N4 Vocabulary · Test 49

The sentence means 'I invited Mori-san on a date, but was told that he/she can't go.' さそいました (誘いました) is the past polite form of さそう (誘う), meaning 'to invite (someone to do something/go somewhere).' Inviting someone on a date is the natural verb. The が at the end of option 1 connects the two contrasting clauses ('I invited… but was told…').

• 2つたえました (伝えました) means 'conveyed/told.' While you could 'convey' a date invitation, the key problem is that this option lacks the が conjunction, so the sentence もりさんをデートにつたえましたが行けないと言われました would be grammatically broken — the stem already ends with が, so only option 1 (which includes が) completes the clause properly. Also, 伝える is too generic for 'inviting on a date.'
• 3あんないしました (案内しました) means 'guided/showed around.' You 'guide' someone through a place, not 'guide them to a date.' It also lacks the が conjunction.
• 4しょうかいしました (紹介しました) means 'introduced.' You 'introduce' a person to another person, not 'introduce someone to a date.' It also lacks the が conjunction.

• 誘さそう — to invite (someone to do something)
• デート — date (romantic)
• 伝つたえる — to convey, tell
• 案内あんないする — to guide, show around
• 紹介しょうかいする — to introduce (a person)

The sentence talks about the speaker's son growing taller (せが高くなりました). Height is measured in centimeters, so センチ (centimeter) is the correct counter. '5センチくらい' means 'about 5 centimeters.'

• 1グラム (gram) is a unit of weight, not length/height. You would use it for things like body weight, not for how tall someone grew.
• 2ばん (番) is a counter for order/turn/number (e.g., 1番 'first,' ばんごう 'number'). It is not used for measurements of height.
• 3けん (軒) is a counter for buildings/houses (e.g., 3軒の家 'three houses'). It has nothing to do with height.

• せ — height, stature
• センチ — centimeter (cm)
• グラム — gram (g)
• ばん — number, order, turn
• けん — counter for buildings/houses

The sentence says: 'At the store, after ___ three computers, I chose the lightest one.' The logical action before choosing the best one is comparing them. くらべて (比べて, te-form of 比べる 'to compare') fits perfectly: 'After comparing three computers, I chose the lightest one.'

• 1かたづけて (片付けて, te-form of 片付ける) means 'to tidy up / put away / clean up.' You don't tidy up computers at a store before choosing one.
• 2かぞえて (数えて, te-form of 数える) means 'to count.' Counting three computers doesn't logically lead to choosing the lightest one.
• 4はらって (払って, te-form of 払う) means 'to pay.' You pay after choosing, not before, and paying wouldn't help you decide which is lightest.

• くらべる（比べる） — to compare
• かたづける（片付ける） — to tidy up, to put away
• かぞえる（数える） — to count
• はらう（払う） — to pay
• えらぶ（選ぶ） — to choose, to select
• かるい（軽い） — light (in weight)

The sentence says: 'The lights at Tanaka's house aren't on. It seems Tanaka is ___.' Since the lights are off, the natural conclusion is that nobody is home. るす (留守) means 'away from home / not at home,' so 'るすのようです' means 'it seems (he) is not at home.'

• 1うそ (嘘) means 'lie.' Saying 'it seems Tanaka is a lie' makes no sense in this context.
• 2じゅう (銃) means 'gun.' This is completely unrelated to the context of lights being off at home.
• 3ちゅうし (中止) means 'cancellation / suspension.' This doesn't fit — you wouldn't say a person 'seems to be a cancellation.'

• るす — away from home, not at home
• 電気でんきがつく — the lights are on (lit. electricity turns on)
• うそ — lie
• ちゅうし — cancellation, suspension
• ようだ — it seems that, it looks like

The sentence says: 'I'm looking for the room key, but still ___.' 見つかりません (みつかりません) is the negative form of 見つかる ('to be found'), an intransitive verb. Since the key is the thing being searched for, the intransitive form is appropriate: 'it hasn't been found yet.'

• 2つかまえません (捕まえません) is the negative of 捕まえる ('to catch / to grab'), a transitive verb used for catching living things (animals, people) or grabbing hold of something. You don't 'catch' a key you're searching for.
• 3しりません (知りません) means 'I don't know.' While technically you might not know where the key is, the natural expression after さがしています ('I'm looking for') is about whether it has been found, not about knowledge.
• 4さわりません (触りません) means 'I don't touch.' This is irrelevant to the context of searching for a key.

• みつかる（見つかる） — to be found (intransitive)
• みつける（見つける） — to find (transitive)
• つかまえる（捕まえる） — to catch, to grab
• しる（知る） — to know
• さわる（触る） — to touch
• かぎ — key
• さがす（探す） — to search for, to look for

小説 is read しょうせつ, meaning 'novel.' The sentence means 'This novel was interesting.' 小 is read しょう and 説 is read せつ, giving しょうせつ.

• 1しょせつ drops the う from しょう; 小 must be read しょう here.
• 2しょぜつ drops the う from しょう and misreads 説 as ぜつ instead of せつ.
• 4しょうぜつ misreads 説 as ぜつ instead of せつ.

• 小説しょうせつ — novel

Option 1 (にっき) is the correct reading for 日記. 日 is read with its on'yomi ニチ, which undergoes rendaku (sound change) to ニッ before the voiceless consonant k, and 記 is read キ. Together they form にっき, meaning 'diary' or 'journal'. The sentence means 'I write a diary every night.'

• 2Option 2 (にちき) uses the unaltered on'yomi of 日 (にち) without the expected small っ (geminate consonant). This is a common distractor for learners who forget the sound change.
• 3Option 3 (にっきい) adds an extra い at the end. 記 is read キ, not キイ, so this is incorrect.
• 4Option 4 (にちきい) combines both errors: no gemination and an extra い. This is clearly wrong.

• 日記にっき — diary, journal
• 毎晩まいばん — every night
• 書かく — to write

Option 2 (ゆうがた) is the correct reading for 夕方. 夕 is read ユウ (evening) and 方 is read ガタ (direction/side, here meaning 'time of'). Together they form ゆうがた, meaning 'evening' (around dusk). The sentence means 'It rained in the evening.'

• 1Option 1 (ゆうほう) misreads 方 as ホウ (its on'yomi), which is a plausible distractor since 方 can indeed be read ホウ in other words like 方向 (ほうこう). However, in 夕方 it is read がた.
• 3Option 3 (ゆほう) misreads both characters with shortened/on'yomi-style readings. 夕 is not read ゆ in this word, and 方 is not read ほう here.
• 4Option 4 (ゆがた) drops the long vowel う from ゆう, giving an incorrect single-mora reading ゆ. The correct reading has the long vowel ゆう.

• 夕方ゆうがた — evening, early evening (around dusk)
• 雨あめ — rain
• 降ふる — to fall (rain, snow)

Option 4 (あき) is the correct reading for 秋, meaning 'autumn/fall'. The sentence means 'It will be autumn soon, won't it.'

• 1Option 1 (ふゆ) is the reading for 冬 (winter), not 秋. This is a distractor testing whether you can distinguish the kanji for the four seasons.
• 2Option 2 (なつ) is the reading for 夏 (summer), not 秋.
• 3Option 3 (はる) is the reading for 春 (spring), not 秋.

• 秋あき — autumn, fall
• 春はる — spring
• 夏なつ — summer
• 冬ふゆ — winter
• もうすぐ — very soon, almost