· 7 lists · 281 words
Thinking and arguing
Reasons, results, opinions — and the words that carry an essay.
What holds these lists together
These lists have no subject of their own; they have a procedure. An opinion in Japanese is usually softened, and the softening is built into the grammar: と思います, のではないでしょうか and と言えるだろう each put a claim forward while leaving the listener room to disagree. Leaving them out sounds blunter than the same sentence would in English; the skill is choosing how much to put in. The written half of these lists — abstract nouns and formal verbs — is the vocabulary of reports and essays, where the spoken だから becomes したがって and でも becomes しかし, and that switch is most of what makes a text sound written.
The seven lists
Spread across the levels
The category runs across the levels — it is an area, not a difficulty. If you practise it, you can also choose a level at the top of the practice page and then get only the part that sits there.
| Level | Words | Share |
|---|---|---|
| N4 | 7 | 2 % |
| N3 | 87 | 31 % |
| N2 | 187 | 67 % |
Practise this category
Multiple choice and gaps, across all seven lists and all 281 words. Whatever you get wrong comes back tomorrow.