N5 Vocabulary · Test 7

The kanji 水 (water) is read as みず. In the sentence 'すみません、水をください' (Excuse me, please give me water), the word is a standalone noun, so it takes the kun'yomi reading みず. Option 3 is correct.

• 1すい is the on'yomi (Chinese reading) of 水, seen in compounds like 水曜日 (すいようび, Wednesday) or 水泳 (すいえい, swimming). It is not used when the kanji stands alone as a noun here.
• 2ずい is not a standard reading for 水. This is a distractor that sounds vaguely like すい with a voiced initial consonant.
• 4みす is not a valid reading for 水. It is a distractor that looks similar to the correct みず.

• 水みず — water

The kanji compound 学校 (school) is read as がっこう. The kanji 学 has the on'yomi がく, and 校 has the on'yomi こう. When がく combines with こう, the く of がく becomes a small っ (促音, gemination), producing がっこう. Option 4 is correct.

• 1かくこう uses the wrong reading かく for 学. 学 does not have a standard reading かく in this context.
• 2がくこう has the correct reading for 学 but fails to apply the phonetic change (促便/ gemination) that turns がくこう into がっこう. This is not how the word is actually pronounced.
• 3かっこう is the reading of 格好 (かっこう, appearance/shape), a different word. It uses a wrong reading for 学 and is a lookalike distractor.

• 学校がっこう — school
• 学がく — study, learning
• 校こう — school (in compounds)

The kanji 安い is read as やすい, meaning 'cheap' or 'inexpensive.' In the sentence 'このコートは安いですね' (This coat is cheap, isn't it?), the adjective describes the low price of the coat. Option 1 is correct.

• 2かるい (軽い) means 'light' (in weight) or 'light-hearted.' While it could describe a coat, it does not match the kanji 安い.
• 3ふるい (古い) means 'old.' Again plausible for describing a coat, but it is the wrong kanji reading.
• 4うすい (薄い) means 'thin' or 'light/pale (in color).' Another plausible descriptor for clothing, but not the reading of 安い.

• 安やすい — cheap, inexpensive
• 軽かるい — light (weight)
• 古ふるい — old
• 薄うすい — thin, pale

The kanji 少ない is read as すくない, meaning 'few' or 'not many.' In the sentence 'きょうはしゅくだいが少ないです' (Today there is little homework), it describes a small quantity of homework. Option 2 is correct.

• 1すこない is not a valid word. It is a distractor that resembles すくない and the related word すこし (少し, a little).
• 3すごない is not a valid word. It is a distractor that sounds like すごい (すごい, amazing/terrible) mixed with the ending of すくない.
• 4すぐない is not a valid word. It is a distractor that resembles すぐ (すぐ, immediately) combined with the ending ない.

• 少すくない — few, not many, little (quantity)
• 少すこし — a little, a few

The kanji compound 六万円 is read as ろくまんえん, meaning '60,000 yen.' 六 is ろく (six), 万 is まん (ten thousand), and 円 is えん (yen). Six times ten thousand equals sixty thousand. Option 3 is correct.

• 1よんせんえん means 4,000 yen (四千円). It uses the wrong number よん (four) and the wrong unit せん (thousand) instead of まん (ten thousand).
• 2ろくせんえん means 6,000 yen (六千円). It has the correct number ろく but uses せん (thousand) instead of まん (ten thousand), giving the wrong value.
• 4よんまんえん means 40,000 yen (四万円). It uses the correct unit まん but the wrong number よん (four) instead of ろく (six).

• 六ろく — six
• 万まん — ten thousand
• 円えん — yen (Japanese currency)
• 六万円ろくまんえん — 60,000 yen

The word たかい (takai) means 'high' or 'tall' and is written 高い. The sentence means 'That is the tallest building in this town.' 高 is the kanji for 'high/tall/expensive', and with the okurigana い it forms the i-adjective たかい.

• 2高かい uses the correct kanji 高 but with wrong okurigana かい. There is no such word as 高かい.
• 3新い uses the kanji 新 (あたらしい, new) but with incomplete okurigana. The correct form would be 新しい (あたらしい, new), which is a different word entirely and does not match the reading たかい.
• 4新かい combines the kanji 新 (new) with wrong okurigana かい. This is not a real word.

• 高たかい — high, tall, expensive
• ビル（びる） — building (from English 'building')

The word えいご (eigo) means 'English language' and is written 英語. The sentence means 'Can Suzuki-san speak/understand English?' 英 means 'English/Britain' and 語 means 'language/word'. Together they form 英語. Option 3 (英語) is the correct kanji writing.

• 2英説 uses 説 (せつ, theory/explanation) instead of 語 (ご, language). 英説 is not a real word.
• 4英訳 (えいやく) means 'English translation' — a real word but with a different reading and meaning, not matching えいご.

• 英語えいご — English language
• できる — can, be able to do

The word やすみ (yasumi) means 'rest/day off' and is written 休み. The sentence means 'Tanaka-san was absent (on a day off) yesterday.' 休 is the kanji for 'rest', and with the okurigana み it forms the noun やすみ.

• 1体み uses 体 (からだ, body) instead of 休. 体み is not a real word.
• 3仕み uses 仕 (つかえる, to serve/work) instead of 休. 仕み is not a real word.
• 4任み uses 任 (まかせる, to entrust) instead of 休. 任み is not a real word.

• 休やすみ — rest, day off, absence
• きのう — yesterday

The word うまれました (umaremashita) is the past polite form of うまれる (to be born), written 生まれました. The sentence means 'I was born in Kyoto.' 生 is the kanji for 'birth/life', and with okurigana まれました it forms the past tense of 生まれる.

• 1主まれました uses 主 (ぬし/しゅ, master/main) instead of 生. This is not a real word.
• 3佐まれました uses 佐 (すけ, a character used in names) instead of 生. This is not a real word.
• 4住まれました uses 住 (すむ, to live) instead of 生. 住まれる would be a potential/passive form of 住む (to live), but it does not match the reading うまれる (to be born) and does not fit the sentence meaning.

• 生うまれる — to be born
• きょうと — Kyoto

The word あめ (ame) meaning 'rain' is written 雨. The sentence means 'It has been raining since morning.' 雨 is the kanji for 'rain'.

• 1雪 (ゆき) means 'snow' — a different weather phenomenon with a different reading.
• 2風 (かぜ) means 'wind' — different weather phenomenon with a different reading.
• 4雷 (かみなり) means 'thunder/lightning' — different weather phenomenon with a different reading.

• 雨あめ — rain
• ふる — to fall (rain/snow)
• あさ — morning