Compound words · changes in ability · added versus replaced options
Read the relationship between the clauses
A sentence can explain a reason, describe a personal decision, or report a rule made by somebody else. Identify that relationship before choosing a grammar expression. Similar-looking patterns can communicate different kinds of control or change.
Build vocabulary in short phrases. 質問する is easier to retrieve in a sentence about not understanding an explanation than as an isolated English translation. Record a useful situation alongside the word.
Be precise about what a notice changes
A new option is not necessarily a replacement. In the booking example, the app adds a way to reserve a facility while telephone reservations continue. The small word も and the statement about the existing service are both evidence.
For a wrong reading answer, identify which part is unsupported. Does it say everyone, only, or must when the passage does not? Rejecting an overstatement is a useful reading habit even when you know every noun.
Worked examples
Read each question, choose an answer, and open the explanation to follow the reasoning. These examples come from the game’s original beta question set.
Kanji: distinguish similar sounds
「約束」の読み方は？
- やくそく
- やっそく
- やくぞく
- やくしょく
Show answer and explanation
Answer: やくそく
約束 is やくそく, a promise or arrangement. 役職（やくしょく）means a position at work.
Read 約束 as one word, やくそく. The distractor やくしょく belongs to a different word, 役職. Connect spelling, sound, and meaning instead of selecting a choice because it sounds familiar.
Question n3-kanji-001 · Original beta practice
Vocabulary: follow the reason
説明が分からなかったので、もう一度＿＿しました。
- 質問
- 出席
- 注文
- 出張
Show answer and explanation
Answer: 質問
質問する means ask a question, appropriate after not understanding an explanation.
分からなかったので gives the reason: the explanation was not understood. Asking a question is a response to that problem. The phrase もう一度 adds “once more” without changing the action being described.
Question n3-vocabulary-001 · Original beta practice
Grammar: show a new ability
日本に来てから、苦手だった納豆が食べられる＿＿なった。
- ように
- ことに
- ためで
- ものを
Show answer and explanation
Answer: ように
Potential form + ようになる describes a change in ability: becoming able to eat natto.
食べられる is a potential form: can eat. Combining it with ようになった describes becoming able to do something. The earlier difficulty with natto gives a clear before-and-after contrast.
Question n3-grammar-001 · Original beta practice
Reading: an additional booking method
来月から市民体育館の予約がアプリでもできるようになります。これまでの電話による予約も受け付けます。アプリでは空いている時間を確認してから申し込めるため、ぜひご利用ください。新しい予約方法について正しいものはどれですか。
- 電話予約も続けられる
- 窓口でしか予約できなくなる
- 全員がアプリを使う必要がある
- 前日にしか予約できない
Show answer and explanation
Answer: 電話予約も続けられる
The notice adds an app without removing phone reservations. It explicitly says telephone service remains.
Read アプリでも as an added option, then verify it against 電話による予約も受け付けます. Both support continued telephone booking. Nothing in the notice says every user must switch to the app.
Question n3-reading-001 · Original beta practice
Put this into practice
- Choose N3 and paraphrase a sentence’s relationship before checking its answer.
- Keep a short list of useful phrases, with one context for each, instead of isolated translations.
- In the reading category, underline the exact sentence that supports your answer and revisit mistakes in the Archive.
All five tiers are available in the Archive. Your character’s RPG level is separate from your selected Japanese practice level.