JLPT Review

[chldudghks0517]

おくにはいつかえりますか

お国はいつ帰りますか。

Oh, I haven't thought of 国. Then, isn't it proper to say お国にはいつ帰りますか。Or is the original sentence still valid?

You're squeezing all the juice you can from a turd. Is that the kind of juice you really want?

Oh, come on. Give Kim Jeong-eun some credit.
If it helps me spot grammatical or other blunders in the text and keeps me asking questions, then sure, I'd give that juice a shot.

For "this time", use 今回.

Thank you. That clears up the confusion.

 

[Toritoribe]

Okay. So, I'm trying to use my intuition with this one. You said that person B saying 「いいですよ。」 sounds rude when person A says「あのー、荷物を運んで上げましょうか。」Is person B being rude because he is blatantly refusing someone's help when it was offered to him? Would saying 「結構です。」in this case sound less rude, or is there not much of a difference?

結構です also sounds rude. I would say いえ、大丈夫です。ありがとうございます。 instead.

Or is there a thread here about recommended books written by Japanese speakers for beginners to advanced students?

You might be able to find some information in the following section.
Textbooks, tests and language schools | Japan Forum

I know that 今度 can also mean "this time" or something along that line, but how can you determine if it means "this time" or "next time?" Can Japanese people easily sort things out if they have the context?

Yes, almost always without any ambiguity.

Oh, I haven't thought of 国. Then, isn't it proper to say お国にはいつ帰りますか。Or is the original sentence still valid?

It's another typo of おくにには.

 

[mdchachi]

おくにはいつかえりますか。

I have no idea what おく means in this sentence. Does it mean deep (that would make the sentence awkward)? Does it mean おく as in おくさん? My book says おく is similar to 田舎（いなか）. Is this true (I can't trust this book.)?

Yes, OKU can mean interior, like in the mountains or valley something. Kind of like inaka. (Same kanji as the kanji in Okusan). But it's a lame choice of word for an example sentence like this.

I know that 今度 can also mean "this time" or something along that line, but how can you determine if it means "this time" or "next time?" Can Japanese people easily sort things out if they have the context?

Usually it means next time. But in some cases, the appropriate translation would be this time. And, yes, like many things Japanese, it needs to be determined from the context. Like let's say you just got out the east exit of Shinjku eki with your friend to go out drinking at 7pm and you say 今度こそへべれけにならないように (Let's not get totally drunk this time...) vs if you said the exact same thing as you're stumbling back to catch your last train at 11:30pm when it would mean "Let's not get totally drunk next time."

 

[chldudghks0517]

This time, I was asked to select the answer choice which uses a word correctly.
Below are a few questions which I got wrong.

Question Number 1
明るい
１ 映画は明るいとこれで見ます。
２ 明るい人より暗い人が好きです。
３ この道は明るくて怖くないです。
４ 店の人は明るいから嫌です。

My answer is (2), but the books says that the "best" answer is (3).
(1) It does not make sense because one would want to watch a movie in a dark place.
(2) Isn't is okay to say a person is 明るい in the sense that that person is cheerful, kind, lively, etc.?
(3) I understand why (3) can be the correct answer, but why not (2)? Is it wrong to way a person is 明るい? Is there a different Japanese word used to describe a "bright" person?
(4) It does not make sense, so this cannot be the correct answer.



Question Number 2
怖い
１ 元気なのが怖いです。
２ 地震は怖いです。
３ 嬉しいことがあったら怖いです。
４ 結婚するのが怖いです。

My answer is (4), but the book says the "best" answer is (2).
(1) It does not make sense because you would not be scared of a cheerful person.
(2) Sounds right, but why can't (4) be the best answer?
(3) This sentence has an inconsistency, so it's wrong.
(4) Why is this wrong? I'm single, so maybe there's something I don't understand here.



