N4 Vocabulary · Test 3

さいきん (最近) means 'recently' or 'lately,' referring to a general recent period. Option 3, 'きむらさんはさいきんけっこんしたそうです' ('I heard Kimura-san got married recently'), uses さいきん correctly to describe something that happened in the recent past. This is a natural and common usage.

• 1'さいきんりょうりができたので' would mean 'Because I recently finished cooking...' — but さいきん describes a general recent time span, not a specific completed moment. If the intent were 'I recently became able to cook,' the correct expression would be さいきん料理ができるようになった. The usage here is unnatural.
• 2'さいきんしゅくだいを出してください' ('Recently, please submit your homework') — さいきん (a statement about the recent past/general time) cannot pair with 〜てください (a direct request for action now). This is grammatically and semantically incompatible.
• 4'さいきん電車が来ますから' ('Recently the train is coming, so...') — さいきん cannot be used to mean 'soon' or 'in a moment.' The speaker wants to say 'the train is coming soon,' which would be もう電車が来ますから, not さいきん.

• 最近さいきん — recently, lately

おと (音) refers to a non-vocal, non-musical sound — a noise or sound produced by a machine, object, or natural phenomenon. Option 1, 'ラジオのおとが大きいので、もう少し小さくしてください' ('The radio's sound is loud, so please turn it down a little'), correctly uses おと for the sound coming from a radio — a machine-produced sound.

• 2'日本語のおとがじょうずになりたい' ('I want to become good at Japanese sounds') — For pronunciation of a language, the correct word is はつおん (発音, pronunciation), not おと. おと refers to a sound/noise, not the act of pronouncing.
• 3'店の人に大きなおとで名前をよばれました' ('The shop staff called my name with a loud おと') — A human voice should be described as こえ (声), not おと. おと is for non-vocal sounds.
• 4'すずきさんがギターでゆうめいなおとをひいてくれました' ('Suzuki-san played a famous おと on the guitar') — What is played on an instrument is a 曲 (きょく, piece/song) or 音楽 (おんがく, music), not おと. Saying おとをひく is unnatural.

• 音おと — sound, noise (non-vocal, non-musical)
• 声こえ — voice (human/animal)
• 発音はつおん — pronunciation

けんがく (見学) means 'a field study / observational visit to a place for learning.' Option 3, '先生や友だちとこうじょうをけんがくしました' ('I did a factory visit with my teacher and friends'), is the correct usage. 工場見学 (こうじょうけんがく, factory tour/visit) is a very common compound word and a textbook example of 見学.

• 1'かばんがほしいので、デパートに行ってけんがくします' ('I want a bag, so I'll go to the department store and do 見学') — 見学 is for learning/observing, not for shopping. Going to buy a bag is simply 買い物 (かいもの), not 見学.
• 2'わからないかんじはじしょでけんがくしてください' ('For kanji you don't understand, please 見学 with a dictionary') — Looking up words in a dictionary is けんさく (検索, search/lookup) or しらべる (調べる, to look up), not 見学. 見学 involves visiting a place.
• 4'まいばんテレビでニュースをけんがくしています' ('Every night I 見学 the news on TV') — Watching the news on TV is simply みる (見る, to watch), not 見学. 見学 implies an educational visit to a location, not watching something on screen.

• 見学けんがく — observational visit, field study (visiting a place to learn)
• 工場見学こうじょうけんがく — factory tour/visit
• 検索けんさく — search, lookup

かざる (飾る) means 'to decorate' — to ornament or adorn a space with flowers, ornaments, etc. Option 2, 'おきゃくさんが来ますから、へやに花をかざりましょう' ('Guests are coming, so let's decorate the room with flowers'), is the correct and natural usage of かざる.

