Kanji and Orthography (漢字・表記)
Kanji and Orthography (漢字・表記) tests accurate production and reading of 常用漢字, 送り仮名, and 同音異義語. Hiroshima-style items typically ask you to write a kanji from context, read a kanji in a sentence, choose the correct 熟語, and distinguish homophones. The 常用漢字表 and 送り仮名の付け方 are the reference standards, so learn words in context rather than as isolated sounds.
Core rules
- Write the kanji that fits the sentence's meaning, not the first kanji that matches the sound.
- Keep 送り仮名 correct: 「表す」 and 「現す」 differ in meaning; 「行う」 not 「行なう」 in standard modern usage.
- Learn 熟語 by structure: 対義語, 類義語, 主述, 修飾, and 四字熟語.
- Distinguish 音読み and 訓読み when a reading question gives a compound.
- Watch形の似た字: 準/純, 専/博, 検/険.
Worked example
Sentence: 「親の期待にこたえるために、彼は研究に専念した。」 Write the kanji for こたえる.
Reasoning: Candidates include 答える, 応える, and 堪える. 答える is for questions and answers; 堪える means to endure; 応える means to respond to or meet expectations. The collocation 期待に応える is standard, so the correct kanji is 応える. In the same sentence, 専念 is correct; 専年 is a 誤字 because 年 does not carry the meaning of devotion.
Traps that cost marks
- Choosing a 同音異義語 by sound alone: 関心/感心/歓心.
- Wrong 送り仮名: 「現わす」 versus 「表す」 in context.
- Confusing 音読み and 訓読み in a compound reading.
- Writing a 常用漢字 outside the approved form or using a 誤字 with a similar shape.
- Ignoring context clues such as 期待に, which narrow the choice to one kanji.