fast/early').
• 4きゅういで is an incorrect on-reading attempt; 急 has the on-reading きゅう, but the verb 急ぐ is read いそぐ, so the te-form is いそいで.

• 急いそいで — hurrying (te-form of 急ぐ)
• 出発しゅっぱつ — departure, leaving
• 遅おくれます — to be late

出発(しゅっぱつ) means 'departure.' The correct reading is しゅっぱつ — 出(しゅつ) + 発(はつ), with the small っ appearing due to the つ of 出 combining with はつ. The sentence means 'If we don't hurry and leave, we'll be late.'

• 1しゅはつ is wrong; it drops the っ and misreads the first kanji's on-reading.
• 2しゅぱつ is wrong; it has the っ but uses ぱ (handakuten) for 発, which is incorrect — 発 reads はつ here.
• 3しゅつはつ is wrong; it reads 出 as しゅつ fully but fails to apply the 促音(そくおん) contraction to しゅっ, producing an unnatural reading.

• 出発しゅっぱつ — departure, setting off

声(こえ) means 'voice.' The sentence means 'That person has a good voice and is good at singing.' The correct reading is こえ.

• 2こい is not a reading for 声; it may be confused with 濃い(こい, 'thick/strong') or 恋(こい, 'love').
• 3せい is the on-reading of 声, but in this everyday context the kun-reading こえ is used; せい is not the correct reading here.
• 4せえ is not a valid reading for 声.

• 声こえ — voice
• 歌うた — song, singing
• うまい — good at, skillful (colloquial)