• 1'やまだ先生はテストのおしらせをきょうしつにかざりました' ('Yamada-sensei decorated the test notice in the classroom') — Posting/pasting a notice on a wall is はる (貼る, to paste/post), not かざる. A notice is not a decoration.
• 3'天気がわるいので、せんたくものはうちの中にかざります' ('The weather is bad, so I'll decorate the laundry inside') — Hanging laundry to dry is かける (掛ける) or ほす (干す), not かざる. Laundry is not a decoration.
• 4'こっちのエアコンは、となりのへやのかべにかざってください' ('This air conditioner, please decorate it on the wall of the next room') — Installing/mounting an appliance on a wall is つける (取り付ける, to install), not かざる. An air conditioner is not a decoration.

• 飾かざる — to decorate, to ornament
• 貼はる — to paste, to post (on a wall)
• 掛かける — to hang (laundry, etc.)

こうじ (工事) means 'construction work' — building, repairing, or modifying roads, buildings, or infrastructure. Option 4, 'このみちはこうじをしているので、とおれません' ('This road is under construction, so you can't pass through'), is the correct usage. Road construction is a classic context for 工事.

• 1'はがいたかったので、はいしゃでこうじをしてもらいました' ('My tooth hurt, so I had 工事 done at the dentist') — Dental treatment is ちりょう (治療, medical treatment), not 工事. 工事 is for construction, not medical procedures.
• 2'このセーターは古いですが、こうじをして、ずっときています' ('This sweater is old, but I did 工事 and have been wearing it') — Repairing clothing is しゅうり (修理, repair), not 工事. 工事 is for large-scale construction, not mending clothes.
• 3'ほんだながこわれてしまったので、こうじをしました' ('The bookshelf broke, so I did 工事') — Repairing a broken piece of furniture is しゅうり (修理, repair), not 工事. 工事 refers to construction work on infrastructure or buildings.

• 工事こうじ — construction work
• 治療ちりょう — medical treatment
• 修理しゅうり — repair (of objects, appliances, furniture, etc.)

石 is read いし, meaning 'stone/rock.' The sentence means 'There was a stone inside my shoe.' Option 1 is the correct reading.

• 2すな means 'sand' (砂) — a different word, not the reading of 石.
• 3くさ means 'grass' (草) — a different word, not the reading of 石.
• 4えだ means 'branch' (枝) — a different word, not the reading of 石.

• 石いし — stone, rock

経験 is read けいけん, meaning 'experience.' The sentence means 'I had various experiences in Japan.' The reading uses the on'yomi けい for both kanji, giving けいけん.

• 2けいげん is incorrect — げん is a misreading of 験; the correct second character reading is けん.
• 3けけん drops the い from the first character's reading; 経 is read けい, not け.
• 4けげん drops the い and misreads the second character; neither part is correct.

• 経験けいけん — experience

店員 is read てんいん, meaning 'store clerk / shop assistant.' The sentence means 'I asked the store clerk where the toilet was.' 店 is read てん and 員 is read いん, giving てんいん.

• 1てにん misreads 店 as て instead of てん.
• 2てんにん inserts an extra ん; the correct reading has no ん between てん and いん.
• 3ていん misreads 店 as て instead of てん.

• 店員てんいん — store clerk, shop assistant

食堂 is read しょくどう, meaning 'cafeteria / dining hall.' The sentence means 'The cafeteria was crowded today.' 食 is read しょく and 堂 is read どう, giving しょくどう.

• 1しゅくど misreads both characters — 食 is しょく not しゅく, and 堂 is どう not ど.
• 3しょくど drops the long vowel う from どう; 堂 must be read どう.
• 4しゅくどう misreads 食 as しゅく instead of しょく.

• 食堂しょくどう — cafeteria, dining hall

港 is read みなと, meaning 'port / harbor.' The sentence means 'You can see the port from this window.' Option 2 is the correct reading.

• 1うみ means 'sea/ocean' (海) — a different word, not the reading of 港.
• 3みずうみ means 'lake' (湖) — a different word, not the reading of 港.
• 4いけ means 'pond' (池) — a different word, not the reading of 港.

• 港みなと — port, harbor