NCEA Level 3 Japanese cheat sheet

Contrast and concession markers (しかし, ただし, でも, が) typically precede the speaker's corrected or main position; the decisive information often lies in the clause after the marker.

Certainty scale: 〜かもしれない (possible) < 〜だろう/〜はずだ (probable/expected) < 〜に違いない (strong conviction); 〜わけではない denies an inference, not the whole proposition.

Benefactive direction: あげる = giver subject gives outward; くれる = giver subject gives to me/in-group; もらう = receiver subject receives; with 〜て forms, map who benefits before answering.

Causative-passive 〜させられる marks 'be made to do'; the causer takes に, and the forced actor is usually the subject.

Japanese numerals group by four digits: 万 (10,000) and 億 (100,000,000); convert during the pause, e.g. 1億2000万 = 120,000,000.

Time suffixes change meaning: 〜ぶり = first time in an interval; 〜おき = at intervals of; 〜以内 = within; 〜目 = ordinal.

Demonstratives: こ- refers to the current speaker/topic, そ- to the listener or just-mentioned item, あ- to shared/distant knowledge; resolve to the nearest compatible noun.

Fillers ええと and あのう signal hesitation, planning, or self-repair rather than lexical content; they can precede a correction or a delicate request.

Task-type decision: for 'what will the speaker do next', prioritize volitional and plan forms (〜つもり, 〜予定, 〜ておく, 〜ようと思う) over past-tense background information.

Referent tracking: こ/そ/あ and 前者/後者 point to recently mentioned items; 前者 = first of the last two, 後者 = second. Locate both nouns before choosing.

Scope of negation: 〜とは限らない = not necessarily; 〜わけではない = it is not that; 〜ずにはいられない = cannot help but; each changes the strength of the claim.

Formal text markers: 拝啓 opens a letter and 敬具 closes it; お世話になっております signals business correspondence; である/だ marks reports and essays.

Chart language: 割 = 10%, 倍 = times, 増減 = increase/decrease; distinguish 2倍 (twice) from 2割増 (a 20% increase).

Sequence markers: 〜たところ = upon doing, a result emerged; 〜次第 = as soon as; 〜うちに = while/before a state changes; 〜てから = after.

Nominalizers: こと marks abstract facts or nominalized clauses; の marks perceptible events/actions and can replace こと in many object positions.

Argument mapping: たとえば introduces an example, 一般に a generalization, つまり a restatement; an example is support, not the thesis.

Visual texts: headings, captions, labels, and layout carry information; a correct answer can require combining a caption with body text or a chart axis.

Register decision: です・ます signals polite prose or letters; だ・である signals reports, editorials, and academic explanation; genre cues determine the expected answer tone.

Opinion essay frame: 主張 → 理由 → 具体例 → 反論への言及 → 再主張; each paragraph should perform one function.

Causal formula: なぜなら + reason + からだ; alternatives 〜ので and 〜ため（だ） change formality, not the logical direction.

Conclusion connectives: したがって/ゆえに mark a conclusion; その一方で/一方 marks contrast; さらに marks addition.

Hedging scale: 〜かもしれない < 〜だろう < 〜はずだ < 〜に違いない; in formal writing, 〜と考えられる/〜のではないだろうか soften claims.

Normative patterns: 〜べきだ = should; 〜べきではない = should not; 〜ざるを得ない = have no choice but; the last expresses constraint, not personal preference.

Register consistency: choose です・ます or だ・である at the start; mixing within a paragraph is a register error unless deliberately quoting speech.

Keigo in writing: させていただく is humble 'I will do'; お/ご + noun or verb stem marks respect; overusing humble forms makes formal writing sound formulaic.

Comparison formula: AはBより〜; Aほど〜ない; 〜点で = in the respect that; these make criteria explicit in a justification.

Paragraph signposting: 第一に, 第二に, 最後に; 具体的には introduces detail; このように signals a summary.