NZ Scholarship Japanese flashcards

31 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Discourse marker 要するに

Means 'in short' or 'to sum up'. It signals that the speaker is restating the core point, so the following clause often contains the answer in listening summary tasks.

Contracted form 〜ちゃう

Spoken contraction of 〜てしまう, expressing completion or regret. Recognising it prevents misparsing fast speech, e.g. 食べちゃった equals 食べてしまった.

Humble 伺う

謙譲語 of 行く, 来る, and 聞く. Used when the speaker visits or asks a superior, e.g. 明日、お宅へ伺います. Distinct from respectful いらっしゃる.

Respectful いらっしゃる

尊敬語 covering いる, 行く, and 来る for the addressee or a third party of higher status. Example: 先生はどちらにいらっしゃいますか.

Counter 〜目 versus 〜回

〜目 marks ordinal position (三つ目, third one); 〜回 marks frequency (三回, three times). Listening questions often contrast these in scheduling or quantity items.

Decision point そこで

Conjunction meaning 'therefore/so then'. In dialogue it often precedes the speaker's chosen action, making it a cue for 'what will they do next' questions.

Falling よね

Sentence-final particle combination seeking confirmation or shared agreement. It presupposes the listener agrees, unlike neutral か, which asks an open question.

だ・である体

Plain-style written register used in essays, reports, and editorials. Signals academic or journalistic prose, contrasted with です・ます体 used in polite correspondence and notices.

Claim marker にほかならない

Means 'is nothing other than'. It emphatically asserts the author's core claim, marking the sentence as a likely target for main-idea questions.

Contrast とはいえ

Means 'that said' or 'although'. It concedes a point before the author restates a qualified position, often introducing the passage's real argument.

前者 and 後者

Literally 'the former' and 'the latter'. They refer to two items just mentioned in order; reference questions require mapping each to the correct preceding noun phrase.

Concession ただし

Means 'however/provided that'. In notices and conditions it introduces an exception, so answers must be checked against the clause following it.

Scanning 対象 and 締め切り

Key notice vocabulary: 対象 means eligible persons or items, 締め切り means deadline. Locating these before reading details speeds up table and advertisement tasks.

Paragraph role 具体例

A paragraph functioning as concrete example. Such paragraphs support a preceding general claim and are rarely the location of the author's main conclusion.

Kanji 増える versus 増やす

Intransitive 増える means 'to increase' by itself; transitive 増やす means 'to increase something'. The particle を marks the transitive verb.

Conditional と

Expresses natural or automatic consequence, e.g. 押すと開く. Unlike ば or たら, it cannot normally precede a request or invitation.

Conditional なら

Marks a condition based on what the listener has said, meaning 'if that is the case'. It often introduces advice or a counter-suggestion.

Essay connector したがって

Formal conjunction meaning 'therefore'. It introduces a logical conclusion in だ・である essays and signals the writer's final position.

Letter opening お世話になっております

Standard formal greeting in business correspondence, roughly 'thank you for your continued support'. Used before the main content in emails and letters.

Request ご検討いただけますと幸いです

Polite written request meaning 'we would appreciate your consideration'. Combines humble 検討 with いただける and 幸いです for softened indirectness.

Okurigana error 行う

The standard spelling is 行う, not 行なう. Scholarship writing penalises inconsistent okurigana, so fixed forms must be memorised.

Register である体

Plain written register ending sentences in である or verb plain forms. Required for academic essays; mixing it with です・ます within one text is an error.

Uchi and soto

The in-group versus out-group distinction. Own family and colleagues are uchi and take humble forms even if senior; customers and strangers are soto and take respectful forms.

Indirect refusal 検討します

Literally 'we will consider it'. In formal Japanese negotiation it frequently implies a polite refusal or non-commitment rather than genuine intent to proceed.

Aizuchi 相槌

Backchannel responses such as はい, ええ, そうですね. They signal active listening and do not necessarily indicate agreement with the speaker's content.

本音 and 建前

本音 is one's true feeling; 建前 is the public or socially appropriate stance. Cultural passages often describe tension between the two in Japanese communication.

空気を読む

Means 'reading the atmosphere', inferring unspoken expectations from context. It explains indirect speech and the avoidance of explicit refusal in group settings.

謙譲語 差し上げる

Humble form of あげる, used when giving something to a superior. Its respectful counterpart for a superior's giving is くださる.

年賀状 custom

New Year greeting postcards delivered on 1 January. Understanding seasonal customs helps interpret passages about 正月, family visits, and お年玉.

就職活動

Job-hunting conducted by university students, typically in the final year. It recurs in passages on youth, education, and workplace culture.

Meishi exchange etiquette

Business cards are received with both hands, read carefully, and stored respectfully. Address the person by surname plus 様 in formal written correspondence.