01 - New JLPT N4 Prep Course - Lesson Notes

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JLPT S2 New JLPT N4 Prep Course

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Vocabulary Grammar Points

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 Vocabulary  Kanji

Kana

Romaji

English

通う

かよ う

kayou

通る

と おる

t ru

代わり に 早く 以下

かわり に はやく いか

kawari ni hayaku ika

以外

いがい

igai

以前 以後

いぜん いご

izen igo

以上

いじ ょ う

ij

to commute; to go back and forth to/from to pass (by), to go through instead of   early; soon less than, below, not exceeding other than, except from since, before after this, from now on, hereafter, thereafter /more than/exceeding/greater than/this is all/over/above/and up/beyond/the above-mentioned/sinc e/as long as/the end/

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 Vocabulary Sample Sentences 毎日、 私は学校に通って います。 Mainichi watashi wa gakkō ni kayotteimasu. こ の 道を 通り た いけ ど 、 狭く て 車が入れな い 。 Kono michi o tō ritai kedo semakute kuruma ga hairenai. 牛肉の代わり に、 鳥肉を 使っ た。 Gyū niku no kawari ni, toriniku o tsukatta. 早く 家に帰り たいです。 Hayaku ie ni kaeritai desu. 気温が0度以下にな る 。 Kion ga rei-do ika ni naru.

LC: JLPT_S2L1_011310

I go to school every day. I want to pass through this road, but it's too narrow for the car to enter. I used chicken instead of beef. I want to go home soon. The temperature gets below 0 degrees.

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わたし は、 肉以外は好き です。 Watashi wa, niku igai wa suki desu. 以前、 メ キ シコ に 行っ た こ と があ り ま す 。 Izen, Mekishiko ni itta koto ga arimasu. 以後、 気を つ け ま す。 Igo, ki o tsukemasu. 気温が30度以上になる。 Kion ga sanj -do ijō ni naru.

I like anything except meat. I've been to Mexico before. I'll be careful from now on. The temperature gets above 30 degrees.

Grammar Points New JLPT N4 Prep Course Lesson 1  About the New JLPT Format

In 2010, the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) will switch over to a new format. Before 2010, there were four levels (Levels 1, 2, 3, and 4), but starting in 2010, a new level will be inserted between Levels 2 and 3, increasing the number of levels to 5.

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N1 N2 N3 N4 N5

Passing requirements do not change from old Level 1 About the same as old Level 2 New level between old Levels 2 and 3 About the same as old Level 3 About the same as old Level 4

Under the new system, all of the levels will be offered twice a year, in July and December. The application process differs depending on where you take the test, so please refer to the following links for more information. For those taking the test in Japan: http://www.jees.or.jp/jlpt/ For those taking the test abroad: http://www.jlpt.jp/ For those taking the test in Taiwan: http://www.koryu.or.jp/  About Level N4

The criteria and content of Level N4 are as follows: Reading

Examinee is able to understand passages with basic vocabulary and kanji on familiar topics.

LC: JLPT_S2L1_011310

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Listening

Examinee is able to follow along with everyday  conversations spoken at a slow pace.

Level N4 is 125 minutes altogether and is comprised of three different sections. The table below shows the time allotted for each section: Kanji/Vocabulary Grammar/Reading Comprehension Listening Comprehension

30 minutes 60 minutes 35 minutes

In this prep course for Level N4, we will go over Kanji and Vocabulary in Lessons 1-3, Grammar and Reading Comprehension in Lessons 4-8, and Listening Comprehension in Lessons 9-12.  About the Language Knowledge, Kanji, and Vocabulary Section

In this section, you are tested on how many words you know as well as how well you know  certain words. There are five types of questions: も んだ い Number of  Questions

1 2

4

3 4 5

Type of Question

9 questions

Kanji ⇒Hiragana: select the correct reading of the kanji. 6 questions Hiragana ⇒Kanji: select the correct kanji that corresponds to the hiragana. 10 questions Choose the word that best fits in the context. 5 questions Choose the sentence that has the same meaning as the given sentence. 5 questions Choose the sentence that correctly uses the given word.

