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Distinguishing between Vocab with Similar Meanings - yorkiisan - 2014-09-06
I came across this snippet while researching how to study vocabulary for the JLPT:
"it's also completely possible they ask you the difference between 予想 予期 予感 予知 予報 予測 or a wide range of other questions,"
I feel like the way I'm studying is not very effective now.
I would be able to see that Kanji and say "oh, it has something to do with expectations" but if they are all multiple choice answers, I would not know which is the most correct to use.
How have you prepared to deal with these type of vocabulary questions, where knowing the nuances between similar words matter?
Distinguishing between Vocab with Similar Meanings - Arupan - 2014-09-06
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Distinguishing between Vocab with Similar Meanings - kanon - 2014-09-07
I would agree.
I tried putting the nuances into my anki deck, but that didn't actually help too much.
Memorizing very precise J-J definition =/= knowing when to use what.
Plus as time went on I started ignoring those parts...
So imo the best way is to read enough to see all of them multiple times.
Distinguishing between Vocab with Similar Meanings - sholum - 2014-09-07
EDIT: Seeing the other replies reminded me that I didn't say that I didn't think active study of this was really necessary.
/EDIT
(Before I get into this, a TL;DR version would basically be: learn the nuances through a mixture of context, kanji experience, and translation comparison. Things you can't figure out, ask here (and hope it's someone more experienced than me that answers) Now, to sound like a pretentious fool! By the way, look to the final paragraph if you want to skip to where I suggest how to study)
Don't be misled by similar translations, if you are only looking at one possible interpretation of each; even just by looking at the kanji, you can get a sense as to the difference in each (may not always be the case, but it's a good first step), so use that to fish out a nuance from multiple interpretations (and definitions, if they are accessible). Whether this is correct or not can be decided through contextual analysis.
As an example, I'll go through the examples you gave and try to give their nuance through examination:
予感: a loose kanji interpretation being 'pre-feeling'; looking at the translation 'hunch; premonition', we can conclude that this is a feeling you have about something with the nuance of not having any conscious reason why the feeling is had, a gut feeling kind of thing
予知: pre-know; we are given 'foresight; foreknowledge' and can conclude that this is something one had reason to think of, one 'knew in advance'.
予報: pre-information; we are given 'forecast; prediction', with the usual context of 報 as being some form of given information (a report or such) the nuance is a formal prediction based on knowledge acquired before; it also helps a lot if you have seen it in combination with other words that say what is being forecast (like 天気予報).
予測: pre-measure; we are given 'prediction; estimation' and can assume from the kanji and the definitions that this is suggests something that one judged in passing, it is a prediction of something measurable.
And for the ones I don't know of a difference between just by looking:
予想: pre-conception; 'expectation; anticipation; conjecture', this seems, to me, to suggest an idea of something you've always had, such that you expect that something to be that way; in this case I'd run to Google and find examples.
予期: pre-expect; 'expectation; assume will happen', by the definition, I'd conclude it must be more of an assumption than an expectation, but once again, example sentences would be required for me to really decide.
As for how I'd suggest studying these, if you wish to actively study them, I'd say just look up example sentences to go with the translations; I imagine they'd be pretty boring to keep in an Anki deck for long, but you could always do that too. Example sentences with translations are okay, just make sure you look at both the originals and the translations.
Distinguishing between Vocab with Similar Meanings - vix86 - 2014-09-07
Arupan Wrote:I don't think these kind of questions are frequent on the JLPT.These kind of questions are definitely on the N2 and probably on the N1 as well. You have to have a feeling for the differences between similar words.
Distinguishing between Vocab with Similar Meanings - Vempele - 2014-09-07
There are three questions exactly like that (=all alternatives have a kanji in common) and four others where you're asked to differentiate between similar words (YMMV on how similar they actually are) in the free N1 practice workbook, a full-sized practice test.
In the N2 one, only one of the again seven questions is like that, but there's also a section of five questions where you have to select the appropriate prefix or suffix kanji to attach to a word.
Incidentally, 析, supposedly a N1 kanji, appears in the N2 workbook.
Distinguishing between Vocab with Similar Meanings - yorkiisan - 2014-09-07
Vempele Wrote:There are three questions exactly like that (=all alternatives have a kanji in common) and four others where you're asked to differentiate between similar words (YMMV on how similar they actually are) in the free N1 practice workbook, a full-sized practice test.Thank you for providing examples on what type of questions there are on the exams.
In the N2 one, only one of the again seven questions is like that, but there's also a section of five questions where you have to select the appropriate prefix or suffix kanji to attach to a word.
Incidentally, 析, supposedly a N1 kanji, appears in the N2 workbook.