How JFT-Basic wrong options are built, and how to use that

Every multiple-choice question has one right option and some wrong ones. On a well-made test, the wrong ones are not random. Each was written to catch a particular mistake.

Test writers call them distractors. Once you know the five ways they are usually built, you start to see them coming - and you stop choosing an option just because it looks familiar.

1. The near-miss reading

This is the classic Script and Vocabulary distractor. The kanji is right there, and the options are three readings that differ by one sound.

「病院」に行きます。 びょういん / びよういん / びょうい

The right answer is びょういん. びよういん is a real word too - 美容院, a hair salon - which is exactly why it is there. びょうい drops the final ん.

The near-miss tests whether you know the word precisely or only roughly. If two options look the same at a glance, the difference between them is the question. Slow down, sound each one out in your head, and compare them sound by sound. The common traps are listed in kanji reading traps.

2. Right grammar, wrong meaning

This is the Conversation and Expression favourite. All three options are perfect Japanese. Only one does the job the situation asks for.

Your section head is carrying a heavy box. What do you say? 持ちましょうか / 持ってください / 持ちませんか

持ちましょうか offers to carry it. 持ってください tells them to carry it. 持ちませんか invites them to carry it, as if it were a pleasant activity. Nothing is wrong with the grammar of any of them.

So do not ask “is this correct Japanese?” Ask “is this what I would say, to this person, right now?” Who is speaking, to whom, and what they want - the Conversation and Expression guide covers this in depth.

3. The first-mentioned trap

In listening, the first thing mentioned is often not the answer. It is mentioned so that it can be wrong.

男：じゃあ、駅の前で会いましょうか。 女：うーん、駅の前は人が多いから、駅の中のコンビニの前はどうですか。 男：いいですね。そうしましょう。

Where will they meet? Not 駅の前, although you heard it first and clearly. They meet in front of the convenience store inside the station.

The same pattern appears in lists: 「牛乳と卵を買ってきて。あ、卵はまだあった」. You are buying only milk.

Do not lock in an answer the moment you hear a word from the options. Hold it loosely until the clip ends.

4. The changed plan

A close cousin of the first-mentioned trap. A plan is made and then changed, and every version of the plan is among the options.

女：会議は3時からです。あ、すみません、4時からに変わりました。

Both 3時 and 4時 will be options. The words to listen for are じゃなくて, やっぱり, じゃあ, and 変わりました. The whole pattern has its own guide: changes of plan in listening.

5. The true but irrelevant fact

In reading, a wrong option is often a true statement from the text that does not answer the question. The notice really does say the office opens at 9:00. But the question asked when you must submit the form, and the answer is 金曜日の5時までに.

Check every option against the question, not just against the text. Being true is not enough.

How to use this

Knowing the patterns changes how you answer:

• When one option jumps out instantly, check why. Sometimes it is right. Sometimes it is the option written to jump out.
• Eliminate by pattern. If you can name why an option is there - “that is the old time”, “that is the hair salon” - cross it off.
• Choose between what is left. With one distractor gone, a guess between two is far better odds than a guess between three. There is no penalty for a wrong answer, so never leave a blank - see guessing on JFT-Basic.

A warning, though. The first-mentioned option is sometimes right. The patterns raise your suspicion; they do not decide the answer for you. Listen and read to the end, every time.

Practise spotting them

The best place to learn distractors is your own mistakes. After each of our ten free mock exams, read the answer guide - mock exam 1 is a good start - and for every wrong answer, name which pattern caught you.

After three or four mocks you will notice you fall for the same one or two patterns again and again. That is the most useful thing a mock can tell you. The full method is in how to review a mock test.