N4 用法: Meet the Usage Question
New at N4: 問題5（用法, 4 items）— a headword and four sentences, only ONE of which uses the word correctly. All four sentences are grammatical; the errors are in meaning range. This question type debuts here and follows you to N1, so learn its logic now: every word has a territory — what it can attach to, who can do it, in which scenes — and the wrong sentences trespass. The official N4 samples (けんぶつ, じゅうしょ) show exactly how.
1. The Method (Your Forever Routine)
- Profile the headword before reading options: what KIND of thing does it describe? (action by whom? on what? in which scene?)
- Check each sentence against the profile — usually one rule breaks per wrong sentence.
- The clunk test: if you learned the word inside a sentence, the right option sounds like your example; the others clunk.
2. The N4 Usage Profiles (17 words)
| Word | Territory (○) | Trespass (✗) |
|---|---|---|
| けんぶつ | watching places/festivals/events for fun: 町をけんぶつする（official） | TV → 見る; factory study-tour → けんがく |
| じゅうしょ | home/postal address: じゅうしょを書く（official） | meeting spot → 場所; e-mail → メールアドレス |
| るす | nobody home: 友だちの家はるすだった | missing class → 欠席; missing objects → ない |
| したく | immediate everyday prep: 晩ごはんのしたく | long-term prep (exams) → 準備・勉強 |
| おみまい | visiting the sick/injured: 病院へおみまいに行く | casual visits → あそびに行く; shrines → おまいり |
| けしき | natural scenery from a viewpoint: 山からのけしき | a person's looks → 顔・かっこう |
| ねっしん | people's eager attitude: ねっしんに練習する | food/weather/machines can't be ねっしん |
| さかん | thriving activity/industry: この町はサッカーがさかんだ | one person's energy → 元気; crowded shop → こんでいる |
| にがて | one's weak point: 漢字がにがてだ | food tastes bad → まずい |
| とちゅう | midway along a path/process: 行くとちゅうで雨 | the middle of a space → 真ん中 |
| やっと | finally after struggle, GOOD result: やっと終わった | merely quick → すぐ; unwanted endings → とうとう |
| なるべく | with requests/intentions: なるべく早く来て | plain degree → とても（×なるべく寒い） |
| きびしい | strict people/rules; severe conditions: きびしい先生／寒さ | hard problems → むずかしい |
| こまかい | fine pieces/details; small change: お金をこまかくする | narrow room → せまい; slim person → やせている |
| つごう | personal convenience: あしたはつごうが悪い | an object's handiness → べんり |
| りよう | using services/facilities: としょかんをりようする | small objects → 使う; eating → 食べる |
| おれい | thanks (words or gift): 先生におれいを言う | apology → あやまる・おわび |
3. Anatomy of an Item (Official-Style)
けんぶつ
① きのう、テレビで サッカーの しあいを けんぶつしました。
② 日曜日、京都の 町を けんぶつしました。
③ 来週、パンの 工場を けんぶつする よていです。
④ じしょで ことばの いみを けんぶつしました。
Profile: watching PLACES/events for pleasure, in person. ① is TV → 見る; ③ is a study visit → けんがく; ④ is looking up → しらべる. Answer ②. Three trespasses, three different neighboring words — the pattern to expect every time.
4. The Violation Checklist
- Wrong scene: けんぶつ at a factory, おみまい at a friend's party.
- Wrong target: ねっしん weather, けしき for faces, りよう for sandwiches.
- Cousin-theft: the sentence wants the neighbor word — るす/欠席, したく/準備, きびしい/むずかしい, こまかい/せまい. Most wrong sentences are a cousin's home.
- Feeling mismatch: やっと with bad outcomes; つごう for objects.
5. Building the Skill
- For each new word, record ○ and ✗ examples together: ○山のけしき／×彼のけしき→顔. The boundary IS the knowledge.
- When 文脈規定 practice offers near-synonyms, note WHY the others failed — that reasoning is 用法 prep.
- Read the four sentences fully before judging; N4 hides the violation at the sentence's end.
Summary & Key Takeaways
- 用法 (4 items, new at N4): pick the one sentence where the headword lives inside its territory.
- Method: profile → check each sentence for ONE broken rule → clunk test.
- Know the 17 N4 profiles, especially the cousin splits: けんぶつ/けんがく, るす/欠席, したく/準備, きびしい/むずかしい, こまかい/せまい, りよう/使う.
- Study boundaries (○/✗ pairs), not translations — this habit carries you through N3-N1's harder 用法 blocks.