N2 用法: Word Territories, Professional Grade
The usage question (5 items) at N2 moves into abstract vocabulary — 把握, 発揮, 生じる — where territories are subtler and translation intuition fails hardest. The method is unchanged (profile → test → clunk-check); what upgrades is the profile database. Here are the twenty N2 words the exam most loves to test, each with its frame and its trespass.
1. The N2 Usage Profiles
| Word | Territory (○) | Trespass (✗) |
|---|---|---|
| 心当たり | 心当たりがある／ない — an inkling of where/who/why | not physical searching (→探す) |
| 発揮 | 力・実力・能力を発揮する | not showing objects (→見せる) |
| 把握 | 状況・内容・現状を把握する (grasp mentally) | not physical grabbing (→つかむ) |
| 募集 | organizations recruit: 参加者を募集する | people APPLY = 応募する; not 会社を募集 |
| 補う | make up a LACK: 不足・欠点を補う | not general adding (→加える) |
| 目安 | rough yardstick: 一日30分を目安に | not a physical target (→目標／的) |
| 行方 | 行方が分からない・行方不明 (whereabouts) | subject is the missing one, not the searcher |
| 台無し | ruined: 雨で計画が台無しになった | a resulting state — not an action verb |
| 融通 | 融通が利く (flexible); お金を融通する (lend) | not "convenient" (→便利) |
| 人一倍 | more than others: 人一倍努力する | modifies effort/feeling, not literal ×2 quantities |
| 心強い | reassured BY support: 経験者がいて心強い | not "strong-willed" (→意志が強い) |
| 頼もしい | dependable-promising (person): 頼もしい若者 | not for tools (→頼りになる is wider) |
| 生じる | problems/effects arise: 問題・誤解が生じる (formal) | not people appearing (→現れる) |
| 逃す | miss a chance: チャンス・機会を逃す | ≠逃げる (flee); the chance escapes, not you |
| 思い切って | one bold plunge: 思い切って告白した | not habitual effort (→一生懸命) |
| いったん | once/temporarily: いったん帰ってから出直す | not "once upon a time" (→かつて) |
| せめて | minimum WISH ＋ぐらい/でも: せめて電話ぐらいして | objective minimums take 少なくとも |
| 早速 | promptly acting on something new: 早速使ってみた | voluntary+positive; not 突然 (external sudden) |
| 一斉に | many actors simultaneously: 一斉に立ち上がった | one actor acting fast = さっと／一気に |
| 今にも | on the verge ＋そうだ: 今にも降り出しそうだ | needs imminent-appearance form; not "even now" |
2. Anatomy of an N2 Item
発揮
① 新しいパソコンの機能を発揮に使っている。
② 彼は決勝戦で実力を十分に発揮した。
③ 窓を開けて、部屋の空気を発揮した。
④ 彼女は自分の意見をはっきり発揮した。
Walkthrough: profile — 発揮 takes 力・実力・能力・才能を…する: inner capability released outward. ② matches perfectly (実力を発揮). ① garbles the frame grammatically-ish but uses a machine's functions (→活用); ③ wants 換気 (the sound-alike trap — 発揮/換気!); ④ wants 表明・主張. Answer ②. New at N2: sound-alike lures (発揮/換気) join the recipe list.
3. The Violation Types, N2 Edition
- Wrong object class: 把握 with physical objects; 補う without a lack; 発揮 with machines.
- Wrong subject: 募集 by an applicant; 行方 with the searcher as subject; 生じる with people.
- Frame break: 心当たり without がある/ない; 目安 without に; 今にも without そうだ; せめて without ぐらい/でも.
- Cousin theft: 思い切って/一生懸命, 早速/突然, せめて/少なくとも, 一斉に/一気に — the sharpest N2 splits.
- Sound-alike lures: 発揮/換気-style phonetic neighbors baked into wrong sentences.
4. Study Method
- Record ○/✗ pairs with corrections — ×友達を募集する→○探す — the boundary is the lesson.
- For every abstract 漢語 word, note its 2-3 licensed objects (発揮→実力・能力; 把握→状況・内容). Licensed-object lists ARE the territory.
- Frame words (心当たり, 目安, 今にも, せめて) get memorized WITH their frames, never bare.
Summary & Key Takeaways
- N2 用法 = abstract-word territories: licensed objects (発揮→実力), required frames (今にも〜そうだ), subject rules (募集=organizations).
- Five violation types now include sound-alike lures; name the violation, kill the option.
- The cousin splits to master: 思い切って/一生懸命, 早速/突然, せめて/少なくとも, 一斉に/一気に, 逃す/逃げる.
- Boundaries over translations, licensed objects over glosses — the N2 vocabulary philosophy in one line.