JLPT N2 practice questions

工 is こう as in 工場 (こうじょう, factory). 工 (craft) + 芸 (art): handcrafted artistic goods.

As a hobby, my grandmother attends a class in traditional crafts.

エチケット is considerate social behavior, such as covering your mouth when you sneeze.

It's good etiquette to cover your mouth when sneezing.

帰ら is 帰らない without ない. Attach ざるを得ない to express having no choice but to do something due to circumstances.

Since the car broke down, I have no choice but to walk home.

修 means study and 了 means finish: completing a course or program. It does not simply mean the day’s class has ended.

I completed a graduate program and took a research job.

A country issues its ordinary passports to its citizens. Residence status or birthplace alone does not establish citizenship.

To obtain a passport, you need citizenship of that country.

Add ことに after an emotion word like うれしい to express your personal reaction: “to my delight”.

To my delight, a photo of a cute baby arrived from my older sister.

容 (よう, contain) + 器 (き, vessel): something that holds food, liquid, or other contents, such as a tub or bottle.

I moved the leftover soup into another container and put it in the refrigerator.

秋になると introduces autumn, when garden trees change color. 紅葉する specifically describes autumn foliage turning red or yellow.

When autumn arrives, the garden trees turn beautifully vibrant colors.

はともかく leaves one aspect aside while judging another: taste matters more than appearance.

Whatever it looks like, this food tastes really good.

国 is こく, as in 国際 (こくさい, international). 国 (country) + 立 (set up): established by the nation.

My younger brother plans to attend a national university starting next spring.

余計な口出し means meddling or making uncalled-for remarks, which explains why the speaker got scolded.

I made an uncalled-for remark to my younger brother and he got angry at me.

Add を問わず after variables like 年齢や性別 to mean regardless of them, meaning anyone can participate.

Anyone can participate in this cooking class regardless of age or gender.

友 is ゆう, as in 親友 (しんゆう, close friend). Combining 友 (friend) and 好 (fond) gives friendship or friendly relations.

We held an exchange event with international students to deepen friendship between our countries.

Use 外れる for parts coming off or detaching, such as a button coming off clothing.

It would be troublesome if a jacket button came off, so I sewed it back on firmly.

悩んだ + あげく expresses that after a long period of worrying, things ended in an undesirable or disappointing result.

After worrying over this and that, in the end I left the store without buying anything.

話 is read わ, as in 電話 (でんわ, telephone): together, receiving (受) talk (話) on a device (器) forms telephone receiver.

The bell rang, so I quickly picked up the receiver.

Walking in a dark hallway and having your shoulder strike the corner of a wall describes bumping into something, which is expressed by ぶつかる.

While walking down a dark hallway, my shoulder bumped into the corner of the wall.

就 (しゅう, take up) + 業 (ぎょう, work): doing or starting work. The notice gives the hours when employees work.

Working hours at this company start at nine in the morning.

変化 + に応じて means adjusting in response to changes, matching your clothes to shifts in temperature.

I adjust the clothes I wear in response to changes in temperature.

たちまち means that a change takes place in an instant, describing how the freshly baked bread was gone right away.

As soon as I put the freshly baked bread on the table, it was gone in an instant.

木 keeps its familiar reading き, as in 木 (き, tree). 並 (line up) + 木 (tree): trees standing in a row.

Every morning on my way to the station, I walk while looking at the pretty row of trees.

Add ものか after a dictionary-form verb like 行く to express strong refusal or emphatic determination, meaning "I will never" or "no way".

There is no way I will ever go to such a terrible restaurant again.

Greeting a senior politely expresses respect. 敬う means to treat someone with respect.

It is important to respect senior colleagues and greet them politely.

純粋 can describe innocence or being free from ulterior motives.

I wasn't sure how to answer the child's innocent question.

Add ものだ after 早い to express a deeply felt general truth or exclamation about how fast children grow.

Children really grow up fast.

Use 巻く for winding or wrapping items around the body, such as wrapping a scarf around your neck.

It was getting colder, so I decided to wrap a scarf around my neck.

勤める (つとめる, work for) + 先 (place): the company or workplace where you are employed.

Since moving, I have been looking for a new place to work.

ミシンの使い方 means how to use a sewing machine. A ミシン stitches fabric.

My mother taught me how to use a sewing machine.

だけに connects a reason with a result that feels especially strong because of it.

Because I'd practiced every day, losing the match was especially frustrating.

執 (しっ, grasp) + 筆 (ぴつ, writing brush): taking up a brush to write. 筆 keeps ぴつ from 鉛筆 (えんぴつ, pencil).

A famous author wrote an article for a new magazine.

When sitting kneeling on the floor for a long time, legs go numb or fall asleep, which is しびれる.

My legs went numb because I had been sitting formally on the floor for a long time.