In this lesson, you'll get an idea of what も んだい 1 and 2 of the Kanji and Vocabulary section are like. Sample Question ■ も んだい１

Instructions

LC: JLPT_S2L1_011310

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＿＿＿＿の こと ばは どう よ みま すか。 １ ・ ２ ・ ３ ・ ４ から いち ばん いい も のを い。

ひと つ え ら んでく ださ

How do you read the underlined kanji? Choose the best answer from 1 to 4. Sample question:

1. あには バスで 会社に １ ） かよ っ て ２ ） いっ て

通っ て いま す。

３ ） むかっ て

４ ） と おっ て

 Answer: 1) かよ っ て ■ も んだい２

Instruction ＿＿＿＿の こ と ばは どう かきま すか。 １ ・ ２ ・ ３ ・ ４ から いち ばんいい も のを ひと つ え ら んでく ださ い 。

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How do you write the underlined Hiragana in Kanji? Choose the best answer from 1 to 4. Sample question:

1. ふねで

にも つ を

おく り ます。

１ ） 送り ま す ２ ） 遅り ま す ３ ） 近り ま す ４ ） 遠り ま す  Answer: 1) 送り ま す Kanji You Have to Know for N4

 Verbs

LC: JLPT_S2L1_011310

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Here is a list of thirty basic verbs that often show up in the Kanji section. Please note that on the test, the verb may show up in different forms (negative, past, te form, etc.). Please check the box if you already know the vocabulary word and how to conjugate it. Group 1

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□

Kanji

Hiragana

"English"

□ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □

洗う 歌う 使う 間に 合う 習う 歩く 急ぐ 着く 働く 引く 貸す 写す 持つ 死ぬ 進む 住む 集ま る 売る 送る 終わる 帰る 知る 作る 乗る 走る

あら う う たう つかう ま に あう なら う ある く いそ ぐ つく はたら く ひく かす う つす もつ しぬ すすむ すむ あつま る うる おく る おわる かえ る しる つく る のる はし る

"to wash" "to sing" "to use" "to make it in time" "to learn" "to walk" "to hurry" "to arrive" "to work" "to pull" "to lend" "to copy," "to take a photo" "to possess" "to die" "to move ahead" "to live" "to gather" "to sell" "to send" "to finish" "to return" "to know" "to make" "to ride" "to run"

Group 2 □

Kanji

Hiragana

"English"

□ □ □ □ □

教え る 考え る 借り る 答え る 始める

おし え る かんがえ る かり る こ たえ る はじ める

"to teach" "to think" "to borrow" "to answer" "to start"

LC: JLPT_S2L1_011310

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Note: The Kanji 通

The tricky thing about this kanji (通) is that the reading changes depending on the context. For Example:

1. 通う （ かよ う ） "to commute," "to attend" →会社に 通う "to commute (to work)" 2. 通る （ と おる ） "to pass," "to go through" →その道を 通る "to go down that street" We write the te form as 通っ て , which we can read as かよ っ て or と おっ て depending only  on the context.  Adjectives

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Here are the top five adjectives that frequently appear in the Kanji section. Make sure you study not only the dictionary forms but also the other forms (negative, past, negative past, etc.) as well. □

Kanji

Hiragana

"English"

□ □ □ □ □

楽し い 黒い 広い 親切 有名

たのし い く ろい ひろ い し んせつ ゆう めい

"fun" "black" "spacious" "kind" "famous"

When you learn a new adjective, please also look up the adjective that has the opposite meaning if possible. □Kanji

Hiragana

"English"

□ Kanji

Hiragana

"English"

□明る い □重い □強い □寒い □遠い

あかる い おも い つよ い さ むい と おい

"bright" "heavy" "strong" "cold" "far"

□ □ □ □ □

く らい かる い よ わい あつい ち かい

"dark" "light" "weak" "hot" "near"

LC: JLPT_S2L1_011310

暗い 軽い 弱い 暑い 近い

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□正し い □古い □長い □低い □便利

ただし い ふる い な がい ひく い べんり

"correct" "old" "long" "low" "convenient"

□ □ □ □ □

悪い 新し い 短い 高い 不便

わる い あたら し い みじ かい たかい ふべん

"bad" "new" "short" "high" "inconvenient"

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LC: JLPT_S2L1_011310

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2010-01-13