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6.1 語彙・文法: Vocabulary in Context

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BJT Business Japanese Proficiency Test BJTビジネス日本語能力テスト

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1 Introduction & Exam Overview

1.1 About the BJT Business Japanese Proficiency Test 1.2 Test Structure, Scoring, and Levels (J5–J1+) 1.3 How to Use This Study Guide

2 Keigo Foundation: The Honorific System

2.1 The Three Keigo Categories: Sonkeigo, Kenjougo, Teineigo 2.2 Sonkeigo (Respectful Language) — Forms and Use 2.3 Kenjougo (Humble Language) — Forms and Use 2.4 Teineigo (Polite Language) and Business Set Phrases

3 Business Vocabulary and Grammar

3.1 Core Business Vocabulary: 役職, 部署, 会社生活 3.2 Honorific Prefixes お/ご, Counters, and Suffixes 3.3 Key Grammar Patterns for Business (～てまで, ～による, ～かねる, ～次第, ～際) 3.4 Fixed Business Expressions and Email Formulae (頭語, 結語, クッション言葉)

4 Part 1: Listening Comprehension (聴解)

4.1 場面把握問題: Photo Scene Comprehension 4.2 発言聴解問題: Keigo Greetings and Replies 4.3 総合聴解問題: Workplace Dialogues and Meetings 4.4 Listening for Numbers, Dates, and Decisions — Traps and Strategies

5 Part 2: Listening & Reading Comprehension (聴読解)

5.1 状況把握問題: Situation Comprehension (Photo + Audio) 5.2 資料聴読解問題: Graphs, Charts, and Tables 5.3 資料聴読解問題: Schedules, Advertisements, and Quotations 5.4 総合聴読解問題: Long Document/Audio Pairs and Time Management

6 Part 3 Reading: Vocabulary, Grammar, and Expressions

6.1 語彙・文法: Vocabulary in Context 6.2 語彙・文法: Grammar in Business Sentences 6.3 表現読解: Choosing the Right Honorific Form 6.4 表現読解: Business Set Phrases in Writing

7 Part 3 Reading: Comprehensive Reading

7.1 総合読解: Business Emails 7.2 総合読解: Internal Notices, Memos, and Meeting Minutes 7.3 総合読解: Reports and News Articles 7.4 Reading Strategy: Skim, Locate, Infer

8 Test-Day Strategy and Final Review

8.1 CBT Test-Day Logistics, ID, and NDA 8.2 Pacing Across the Three Parts 8.3 Common Traps and Distractor Patterns 8.4 Three-Month Study Plan and Final Review

6.1 語彙・文法: Vocabulary in Context

Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI

BJT Part 3 Section 1 items are single-sentence fill-in-the-blank with one blank and four options, paced roughly 30 seconds per item.

Positive outcome clauses take おかげで while negative outcome clauses take せいで — polarity is the single most common deciding cue.

The phrase 使いようによっては is a fixed expression meaning depending on how it is used; 使いづくめ is not an attested Japanese word.

Register mismatches such as 考える for 検討する in a formal business sentence are standard distractors.

Reading the clause after the blank first is the fastest reliable strategy because the deciding clue is almost always there.

Last updated: July 2026

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

  • Category Example items What the test checks
  • 複合語 / 派生語 使いよう, 使いみち, 使い分け, 使い走り, 亮え方 Whether you know which compound actually exists and what it means
  • 漢語 compounds 見込み, 見通し, 見送り, 見計らい; 行き届く, 行き過ぎ, 行き詰まる, 行き違い Fine distinctions between similar kanji compounds

類義語 おかげ vs せい; 期待 vs 要望 vs 希望 vs 願望; 改善 vs 是正 vs 修正; 検討 vs 審議 vs 協議; 決定 vs 決裁 vs 決議 Register and polarity/valence differences

ビジネス語彙 業績, 決算, 経常利益, 売上高, 見積書, 請求書, 納品書, 仕様書, 納期, 検収, 受領, 督促, 締め切り, 有効期限 Document and process vocabulary unique to business

  • 形式語彙 次第, 際, 折, 上下, 由, 折には, 上は, 以来, つつ, ついでに Formal written-style particles and connectors
  • 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

「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.

「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.

「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

  • Word Reading Meaning Example collocation
  • おかげ okage thanks to (positive) おかげで間に合った
  • せい sei because of (negative) 雨のせいで延期
  • 使いよう tsukaiyou how used 使いようによっては
  • 使い分け tsukaiwake discriminating use ツールを使い分ける
  • 見込み mikomi prospect or estimate 完成の見込みがある
  • 見通し mitooshi outlook 先が見通せない
  • 見送り miokuri sending off or postponement 採用を見送る
  • 見計らい mihakarai timing judgment 潮時を見計らう
  • 行き届く ikidoku thorough 細部に行き届く
  • 行き詰まる ikizumaru come to a standstill 交渉が行き詰まる
  • 行き違い ikichigai miscommunication 行き違いが生じる
  • 検討 kentou examine or consider 検討いたします
  • 審議 shin'i deliberate 審議が行われる
  • 是正 zesei correct (formal) 是正措置
  • 決裁 kessai formal approval 決裁を仰ぐ
  • 納期 nouki delivery deadline 納期に間に合う
  • 検収 kenshuu inspection on receipt 検収を完了する
  • 督促 tokusoku urging 督促状を送る
  • 締め切り shimekiri deadline 締め切り厳守
  • 有効期限 yuukoukigen expiration 有効期限内
  • 次第 shidai as soon as 展開次第、ご連絡
  • 際 sai when or in case of お問い合わせの際
  • 折には ori ni wa on the occasion of 訪問の折には
  • 由 yoshi reason or circumstance 由を申し伝える
  • 上下 jyouge circumstances (formal) 上下により
  • 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.