N5–N1 Word Usage (用法)

How the question works

You're given a word and four sentences that all contain it. Three put the word somewhere it doesn't belong — the meaning is off, or it collides with the rest of the sentence — and one uses it the way a native speaker would. Your job is to spot the natural one.

This is where shallow knowledge gets exposed: you might know a word's gloss and still pick wrong if you've never seen how it's really used.

Strategy & common traps

Don't just check whether the sentence is grammatical — all four often are. Ask instead: does this word's meaning genuinely match what the sentence is describing? The wrong options usually drop the word into a context meant for a different word entirely.

Pay attention to what kind of thing the word applies to. A word that describes people won't fit a sentence about objects; a word for abstract change won't fit a concrete physical action. Mismatches like these are the giveaway.

About this N5–N1 drill

The 1036 questions pair each word's real example sentence with three "forced" sentences, where the word has been dropped into another word's sentence — exactly the kind of unnatural usage the exam asks you to reject. The explanation confirms the word's meaning so you can see why the right sentence works.

At N5 (109 questions)

At N5 the four sentences differ fairly obviously, so spotting the natural one comes down to knowing the core meaning.

At N4 (212 questions)

At N4 the wrong sentences get more plausible, and you have to check what kind of thing the word can actually apply to.

At N3 (243 questions)

At N3 collocation and transitivity decide it — the word is often dropped into a slot meant for its intransitive partner.

At N2 (235 questions)

At N2 every distractor sentence is grammatical and on-topic, so only a real feel for the word's range separates them.

At N1 (237 questions)

At N1 usage turns on subtle connotation and register, the hardest thing to judge without genuine exposure.