N1 用法: Abstract Words, Exact Territories
Six items at N1, and the headwords are the abstract 漢語 machinery of formal Japanese — 発足, 網羅, 還元 — plus treacherous adjectives (紛らわしい, 目覚ましい). The method is a decade old by now: profile the word's licensed subjects/objects and feeling, test each sentence for ONE violation, trust the clunk. Here are the twenty-five profiles the exam recycles.
1. The N1 Usage Profiles
| Word | Territory (○) | Trespass (✗) |
|---|---|---|
| 発足（ほっそく） | organizations launch: 委員会が発足する | machines/events don't 発足 (→始動・開始) |
| 打開（だかい） | break deadlocks: 局面・事態を打開する | not physical objects |
| 満喫（まんきつ） | savor fully: 休暇・自然を満喫する | not quick small acts (×コーヒーを満喫 — 一杯なら味わう) |
| 網羅（もうら） | exhaustively cover info: 全分野を網羅した辞典 | not physically covering (→覆う) |
| 携わる（たずさわる） | engage in work/field: 教育に携わる (person subject) | not carrying things (→携帯する・持つ) |
| 賄う（まかなう） | cover costs from limited means: 費用を寄付で賄う | not general paying (→払う) |
| 費やす（ついやす） | spend time/effort (often wastefully): 歳月を費やす | not physical consumption of food |
| 紛らわしい | confusable BECAUSE similar: 紛らわしい名前 | not merely difficult (→分かりにくい) |
| 台頭（たいとう） | rise of forces: 新勢力の台頭 | not personal promotion (→昇進) |
| 還元（かんげん） | return to the source: 利益を社会に還元する | not simple refunds (→返金) |
| 助長（じょちょう） | fosters something BAD: 不安を助長する | never for good growth (→促進) |
| 会心（かいしん） | 会心の出来・笑み・一撃 — one's own satisfying feat | not others' work; frame-bound with の |
| 一律（いちりつ） | uniformly applied: 一律に支給する | not "always" (→常に) |
| 頑丈（がんじょう） | physically sturdy: 頑丈な体・箱 | not abstract systems (→堅固・強固) |
| 円滑（えんかつ） | proceedings flow: 会議が円滑に進む | not road surfaces (→滑らか) |
| 堅実（けんじつ） | steady-reliable: 堅実な経営・生き方 | not hard objects (→硬い) |
| 束の間（つかのま） | brief moment: 束の間の休息 (noun＋の) | not a verb modifier |
| 目覚ましい | remarkable progress: 目覚ましい発展 — positive only | not for bad growth (×目覚ましい悪化) |
| 煩わしい | psychologically burdensome: 煩わしい手続き・人間関係 | not physical weight (→重い) |
| 遂行（すいこう） | execute duties: 任務を遂行する (formal) | not hobbies (→続ける・やる) |
| 老朽化（ろうきゅうか） | facilities decay: 建物の老朽化 | never people (→高齢化 for populations) |
| 拍子（ひょうし） | 〜た拍子に = in the instant of an unintended act | frame-bound; not "rhythm" contexts here |
| 抱負（ほうふ） | stated aspirations: 新年の抱負を語る | not fears/complaints (→不安・不満) |
| 動員（どういん） | mobilize numbers: 観客を動員する | not inviting one friend (→誘う) |
| 心構え（こころがまえ） | advance mental readiness: 心構えができている | not physical preparation (→準備) |
2. Anatomy of an N1 Item
助長
① 適度な運動は健康を助長する。
② 新しい制度が、かえって格差を助長する恐れがある。
③ 先生は生徒の才能を助長した。
④ 栄養をとって、体の成長を助長しましょう。
Walkthrough: 助長's profile carries a NEGATIVE object license — it fosters ills (不安, 格差, 偏見). ①③④ attach it to good things (health, talent, growth → 促進/伸ばす). ② feeds it 格差 with かえって…恐れ — textbook habitat. Answer ②. The word's dictionary gloss ("promote") betrays you; its POLARITY license saves you. That's N1 用法 in one item.
3. The Violation Checklist, Final Form
- Polarity license: 助長=bad objects, 目覚ましい=good progress, 会心=own success.
- Subject class: 発足=organizations, 老朽化=facilities, 携わる=people-in-fields, 台頭=forces.
- Object class: 打開=deadlocks, 網羅=information, 賄う=costs, 遂行=duties.
- Bound frame: 会心の＋noun, 束の間の＋noun, 〜た拍子に, 心当たりがある.
- Scale: 満喫 needs a rich experience; 動員 needs crowds; 費やす needs significant time/effort.
4. Study Method at the Summit
- Keep writing ○/✗ pairs — at N1, the ✗ corrections themselves are premium vocabulary (促進, 昇進, 堅固, 滑らか…).
- When reading editorials, flag 用法-profile words and note their live objects — the corpus you build IS the exam's question bank.
- Near-synonym clusters to keep separated: 促進/助長, 発足/発進/発端, 円滑/滑らか, 頑丈/堅実/堅固, 網羅/包括.
Summary & Key Takeaways
- N1 用法 (6 items) = abstract 漢語 territories: polarity licenses, subject/object classes, bound frames, scale.
- Flagships: 助長 (bad only), 目覚ましい (good only), 発足 (organizations), 網羅 (information), 還元 (to the source), 会心の (own feat).
- Gloss-thinking fails; license-thinking scores. The ✗-correction pairs are your best final-stretch vocabulary.