Question Number 3
よろしい
１ 私が案内してもよろしいですか。
２ 遅れてもよろしいですか。
３ 試験勉強はしなくてもよろしいですか。
４ 人のお金は返さなくてもよろしいですか。

My answer is (1), and the book also says the answer is (1), but why can't (2) be the correct answer, too?
(2) Isn't this acceptable to say if you are going to be late for an appointment or a meeting due to unforeseen circumstances? Or should I just be saying ~~遅くなるかもしれません。本当にすみません。because I heard it's very rude to not show up on time in Japan.
(3) Well, this sounds wrong because, obviously, it's not okay not to study for a test.
(4) Unless you want to end up in jail, that is.

 

[Mike Cash]

1.1 is just crap grammar
1.2 goes against common sense, unless you like gloomy people more than cheerful people
1.4 same problem as 1.2

2.4 with this piece of crap book, who knows what the author was thinking? Maybe he means with that sense of こわい it should be written 恐い as there is no fear of actual physical harm as there is in 2.2

3.1 I would expect ご案内 in that situation.
3.2 I'm stumped
3.3 and 3.4 not enough situational information

 

[lanthas]

(1) It does not make sense because you would not be scared of a cheerful person.

Unless you have social anxiety disorder.

1.2 goes against common sense, unless you like gloomy people more than cheerful people

Emos, goths, 引きこもり's, 非リア充's...

 

[Toritoribe]

1) #1 a typo of 映画は明るいところで見ます。?

I would say "all correct (in appropriate contexts)". Those are also examples why I recommend not to use the textbook anymore. I don't think those are good questions at all.

 

[lanthas]

Apart from the typo in 1.1, it's also perfectly reasonable to want to watch movies in a lit room since watching them in the dark causes eye strain! In fact, some anime series aimed at children have the following announcement at the start of every episode to teach them this:

「テレビを見るときは、部屋を明るくして離れてみてくださいね」

 

[chldudghks0517]

明日は八日です。あさっては（ ）です。
（１）なのか
（２）とう
（３）ここのか
（４）むいか

The correct answer is (3).

日本語は易しいですが、漢字は難しいです。（ ）覚えることができません。
（１）よく
（２）まだ
（３）また
（４）すこし

The correct answer is (1).

...

 

[lanthas]

The first one is obvious. If *tomorrow* is the 8th, then the day after tomorrow is indeed the 9th (九日 ここのか). Even if you glanced over the 明日 and assumed that *today* is the 8th, you'd get stuck since とおか is not among the options (とう とお being a generic counter, not a day counter).

For the second one, まだ is technically also possible I suppose, but is more extreme than よく: it implies that you can't (yet) remember any kanji at all, not even simple ones like 一/二/三. よく better describes the typical scenario of being able to remember the easy ones, but forgetting the more difficult ones the day after you learn them.

 

[Toritoribe]

日本語は易しいですが、漢字は難しいです。（ ）覚えることができません。
（１）よく
（２）まだ
（３）また
（４）すこし

The correct answer is (1).

#1 and #2 are both correct. まだ works fine there since it's naturally interpreted that the speaker is not talking about extremely simple ones.
My advise is still the same; do not trust the given correct answer in that book too much.

 

[mdchachi]

#1 and #2 are both correct. まだ works fine there since it's naturally interpreted that the speaker is not talking about extremely simple ones.
My advise is still the same; do not trust the given correct answer in that book too much.

That's a relief. #2 was my first choice although I recognized both would work.

 

[chldudghks0517]

Just a quick question.

What is the difference between いらっしゃる and おいでになる? They both seems to be honorific expressions with similar meanings. Are there some nuances in terms of usage?

Thank you as always.

 

[mdchachi]

What is the difference between いらっしゃる and おいでになる? They both seems to be honorific expressions with similar meanings. Are there some nuances in terms of usage?

According to this, in simple terms, the latter is used for "come" only while the former is used more broadly for various go/come/exist cases.

 

[Toritoribe]

Just a quick question.

What is the difference between いらっしゃる and おいでになる? They both seems to be honorific expressions with similar meanings. Are there some nuances in terms of usage?

