In the Script and Vocabulary section, the wrong answers are not random. Each one is built from a specific confusion, and the most productive confusion for an examiner is two kanji that look almost the same.
Knowing the pairs in advance is worth several marks.
Shared component, different word
| Pair | Readings | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 電車 / 電話 | でんしゃ / でんわ | train / telephone |
| 会社 / 会話 | かいしゃ / かいわ | company / conversation |
| 休み / 体 | やすみ / からだ | rest / body |
| 待つ / 持つ | まつ / もつ | wait / hold |
| 白い / 百 | しろい / ひゃく | white / hundred |
| 午前 / 午後 | ごぜん / ごご | morning / afternoon |
待つ and 持つ differ by three strokes and appear constantly in workplace sentences. If you learn one pair from this page, learn that one.
Similar shape, unrelated meaning
土 and 士, 人 and 入, 日 and 目, 千 and 干, 大 and 犬, 未 and 末.
入 (enter) and 人 (person) is the pair that appears most: 入口 (entrance) against 一人 (one person).
Same kanji, different reading
This is the other half of the section, and it is harder than shape confusion because there is nothing to see:
- 一人 is ひとり, not いちにん
- 二人 is ふたり
- 今日 is きょう; 今月 is こんげつ
- 上手 is じょうず; 下手 is へた
- 一日 is ついたち as a date, いちにち as a duration
These are exactly the irregular readings dates and days drills.
How to study them
Not by staring at them. By contrasting them:
- Put the pair on one card, not two. 待つ / 持つ together, with a sentence for each.
- Learn the sentence, not the character. 駅で待ちます against 荷物を持ちます.
- Test recognition at speed. If you need two seconds to decide, the exam will cost you the time even when you eventually get it right.
You are never asked to write kanji on this exam - see kanji requirements. Recognition at speed is the entire skill.
Find your own pairs
The pairs above are the common ones, but your errors are more useful than anyone’s list. Every time a mock catches you with a look-alike, put the pair on one card that evening.
Our free exam demo runs a full twelve-question Script and Vocabulary section with distractors built exactly this way, and the practice test explains why each wrong option was attractive - which is the information you need to stop falling for it.