N4 表記: Writing Precision at 300 Kanji
問題2（表記, 5 items）at N4 keeps N5's game — hiragana word in, correct writing out — but the kanji pool has tripled, so look-alike traps multiply and okurigana precision becomes a scoring skill. This chapter drills the N4 look-alike sets, the okurigana rules for the new verbs and adjectives, and the katakana fine points.
1. The N4 Look-alike Sets
| Set | How to split them |
|---|---|
| 待・持 | 彳 (road) waits: 待つ; 扌 (hand) holds: 持つ. まちます／もちます options love these. |
| 貸・借 | 貸す lend (money 貝 goes out via 代), 借りる borrow (person 亻 takes). Direction verbs AND look-alikes — double trap. |
| 熱・暑 | 熱 hot to touch (fire dots 灬 under it); 暑 hot weather (sun 日 on top). あつい writes THREE ways with 厚い (thick) — context rules. |
| 帰・婦 | 帰る return home; 婦 woman (in 夫婦) — the right sides match (帚); the LEFT sides differ (リ-like element vs 女). |
| 犬・大・太 | dog has the drop top-right; fat has it inside; big has none. N5 review that N4 still recycles. |
| 買・売・読 | 買う buy (net over shell); 売る sell (士 on top); 読 read (言 + 売). |
| 教・数 | 教える teach; 数 number — both end in 攵; left sides decide. |
| 族・旅 | 家族 family vs 旅行 travel — both wave the 方-flag; the right-bottom differs (矢 vs 衣-like legs). |
| 特・持・時 | 特に (cow 牛), 持つ (hand 扌), 時間 (sun 日) — the left radical names the word. |
| 究・空 | both wear the cave 穴; 究 ends in 九, 空 in 工. |
| 員・買 | 店員's 員 = mouth 口 over shell 貝; no net on top. |
| 始・姉 | both carry 女: 始める begins (台), 姉 elder sister (市). |
Method (unchanged, now vital): recall the writing YOURSELF from the hiragana, then verify each option's danger zone — the one component that differs.
2. Okurigana with the New Verbs
| Reading | Correct | Typical wrong option |
|---|---|---|
| おきる | 起きる | 起る ✗ |
| かんがえる | 考える | 考る ✗ |
| おしえる | 教える | 教る ✗ |
| あつまる | 集まる | 集る ✗ |
| はじまる／はじめる | 始まる／始める | 始る ✗ — and the transitivity pair rides along! |
| おわる | 終わる | 終る（old style — not the exam answer） |
| うごく | 動く | 動ごく ✗ |
| はしる | 走る | 走しる ✗ |
| ただしい | 正しい | 正い ✗ |
| あかるい | 明るい | 明い ✗ |
| おなじ | 同じ | 同なじ ✗ |
The rule stays golden: the conjugating tail is kana. Check by conjugating: 明るくない keeps る visible → 明るい.
3. Transitivity Pairs in Writing
N4's pair verbs share kanji but split okurigana — and 表記 tests exactly the split: 始まる/始める, 集まる/集める, 止まる/止める, 開く/開ける. The sentence's particle tells you which: 会議が（始まる）, 会議を（始める）. Read the particle BEFORE choosing the option — a が sentence with 始める is wrong even though the kanji matches.
4. Katakana Fine Points at N4
- Longer words, more ー and ッ landmines: エスカレーター, アルバイト, コンサート, レポート, スーツケース, プレゼント, サンドイッチ, アクセサリー.
- Sound-alike pairs: バス/パス, ビル/ビール, カード/ガード — one mark, different word.
- Hybrid spellings tested: ワイシャツ, テキスト, パソコン.
5. Worked Examples
としょかんで 本を かります。
① 貸ります ② 借ります ③ 買ります ④ 待ります → ②: borrow = 借; ① is the direction-twin (lend), ③④ are shape-twins. Direction + shape in one item — the N4 signature.
まいあさ 6じに おきます。
① 起ます ② 起きます ③ 走きます ④ 置きます → ②: okurigana き must show (起きる is Group 2); ④ swaps in the homophone おきます (置く, to put) — read the sentence: waking at 6, not putting!
Summary & Key Takeaways
- N4 表記 = tripled kanji pool: look-alike sets (待/持, 貸/借, 熱/暑/厚, 特/持/時…), okurigana precision, and transitivity-pair spellings.
- Radicals tell the story: hand 扌 holds, road 彳 waits, fire 灬 heats, sun 日 times.
- Particle before the blank chooses between pair verbs (が始まる／を始める).
- Homophones enter the game (おきる: 起きる/置きます contexts) — meaning first, then shape.
- Reconstruct-then-verify remains the method; the danger zone is one component per option.