Thank you as always.

いらっしゃるの意味 - 国語辞書 - goo辞書
おいでになる【御出でになる】の意味 - 国語辞書 - goo辞書

As in the dictionary, both いらっしゃる and おいでになる are honorific verbs of 行く, 来る and 居る. They are interchangeable in most cases, but おいでになる tends to sound more classical.

 

[chldudghks0517]

Thank you all again for the great explanations.

I have another set of questions.

What is the difference between 「乗り換える」 and 「乗り替える」? Is the former more frequently used than the latter?

Which of the following is closest in meaning to 「バスの中が空いています。」
(A) バスの中に人がぜんぜんいません。
(B) バスの中に人がほとんどいません。

My answer is (A) but the book says the correct answer is (B). I don't get it. Doesn't 「空く」 mean empty? What does 「ほとんど」 mean?

Which of the following is the most appropriate usage of 「しょうちする」?
(A) 両親は留学するのをしょうちしました。
(B) コーヒーを飲むのをしょうちしました。
(C) 朝寝坊してご飯をしょうちしませんでした。
(D) たばこを吸うのをしょうちしました。

I have a vague understanding of the meaning of 「しょうちする」. Is it closer to the meaning of 「知る」(to know, as in to have knowledge of something) or 「考える」(to think, as in objectively in contrast with 「思う」) or 「分かる」(to understand, as in to "really" comprehend something in contrast to "just" knowing something)?'

凡人社から新たな本を買いました。今勉強している本より役に立つように。。。
(I purchased a book from Bonjinsha. I hope this one is more useful than the one I'm suing right now...)

Did I use the 「～ように」 correctly? If not, how should I change it?

 

[Toritoribe]

What is the difference between 「乗り換える」 and 「乗り替える」? Is the former more frequently used than the latter?

It's said that 換える is used for "to change a thing to another thing" and 替える is for "to change a thing to a new thing", but the difference is subtle and they are often interchangeable. The former would be more common, but you can also use the latter. The meaning is the same, anyway.

Which of the following is closest in meaning to 「バスの中が空いています。」
(A) バスの中に人がぜんぜんいません。
(B) バスの中に人がほとんどいません。

My answer is (A) but the book says the correct answer is (B). I don't get it. Doesn't 「空く」 mean empty? What does 「ほとんど」 mean?

The reading is すいています, not あいています, in that sentence.

Which of the following is the most appropriate usage of 「しょうちする」?
(A) 両親は留学するのをしょうちしました。
(B) コーヒーを飲むのをしょうちしました。
(C) 朝寝坊してご飯をしょうちしませんでした。
(D) たばこを吸うのをしょうちしました。

I have a vague understanding of the meaning of 「しょうちする」. Is it closer to the meaning of 「知る」(to know, as in to have knowledge of something) or 「考える」(to think, as in objectively in contrast with 「思う」) or 「分かる」(to understand, as in to "really" comprehend something in contrast to "just" knowing something)?'

承知する also means "to permit/allow".
承知の英語・英訳 - goo辞書 英和和英

凡人社から新たな本を買いました。今勉強している本より役に立つように。。。
(I purchased a book from Bonjinsha. I hope this one is more useful than the one I'm suing right now...)

Did I use the 「～ように」 correctly? If not, how should I change it?

It should be 今勉強している本より役に立ちますように. Your sentence is interpreted as an inversion, and ように means "in order to".

 

[OoTmaster]

Which of the following is closest in meaning to 「バスの中が空いています。」
(A) バスの中に人がぜんぜんいません。
(B) バスの中に人がほとんどいません。

My answer is (A) but the book says the correct answer is (B). I don't get it. Doesn't 「空く」 mean empty? What does 「ほとんど」 mean?

I'm not sure what the second sentence means. But in the first one ぜんぜん has the meaning of at all. バスの中に人がぜんぜんいません is something like inside the bus there are no people at all. Someone else may have to explain what the other sentence means.

