What you listen for: five question types and what each asks
A listening question does not ask you to catch every word. It asks you to find the one point the question asks about in what you hear. The JLPT N3 listening test has five question types. Each asks in a different way, and each needs you to catch something different first. This course practises these types again and again in different scenes; at N2, verbal expressions is replaced by integrated comprehension (lesson 21).
| Question type | Japanese name | What it asks | What to catch first |
|---|---|---|---|
| Task-based comprehension | 課題理解 | What this person does next (first), after the conversation | 「まず」, 「先に」, 「その前に」; things someone else will do, will be done later, or need not be done |
| Key-point comprehension | ポイント理解 | A reason, a cause, or the point the speaker cares about most | 「どうして」 and 「何が」 in the question; what comes after 「実は」 and 「〜んです」 |
| Summary comprehension | 概要理解 | What the whole talk is mainly about, and what the speaker thinks | The topic raised at the start and the conclusion at the end; don’t get lost in details |
| Verbal expressions | 発話表現 | Which sentence to say in this situation | Who is speaking to whom; is it a request, an apology, a reminder or thanks? |
| Quick response | 即時応答 | Hear one sentence, choose the reply that fits | The sentence ending: is the other person asking, requesting, apologising or suggesting? |
In the test, for task-based and key-point comprehension you hear the question first, and the options are printed. For summary comprehension the question comes after the talk, and the options are not printed. For verbal expressions and quick response you also only hear the options (verbal expressions comes with a picture; this course describes the scene in words instead). Each question is played only once. For practice, the questions in this course are played before and after the conversation, and the options are written on the card. For summary comprehension and quick response, you can listen first without looking at the options and read them afterwards; that is closer to the test.
Four steps for listening, and signal words
- Read the question and options first: who is it about, and what does it ask (what first? why? which one?). Compare the options: where they differ is what you listen for.
- Hear the situation: where it is, who is talking to whom, and which of them the question is about.
- Catch the signal words: when a self-correction, a contrast or a conclusion starts, listen hard to what follows (see the table below).
- Listen to the end: what is said early is often overturned later; only what is settled at the end counts. Don’t choose before the end.
| Expression | Meaning | What to watch for when you hear it |
|---|---|---|
| いや／あ、違った | No, … | Self-correction: drop what came before, listen to what follows |
| やっぱり | After all … | Change of mind: something else, or back to the first idea |
| でも／ただ／〜けど | But, however | Contrast: the important part often comes after |
| それより | More than that | What came before doesn’t matter; what follows is the thing to do |
| じゃあ／結局 | Well then / in the end | A conclusion is coming |
| 〜ことにする | decide to … | The final decision |
| まず／先に／その前に | First … / before that | The key when a task-based question asks “what first?” |
| 実は | Actually | The real reason, or the real point, comes next |
| 〜なくてもいい／〜でいい | No need to … / … is fine | This need not be done, or was swapped for something else; often a distractor |
Tip
Hearing it doesn’t mean choosing itAlmost every word in the options turns up in the conversation. Hearing a word from an option does not make it the answer: listen for who does it, when, and whether it is done at all.
How speech sounds: 「〜てる」「〜ちゃう」「〜とく」
The textbook forms 「〜ている」, 「〜てしまう」 and 「〜ておく」 often get shorter in speech (you met 「〜ちゃう」 and 「〜とく」 in lessons 19 and 20 of the N4 grammar course). In listening, you need to turn them back the moment you hear them. Contractions are used mostly between friends and family, but you also often hear them in fairly casual polite speech, such as 「〜てます」 and 「〜ときます」.
| Full form | What you hear in speech | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 〜ている | 〜てる | 待っている → 待ってる |
| 〜でいる | 〜でる | 読んでいる → 読んでる |
| 〜ていない | 〜てない | 聞いていない → 聞いてない |
| 〜てしまう | 〜ちゃう | 忘れてしまった → 忘れちゃった |
| 〜でしまう | 〜じゃう | 飲んでしまった → 飲んじゃった |
| 〜ておく | 〜とく | 買っておく → 買っとく |
| 〜でおく | 〜どく | 読んでおく → 読んどく |
| 〜ておいて | 〜といて | 開けておいて → 開けといて |
鍵をどこに置いたか、忘れちゃった。
I’ve forgotten where I put the key.
