Conversation and Expression (ไผ่ฉฑใจ่กจ็พ) is the section that catches people who have studied Japanese entirely from a textbook.
It does not test grammar. It tests whether you would say the appropriate thing. Two options can both be grammatically perfect and only one is right, because the other one is rude, or is an instruction when you meant to offer, or is what the other person would say rather than you.
What it asks
Around twelve questions. The typical shape is a one-line situation followed by four things you might say:
You have finished work and are leaving before your section head. What do you say?
And then four candidate phrases. The situations are drawn from daily life and, heavily, from the workplace: arriving late, asking permission, offering help, apologising, receiving an instruction, declining politely.
Politeness level decides most of them
This is the single most useful thing to understand about the section. Japanese encodes your relationship to the listener in the verb, and the exam tests whether you have noticed.
| You want to | Correct shape | Common wrong answer |
|---|---|---|
| Offer to do something | ใใพใใใใ | ใใฆใใ ใใ (an order) |
| Ask permission | ใใฆใใใใงใใ | ใใฆใใ ใใ |
| Apologise for your own action | ใใฟใพใใ / ็ณใ่จณใใใพใใ | a greeting |
| Leave before others | ใๅ ใซๅคฑ็คผใใพใ | telling them to leave |
Notice the pattern in the wrong answers: they are the right words pointed in the wrong direction. ใใฃใฆใใ ใใ does not offer to carry a bag โ it tells the other person to carry it.
The fixed phrases are not optional
A large part of everyday Japanese at this level is set expressions that are used whole and are not assembled from grammar. ใใใใซ ใใคใใใใพใ. ใใคใใใใพใงใ. ใใคใใใใพใ. ใใใ ใใพใ. ใใใใ ใใญใใใใพใ.
You cannot derive these. You learn them as units, attached to the situation that triggers them, and the exam expects you to recognise them instantly. If you have been studying grammar rules and not phrases, this is the section where that shows.
How to prepare for it
Learn phrases attached to situations, not to translations. โใใใใซ ใใคใใใใพใ = excuse me for leaving firstโ is a translation. โใใใใซ ใใคใใใใพใ = what you say when you leave the office before your colleaguesโ is usable knowledge.
Pay attention to who is doing what. Before choosing, ask: am I offering, requesting, apologising, or receiving? Half the wrong answers are eliminated by that question alone.
Watch the workplace register. A striking proportion of these questions are set at work, because the exam exists to establish that you can function in a Japanese workplace. Your textbook may be weighted towards student life. Rebalance.
Say them out loud. These are spoken expressions, and reading them silently is a weaker form of practice than producing them. This overlaps usefully with shadowing.
How to test yourself
The free practice test includes Conversation and Expression items with an explanation for every answer in your own language, so you can see why a grammatically acceptable option was still wrong. That explanation is the part that transfers to the next question.
If you are trying to decide how much of your remaining time this section deserves, remember there is no per-section minimum on JFT-Basic โ see what 200 points actually means.