JLPT N4 Vocabulary Practice: 237 Past-Paper Questions with Answers

Shuffle

Choose the correct reading of the underlined kanji word.

Watch long vowels, small っ and voiced sounds: きょう vs きょ, しゅっ vs しゅ.
Decide first whether the word takes an on reading or a kun reading.
When unsure, rule out readings that don't exist in Japanese.
Common mistake: The options differ by one long vowel or one dakuten, so they all look right.

Sample · December 2021, Mondai 1

＿＿＿の言葉の読み方として最もよいものを選びなさい。

バスが　8時に　出発します。

Read the word in hiragana and choose how it is written in kanji.

The options are usually kanji that sound the same or look alike, so think about the meaning first.
Break each kanji into its parts and check the radical against the meaning.
Learn new words with their kanji, not just their sound.
Common mistake: Same sound, different kanji: 暑い, 熱い and 厚い are all あつい. Choosing by sound alone goes wrong.

Sample · December 2021, Mondai 2

としょかんで　えいがの　本を　かりました。

Choose the word that fills the blank so the sentence makes sense.

Read the whole sentence and find the word the blank has to go with.
The options are usually the same kind of word, so judge by collocation and tone, not meaning alone.
Katakana words and sound-symbolic words (onomatopoeia) come up often.
Common mistake: An option that makes sense but is not how Japanese puts those words together.

Sample · December 2021, Mondai 3

たくさん　話したので（）が　いたいです。

Choose the expression closest in meaning to the underlined part.

Explain the underlined word to yourself in simple Japanese first.
Put each option back into the sentence and read it.
Check that degree and tone match, as in 少し vs かなり.
Common mistake: An option that matches only part of the meaning, or means the opposite.

Sample · December 2021, Mondai 4

この　話は　ひみつです。

Given a word, choose the one sentence of four that uses it correctly.

Think about which words it usually goes with and where it is used.
The wrong sentences usually borrow the use of a word with a similar meaning.
Read all four before you choose, not just until one looks right.
Common mistake: A sentence that reads naturally, but needs a different word in that spot.

Sample · December 2021, Mondai 5

れんらく

All from the vocabulary section of the JLPT N4 past papers, 2010–2021: 7 papers, 237 questions, each paper in printed order.

All 7 papers are free.