「忘れちゃった」＝「忘れてしまった」, with an “oh no” tone.
飲み物は、わたしが買っとくね。
I’ll get the drinks in advance, OK?
「買っとく」＝「買っておく」: do it ahead of time.
妹はまだ寝てるよ。
My little sister is still asleep.
「寝てる」＝「寝ている」。
そのメール、まだ読んでない。
I haven’t read that email yet.
「読んでない」＝「読んでいない」. It is negative; don’t hear it as 「読んでる」.
出かけるなら、窓を閉めといて。
If you’re going out, close the windows.
「閉めといて」＝「閉めておいて」: asking the other person to do it ahead of time.
ここで写真を撮っちゃだめだよ。
You can’t take photos here.
「撮っちゃだめ」＝「撮ってはだめ」. 「〜ちゃ」 followed by 「だめ」 or 「いけない」 forbids something; it is not 「〜ちゃう」.
Watch out
Just one sound apart「〜ちゃ」 and 「〜ちゃう」: 「行っちゃだめ」 is “you mustn’t go”; 「行っちゃう」 is “(someone) is leaving”. 「〜てない」 and 「〜てる」: 「まだ来てない」 is “hasn’t come yet”; 「もう来てる」 is “is already here”. Contractions are very short, so listen for what comes right after.
Compare
Contractions are a bit like “gonna” and “wanna”, but 「〜ちゃう」 is more than fast speech: it adds an “oh no” or “get it done” tone. 「全部食べちゃった」 can mean “I ate it all by mistake” or “I ate the lot in one go”; the context decides.
Listen through once: task-based comprehension
Read the question first: 「田中さんはこのあとまず何をしますか。」 The options are four tasks: buy drinks, set out chairs, email the teacher, clean the room. All four come up in the conversation; listen for who does it and when.
- 先輩
田中さん、明日の新入生歓迎会の準備、ちょっと手伝ってくれる？
Tanaka, could you give me a hand getting ready for tomorrow’s welcome party for the new students?
- 田中
はい。何をすればいいですか。
Sure. What should I do?
- 先輩
飲み物を買ってきてほしいんだけど……あ、それは山本さんが買っといてくれるって。
I wanted you to go and buy drinks … oh, wait, Yamamoto said she’d get those.
- 田中
じゃあ、いすを並べましょうか。
Then shall I set out the chairs?
- 先輩
いすは明日の朝でいいよ。今並べちゃうと、夜この部屋を使う人が困るから。
The chairs can wait till tomorrow morning. If we set them out now, the people using this room tonight will have a problem.
- 田中
そうですね。
That’s true.
- 先輩
それより、先生への案内のメール、まだ送ってないんだよね。悪いけど、先にそれをお願い。
More importantly, I still haven’t sent the email to the teachers about it. Sorry, but could you do that first?
- 田中
わかりました。すぐ送ります。そのあとで部屋の掃除もしときますね。
OK. I’ll send it right away. After that I’ll clean the room too.
- 先輩
助かる。ありがとう。
That’s a big help. Thanks.
Tip
How to get the answerDrinks: 「それは山本さんが買っといてくれるって」; someone else is buying them, so rule it out. Chairs: 「いすは明日の朝でいいよ」; tomorrow morning, so rule it out. Then come two signals, 「それより」 and 「先に」: send the email first. At the end Tanaka says 「そのあとで部屋の掃除もしときますね」, so cleaning comes after the email; the question asks 「まず」, so cleaning is the trap. Answer: email the teacher. This conversation also has four contractions: 「買っといて」, 「並べちゃう」, 「送ってない」 and 「しときます」.
How to use the listening questions in this course
Each listening question is a card: the scene and the question at the top, a play button below. Press it and you hear the scene, the question, the conversation, and then the question again. When two people talk, the second one has a different voice. You can listen as many times as you like.
- First time: don’t read the script; just listen and choose an answer.
- The “Show the script” button on the card opens the script early. That is like taking a hint, so leave it for now.
- Read the script after you check: find the sentence that decides the answer, and the one that led you astray, and listen again.
- Finally, say the conversation along with the recording. The contractions you can say, you will hear next time.
Tip
Practise like the testIn the test each question is played once. Once you are used to it, try answering after one listening, then listen again as often as you like.