 

[mdchachi]

Which of the following is closest in meaning to 「バスの中が空いています。」
(A) バスの中に人がぜんぜんいません。
(B) バスの中に人がほとんどいません。

My answer is (A) but the book says the correct answer is (B). I don't get it. Doesn't 「空く」 mean empty? What does 「ほとんど」 mean?

Hotondo means "almost." (A) is possible but usually when you say something is 空いています it means it's almost empty, not completely empty. So I think both are possible, but (B) is more likely.
For example a common phrase of お腹が空いている doesn't mean your stomach is completely empty of all contents. It means it's empty enough for you to feel hungry.

 

[Mike Cash]

Hotondo means "almost." (A) is possible but usually when you say something is 空いています it means it's almost empty, not completely empty. So I think both are possible, but (B) is more likely.
For example a common phrase of お腹が空いている doesn't mean your stomach is completely empty of all contents. It means it's empty enough for you to feel hungry.

It is easiest to just think of すいている as being the opposite of 混んでいる. A very commonly used alternate way of saying it is ガラガラ. In my line of work すいている is very frequently used. I have never heard it used in the sense of (A).

 

[chldudghks0517]

The reading is すいています, not あいています, in that sentence.

Aha! Thank you for the clarification on the reading. I get it now.

承知する also means "to permit/allow".
承知の英語・英訳 - goo辞書 英和和英

This dictionary is great. I will use it from now on.

It should be 今勉強している本より役に立ちますように. Your sentence is interpreted as an inversion, and ように means "in order to".

Thank you for the correction, but what do you mean by "inversion?" It's my first time hearing this word (tax inversion? Haha, no kidding).

For example a common phrase of お腹が空いている doesn't mean your stomach is completely empty of all contents. It means it's empty enough for you to feel hungry.

What a friendly explanation! I think you nailed it for me.

It is easiest to just think of すいている as being the opposite of 混んでいる. A very commonly used alternate way of saying it is ガラガラ. In my line of work すいている is very frequently used. I have never heard it used in the sense of (A).

ガラガラ. This word makes much more sense to me now. Thank you.

 

[Toritoribe]

Thank you for the correction, but what do you mean by "inversion?"

Inversion (linguistics) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

ordinary clause order
今勉強している本より役に立つように、凡人社から新たな本を買いました。

inverted version
凡人社から新たな本を買いました。今勉強している本より役に立つように。

 

[chldudghks0517]

最近は漢字も習っていますが、書き方がわからなくて大変です。作文の宿題がありました。（ ）全部ひらがなで書いて出しました。先生に「これからは漢字で書きなさい。」と言われました。

（１） そして
（２） しかし
（３） それで
（４） それから

My answer is (3) because I thought that the person in question had no choice but to do his homework entirely in hiragana since he is having a hard time writing in kanji. This was his best course of action.

But the book says that the best answer is (2) because the the presumption is that since the student is learning kanji, then he must also do his homework in kanji but he actually didn't because it was hard for him to write in kanji.

What do you think?

 

[Toritoribe]

I, too, would choose #3.
The paragraph sounds awkward in the first place. The following sentence order is far better.
この前作文の宿題がありました。最近は漢字も習っていますが、書き方がわからなくて大変なので、全部ひらがなで書いて出しました。すると先生に「これからは漢字で書きなさい。」と言われてしまいました。

 

[chldudghks0517]

この前作文の宿題がありました。最近は漢字も習っていますが、書き方がわからなくて大変なので、全部ひらがなで書いて出しました。すると先生に「これからは漢字で書きなさい。」と言われてしまいました。

Now that sounds really smooth!

I have another question. I recently learned that 「～軒」 is quantifier used to count the number of houses. But how are the following read in Japanese? I mean, how are they conjugated differently (「～けん」or「～げん」)?

一軒 いっけん？ いけん？
二軒 にけん？ にげん？
三軒
四軒
五軒
六軒
七軒
八軒
九軒
十軒

Is there a pattern for other quantifiers such as 「～匹」 or 「～台」?