Add を込めて after a feeling such as 感謝の気持ち to express doing an action full of that emotion.

For my mother's birthday, I knitted a scarf filled with feelings of gratitude.

売 is ばい in 販売 (はんばい, selling) and 買 is ばい in 購買 (こうばい, buying): together, selling and buying mean trade.

These days, you can easily buy and sell secondhand goods using apps.

After putting medicine on an arm wound (腕の傷), you wrap (巻いた) a bandage.

After applying medicine to the wound on my arm, I wrapped a bandage around it.

出 takes で as in 出る (でる, to exit), combined with 入口 (いりぐち, entrance) to mean an entrance and exit.

Please do not put trash in front of the apartment's entrance and exit.

Add とか at the end of a sentence to report secondhand news or hearsay you heard, meaning "I hear that...".

I hear that the son next door is going to study abroad starting next month.

そそっかしい describes someone careless or scatterbrained who acts hastily, fitting someone who frequently forgets their wallet at home.

My older brother is careless, so he often forgets his wallet at home.

加 is か in 増加 (ぞうか, increase). Adding 加 (add) to 速 (speed) describes speeding up.

When going down the slope, the bicycle suddenly accelerated and it was a bit scary.

ことだ after a dictionary-form verb gives advice about what someone should do.

If you want to recover from your cold quickly, keep warm and get some sleep.

説 (せっ, explanation) + 得 (とく, gain): gaining someone’s agreement through explanation. 説 has the same meaning in 説明 (せつめい, explanation).

I took time to persuade my parents, who were opposed.

少し〜をする fits taking a short daytime rest. 昼寝 forms the natural phrase 昼寝をする for taking a nap.

Taking a short nap on days off has become a habit of mine.

掃除や洗濯 introduces examples, and といった connects them to the general category 家事 to mean "chores such as cleaning and laundry."

On my days off, I am busy with household chores such as cleaning and laundry.

悔やむ means regretting something, usually a past action or missed opportunity.

Rather than regretting the past, let's think about our plans from now on.

Use 変動 for shifting numbers like prices or temperatures. 価格の変動 means price fluctuations.

Lately, fluctuations in vegetable prices have been extreme.

With the exam approaching, you cannot afford to stay relaxed. After のんびりして, add はいられない to express that you cannot keep doing something.

The exam is coming up, so I can't afford to take it easy anymore.

体 is たい, as in 団体 (だんたい, group). Together, 体 (object) + 積 (volume) refers to three-dimensional capacity.

I helped with my child's homework by calculating the volume of a box.

With 量 (amount), コントロールする means to manage or regulate how much food you eat for your health.

For my health, I control the amount of food I eat every day.

夕 is ゆう, as in 夕飯 (ゆうはん, evening meal). 夕 (evening) + 刊 (publish): an evening paper.

When my father returns home from work, he reads the evening newspaper while drinking tea.

ねばならない means must. Attach ねば to the verb form before ない: 寝ない becomes 寝ねばならない.

I need to get up early tomorrow, so I must go to bed now.

刺さる means to prick or pierce into something, fitting a sharp fish bone getting lodged in the throat.

It hurts when a fish bone gets stuck in your throat.

不 is ふ, as in 不便 (ふべん, inconvenient), added to 規則 (きそく, rule) to describe something lacking regularity.

Work has been busy lately, so my eating habits have become irregular.

Add にもかかわらず after 雨が降っている to mean "even though" or "despite", showing an outcome contrary to expectations.

Even though it was raining, my father went out for a walk.

急用 means urgent business arose, so canceling the trip is unavoidable (やむをえない) under the circumstances.

Because urgent business came up, canceling this trip cannot be helped.

学 (がく, study) + 士 (し, scholar): a bachelor’s degree. The word can also refer to someone who holds that degree.

I graduated from university and earned a bachelor’s degree.

てこそ marks an action as necessary for the realization that follows: understanding comes through cooking yourself.

Only by cooking for yourself can you understand your parents' hard work.

汚す means to make something dirty. The shirt is what gets dirtied.

If you get mud on a new white shirt, it can be hard to wash out.

学 (がく, study) + 説 (せつ, theory): a theory developed within an academic field, rather than an everyday guess.

The professor explained a new academic theory in detail during class.

気軽 describes doing something without feeling tense, burdened, or overly hesitant.

Being able to act without holding back or getting nervous is described as being carefree.

Add につけ after 見る to express that whenever you look at the photos, the memory of your mother naturally comes to mind.

Whenever I look at family photos, I remember my mother back in my hometown.

収 is しゅう, as in 収入 (しゅうにゅう, income). 領収 is receiving money; 領収書 (りょうしゅうしょ, formal receipt) is the document confirming payment.

After paying the membership fee, I received a receipt at the counter.