N4 Vocabulary in Context (文脈規定)
文脈規定 (context) is the JLPT N4 vocabulary task where a sentence has a blank and you choose the word that fits. It's less about translating a word in isolation and more about feeling which word the sentence is actually reaching for.
How the question works
You read a sentence with one word removed and pick from four candidates. All four usually fit grammatically — the test is meaning. The wrong options are real N4 words, and several share a kanji with the answer, so they stay tempting until you check the sense of the whole sentence.
This sub-section rewards readers who take in the entire sentence rather than just the words around the blank, because the right choice often depends on the overall situation.
Strategy & common traps
Read the whole sentence first and predict the meaning of the missing word before looking at the options — then find the choice that matches your prediction. The most common mistake is grabbing a word that shares a kanji with something else in the sentence; the JLPT loves that bait.
Watch collocations, too. Many N4 words travel with specific partners (a verb that only goes with a certain noun, an adverb that pairs with a particular adjective). If a choice creates an unnatural pairing, it's almost certainly wrong even if the meaning is roughly close.
About this N4 drill
The 214 sentences here come from real N4 example data, and the distractors favour words that share a kanji with the answer — the same kind of plausible bait the real test uses. Every answer comes with the word's reading and meaning so a wrong guess turns into a fast lesson.
Practice now
Choose the word that best fits the blank.
彼は辛党だから、＿＿＿にはワインがいいだろう。
He's a drinker, so wine would probably be good for a souvenir.