Hyogo Entrance Japanese common mistakes
Hyogo Entrance Japanese · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
When a 小説 asks 傍線部「この気持ち」の理由, the candidate answers with what the character did after the line (e.g., 「〜したから」) instead of what the line actually attributes the feeling to, quoting an action from the next paragraph.
Narrative time feels continuous, so candidates read forward and grab the nearest concrete event; they also confuse 心情 (feeling) with 行動 (action) because the passage states both close together, and they skip the 心情語 (e.g., 寂しい, 悔しい) that the question is really pointing at.
What to do instead
Circle the 心情語 in the 傍線部 first, then draw a line back to the 原因 within the same or immediately preceding sentence. Practise the rule: 心情の理由は心情語より「前」に書かれていることが多い. After answering, verify the choice contains a feeling word, not only an action, and states a cause, not a result.
On 小説 questions about 心情の変化, the candidate picks the choice describing only the final emotion, ignoring the earlier state, so a two-stage change (e.g., 不満→納得) is answered with just 納得.
The end of the passage is the most vivid and most recently read, so it dominates memory; candidates also treat 変化 questions as ordinary 心情 questions and look for one keyword instead of two contrasting states.
What to do instead
When the question says 変化 or どう変わったか, force yourself to write two words in the margin: 前＝___ / 後＝___. The correct choice must contain both, usually joined by 〜から〜へ or 〜が〜に. Eliminate any choice that names only one state, even if that state is correct.
On 説明文・論説文 内容説明 questions, the candidate selects a choice that is true in general knowledge or true elsewhere in the passage, but does not match the scope of the 傍線部 (e.g., picks a statement about 日本全体 when the line is about 一部の地域).
Choices are written to be plausible and often borrow vocabulary from other paragraphs; candidates match on shared words (語句一致) rather than checking whether the choice's subject, scope, and condition match the line.
What to do instead
Before reading the choices, rewrite the 傍線部 in your own words in ten characters or fewer. Then check each choice against three filters: 主語は同じか, 範囲（すべて／一部）は同じか, 条件（〜の場合）は同じか. Reject any choice that fails one filter even if the wording echoes the text.
On 論説文 要旨・主旨 questions, the candidate chooses the statement that appears in the final paragraph's example or anecdote rather than the author's overall claim, or picks a 具体例 choice over the 抽象化 choice.
The last paragraph is read most recently and examples are concrete and memorable; candidates have not learned that 例示 (たとえば, 〜のような) signals support, not the claim, and that 要旨 answers are usually more abstract than the passage's examples.
What to do instead
Mark every たとえば・例えば・〜のような・一例 as 具体例 and bracket it off. Underline しかし・つまり・むしろ・むしろ重要なのは - the claim usually follows these. For 要旨 questions, prefer the choice whose level of abstraction is one step above the examples and which covers the whole passage, not one paragraph.
In 漢字の読み, the candidate reads a kanji by its common on-reading in a compound where the passage requires the kun-reading or a less common reading (e.g., reading 老いる as ろう, or 灯 as とう in 灯す).
Candidates memorise one reading per kanji from vocabulary lists and never attach readings to the actual word form (送り仮名 and okurigana patterns); they also skip checking whether the word is a verb/adjective whose okurigana dictates the kun-reading.
What to do instead
Study readings as whole words with okurigana attached (灯す＝ともす, 老いる＝おいる), never as isolated kanji. In the exam, check the okurigana first: if 送り仮名 is present, the reading is almost always kun. Build a personal list of 音読み-only traps (老若＝ろうにゃく vs 老いる).
In 漢字の書き, the candidate writes a homophone with the correct sound but wrong kanji (e.g., 関心／感心, 対象／対称, 補う／填う, 及ぼす／押す) because they chose by sound alone.
The 書き question is delivered as a sentence with the target word in hiragana; candidates sound it out and write the first kanji that comes to mind, ignoring the sentence context that selects the meaning, and they have not drilled 同音異義語 pairs.
What to do instead
Read the whole sentence and identify the meaning before writing: 関心＝interest, 感心＝admiration. Drill 同音異義語 in pairs with a short example sentence for each. In the exam, write the kanji and then re-read the sentence to confirm the meaning fits, not just the sound.
In 古文, the candidate translates a 係り結び incorrectly - reading ぞ・なむ・や・か as ordinary particles and leaving the sentence in 終止形, or missing that 連体形 marks the 結び - and so mistranslates emphasis or question meaning.
Modern Japanese has no 係り結び, so candidates read ぞ as a plain emphatic and never check the ending; they also memorise 係り結び as a rule without practising it inside full sentences, so the ending form is not something they look at.
What to do instead
Train a fixed procedure: find ぞ・なむ・や・か・こそ → jump to the sentence end → confirm 連体形 (ぞ・なむ・や・か) or 已然形 (こそ) → translate as 強調 (こそ＝〜こそ…だ) or 疑問・反語 (や・か). Do ten short sentences a day, writing the 結び form in the margin before translating.
In 漢文, the candidate translates 返り点 in the wrong order (e.g., treats レ as pointing forward, or mis-orders 一・二点 with 上・下点) and produces a 書き下し文 whose word order contradicts the 訓読.
返り点 are visual marks with no analogue in modern Japanese, and candidates learn them as symbols to memorise rather than as a reading-order instruction; under time pressure they read left to right and only apply レ when convenient.
What to do instead
Use the physical method: number each character in reading order (1,2,3…) directly above the text before writing anything. レ means read the lower character first; 一二点 means jump back after finishing the marked span; 上下点 nests outside 一二点. Then write 書き下し文 from your numbers, not from the printed order.
In 文法・語句 questions on 敬語, the candidate misclassifies 尊敬語・謙譲語・丁寧語 and produces errors such as 「お客様が参られました」 or 「先生に申し上げた」 where the direction of respect is reversed.
Candidates memorise 敬語 words as a list without the 誰から誰へ direction, and 二重敬語 and 謙譲語＋尊敬語 combinations look polite so they pass unnoticed; the exam deliberately mixes 謙譲語 that contain お〜する with 尊敬語 that look similar.
What to do instead
For every 敬語 item, write two labels: 主語は誰か and 敬意の向かう先は誰か. 尊敬語 raises the subject (いらっしゃる・おっしゃる・ご覧になる); 謙譲語 lowers the speaker's side (伺う・申し上げる・拝見する). Reject any sentence where a 謙譲語 is attached to the person being respected.
In 作文, the candidate writes a 体験談 that fills most of the word count but never states a clear 意見, or states the opinion only in the final line with no supporting reason, so the essay scores low on 構成 and 内容.
School writing often rewards narrative, and candidates believe length and emotion equal quality; they also run out of time and rush the conclusion, so the 主張 is never planned before writing.
What to do instead
Before writing, spend three minutes on a four-line memo: 主張（一文）／理由（二つ）／体験（一つ、短く）／結論（主張の言い換え）. Keep the 体験 to roughly a third of the length and make sure every paragraph links back to the 主張 with なぜなら・だから・したがって. Check at the end that the first and last sentences state the same opinion.