Nagasaki HS Entrance Examination - Japanese (Kokugo) common mistakes
Nagasaki HS Entrance Examination - Japanese (Kokugo) · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
In the kanji-writing section, the candidate writes a same-reading kanji with the wrong meaning, such as writing 感心 in a sentence that requires 関心, or attaches the wrong okurigana to a verb such as 行なう／行う.
Kanji are memorized as sound-to-shape pairs rather than as meaning-bearing units, and okurigana are studied separately from the verb's meaning and conjugation.
What to do instead
Study each kanji inside a short context sentence and pair it with a contrasting homophone (関心／感心, 対象／対照). For okurigana, learn the verb with its masu-form and tense forms, then self-test by filling the kanji into sentences rather than reciting lists.
On vocabulary questions, the candidate chooses a near-synonym by rough meaning and ignores collocation or register, for example selecting 支度 where 準備 fits the written context, or 慌てる where 急ぐ is required.
Word lists are studied with a single Japanese gloss per item, so the candidate never sees how the word combines with other words or what level of speech it belongs to.
What to do instead
Record vocabulary in two- or three-word collocations and in one original sentence. When studying a new word, compare it with one near-synonym in a minimal pair and note the difference in object, particle, or register.
When asked for the writer's claim in an expository passage, the candidate answers with personal opinion or general knowledge instead of stating what the passage says, and does not return to the relevant line.
A familiar topic makes the question feel like an opinion prompt, and the candidate reads for agreement rather than for the structure of the argument.
What to do instead
Before answering, locate and mark the concluding sentence and its supporting sentences. Write the answer in the form '本文では…と述べている' and attach a line reference or a short quotation. Check that every content word in the answer can be traced to the passage.
The candidate misreads contrast and cause-effect connectors, treating a concession such as 「確かに…しかし…」 as if the 確かに clause were the main claim, or treating a しかし clause as support for the previous sentence.
The passage is read clause by clause without building a paragraph-level map, so connectors are noticed as words but not used to track the argument's direction.
What to do instead
Annotate each paragraph with its function: claim, example, concession, or conclusion. Circle every connector and draw an arrow showing what it connects. After reading, state the main claim in one sentence and verify that the connectors support that statement.
In literary prose, the candidate retells plot events but cannot explain why a character feels or acts, and writes only '悲しい' or 'うれしい' without citing any action, dialogue, or description from the text.
The candidate reads for story content as if the text were informational prose, and expects emotions to be stated directly rather than inferred from concrete description.
What to do instead
Track emotional shifts alongside concrete details: underline dialogue, actions, gestures, and landscape descriptions that suggest feeling. Practice answering in the form '心情＋根拠' and require at least one short quotation or line reference for every emotion claimed.
In poetry questions, the candidate reads figurative language literally or cannot name basic techniques such as 比喩, 擬人法, 反復, or 倒置, and therefore misses the image or emphasis the technique creates.
The candidate concentrates on paraphrasing content and has not practiced identifying techniques as deliberate choices with effects on mood, pace, or focus.
What to do instead
Mark techniques directly on the poem and ask what image or feeling each one produces. Practice distinguishing 直喩, 暗喩, and 擬人法 in short examples, and always connect the named technique to a concrete effect rather than merely labeling it.
In classical Japanese, the candidate reads words with their modern Japanese meanings and ignores honorific verbs when deciding who performs an action, so the subject of a sentence is often assigned incorrectly.
Classical vocabulary is studied too briefly, and honorifics are treated as decoration rather than as grammatical signals of subject and respect relationship.
What to do instead
Memorize classical words with their modern equivalents and note false friends explicitly. For each sentence, parse 尊敬語, 謙譲語, and 丁寧語 to identify the subject, then practice supplying the omitted subject in modern Japanese before translating.
In kanbun, the candidate applies 返り点 mechanically without checking the resulting 訓読 order, especially when レ点 and 一二点 appear in the same phrase, and reads a negative or passive construction in the wrong position.
The symbols are memorized individually as marks to copy rather than as rules for reordering a Chinese sentence into Japanese word order.
What to do instead
Practice short phrases with only one or two 返り点, write out the 訓読文, and then compare it with the 書き下し文. Drill the common patterns for negation, passive, causative, and 使役 with worked examples before attempting long passages.
On grammar and usage questions, the candidate chooses particles by sound or feel, for example using が where は is needed to mark contrast or topic, and cannot explain the difference between the two choices.
Grammar is studied as sets of labels and conjugation tables rather than as meaningful choices that change emphasis, topic, or logical relation in a sentence.
What to do instead
Use minimal-pair sentences that differ only in the target particle or form, and explain what changes in meaning or focus. Practice 品詞分解 and conjugation in complete sentences, then justify each answer by naming the grammatical function it performs.
In the essay or constructed-response task, the candidate writes a general abstract opinion such as '努力は大切だ' with no concrete personal episode and ignores stated conditions such as length, paragraph count, or required topic.
Memorized essay templates and time pressure push the candidate toward safe generalities, and the task conditions are read once and then forgotten while writing.
What to do instead
Spend five minutes planning: one concrete episode, one lesson, and a clear conclusion. Practice timed responses of 200 and 400 characters, and finish with a checklist that verifies length, paragraph structure, and every stated condition before submitting.