6.1 語彙・文法: Vocabulary in Context

6.1 語彙・文法: Vocabulary in Context

Part 3 of the BJT Reading Comprehension section opens with 語彙・文法問題 (Vocabulary and Grammar), a series of single-sentence fill-in-the-blank items. Each item presents one short Japanese sentence with one blank and four options. The questions look small, but they test a layered skill: recognizing register, polarity, collocation, and word-formation all at once.

Section Format and What Is Being Tested

Each item is one sentence long. The blank is a single word or short compound. Three of the four options are real Japanese words that look plausible in isolation; only one satisfies both grammar and meaning in context. Timing pressure is real — Section 1 is paced roughly 30 seconds per item — so the test rewards instant recognition of high-frequency business compounds rather than slow analytical reading.

The vocabulary is not general literary Japanese. It leans heavily on three families: (1) 複合語・派生語 built on common verbs like 使う, 見る, 行く, 読む, 考える; (2) 漢語 compounds used in business documents such as 見込み, 見通し, 検討, 審議, 是正; and (3) 類義語 pairs where the difference is one of register or polarity (おかげ vs せい, 改善 vs 是正, 検討 vs 審議).

Vocabulary Categories Most Often Tested

Strategy 1: Read the Whole Sentence First

The single most common mistake is jumping to the blank before reading the tail of the sentence. In BJT items, the deciding clue is almost always after the blank, not before. In the first official sample — 「やれやれ、やっと終わったか。みんなががんばってくれた[ ]で、納期に間に合いそうだよ」 — the blank is a cause marker, but which one is decided by the positive outcome 「納期に間に合いそう」 (likely to make the deadline). A positive outcome selects おかげで; a negative outcome would select せいで. Read the full sentence first, identify the outcome's polarity, and only then choose.

Strategy 2: Match Register

BJT sentences are usually written-style business Japanese. Colloquial synonyms are traps. 検討する (formal: examine or consider) is correct in a business sentence; 考える (neutral: think about) is too casual. 配慮 (formal: consideration given to someone) belongs in a customer-facing sentence; 気遣い (casual: concern) belongs in a personal email. If the surrounding sentence uses させていただく, いたします, 申し上げます, or ご…します, the answer must be the formal synonym in the option set.

Strategy 3: Eliminate Non-Words

The test regularly inserts a non-word that looks like a real compound. In the third official sample — 「このデータも[ ]によっては、何かの役に立つのではないかと思いますが」 — the options include 使いはじめ, 使いみち, 使いよう, and 使いづくめ. 使いづくめ follows the productive V-stem + づくめ pattern (cf. 赤づくめ, 幸せづくめ) but is not an established Japanese word. The correct answer, 使いよう, means 「depending on how it is used」 and is part of the fixed phrase 使いようによっては. When two options look like parallel compounds, check whether both are attested words before choosing.

Strategy 4: Watch the Verb Form Before the Blank

Many vocabulary items are governed by the verb or particle immediately before the blank. 〜て以来 requires the て-form; a stem or dictionary form before 以来 is grammatically wrong. 〜際に needs a noun-modifying form before 際; 〜際の needs a noun. 〜上で takes the た-form for 「after doing」 and the stem for 「in the course of.」 Before choosing, identify the verb form to the left of the blank and confirm the option matches it.

Worked Official Examples

1. 「みんなががんばってくれた[ ]で、納期に間に合いそうだよ」 → おかげ. The outcome (間に合いそう) is positive; the cause marker for positive outcomes is おかげで. せい would imply blame. ごくろうさま and おせわさま are greetings, not cause markers, and cannot be followed by で in this construction.
2. 「住民運動の反対を押しきって[ ]、工場建設をすすめくるのはいかがなものかと思います」 → まで. The sentence ends in いかがなものか (a negative judgment). てまで means 「going so far as to.」 The positive alternatives てこそ and てのみ are wrong because the speaker is criticizing the action. てだけ is grammatically possible but does not carry the excessive nuance the sentence requires.
3. 「このデータも[ ]によっては、何かの役に立つのではないかと思いますが」 → 使いよう. The phrase 使いようによっては is a fixed expression meaning 「depending on how it is used.」 使いみち (use) does not take によっては. 使いはじめ (start of use) is semantically wrong. 使いづくめ is not a real word.

High-Frequency BJT Vocabulary Table

Practice Strategy

Build a personal list of 25–30 compound families (使い-, 見-, 行き-, 読み-, 考え-) and quiz yourself on which members are attested words. For each 類義語 pair, write a one-line polarity note (おかげ = +, せい = −). When drilling, force yourself to read the tail of the sentence before looking at the options — the test punishes blank-first readers.