What you listen for: routes and places
Questions about directions and finding places are mostly task-based comprehension: the question asks “which way does this person go next?” or “where is the place they’re looking for?”. The test often gives you a map to choose from; this course replaces the map with options in words, such as “turn right at the second traffic lights; before the park”. The options often differ by a single word: right or left, first or second, not yet reached or already passed.
- Look at the options: find the word that differs between them (「手前」 or 「先」, 「二つ目」 or 「三つ目」).
- Hear the starting point: where you are now and which way you are facing. 「この道」 and 「ここを出て」 give the starting point.
- Walk it through: each time you hear an action (go straight, turn, cross the road), draw a line in your head or on paper.
- Listen for the final confirmation and corrections: what follows 「あ、違った」 or 「〜じゃなくて」 is right; if someone repeats the directions wrongly, the other person will correct them.
| Expression | Meaning | What to watch for when you hear it |
|---|---|---|
| まっすぐ行く | go straight on | keep going until you hear the next action |
| 〜を右に曲がる | turn right at … | before 「を」 is where you turn: 「角を」, 「信号を」 |
| 二つ目の角／信号 | the second corner / traffic lights | usually counted from the first one you come to |
| 〜の手前 | just before … | stop before you reach X |
| 〜の先／〜を過ぎたところ | past …, beyond … | you go past X |
| 突き当たり | the end of the road | you can go no further and must turn left or right |
| 〜の向かい | opposite … | across the road |
| 左手に／右手に | on your left / on your right | the side you see as you walk, not “with your hand” |
| 〜を渡る | cross (a road, a bridge) | after crossing, listen for which way to go |
How speech sounds: contractions when giving directions
People giving directions think as they talk, use lots of contractions and often leave sentences unfinished: 「で、」, 「そこを……」. You need to turn the forms below back into full forms the moment you hear them. 「〜んとこ」 is very casual; you just need to understand it.
| Full form | What you hear in speech | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 〜ていくと | 〜てくと | まっすぐ歩いてくと |
| 〜ていって | 〜てって | 階段を上がってって |
| 〜たところ | 〜たとこ | 曲がったとこ |
| 〜のところ | 〜んとこ | 信号んとこ |
| 〜てしまう | 〜ちゃう | 通り過ぎちゃう |
| 〜という | 〜っていう | さくら公園っていう公園 |
この道をまっすぐ歩いてくと、大きい通りに出るから、そこを渡って。
Walk straight along this road and you’ll come out on a big street, so cross there.
「歩いてくと」＝「歩いていくと」. After 「〜と」 comes what you’ll see when you get there.
二つ目の信号を左に曲がったとこに、郵便局があるよ。
There’s a post office just after you turn left at the second traffic lights.
「曲がったとこ」＝「曲がったところ」: right after the turn.
薬局は駅の手前です。駅まで行っちゃうと、行き過ぎです。
The pharmacy is just before the station. If you get as far as the station, you’ve gone too far.
「手前」 means not reached yet; 「行き過ぎ」 in the second half reminds you again.
突き当たりまで行ったら、右ね。
When you get to the end of the road, go right.
「突き当たり」 is where the road ends, and it is always followed by left or right.
銀行の向かいに、緑の看板のカフェがあります。
Opposite the bank, there’s a café with a green sign.
「向かい」 is across the road. 「緑の看板」 is a landmark.
エスカレーターで三階に上がってって、降りたら左です。
Go up to the third floor on the escalator, and it’s on the left when you get off.
「上がってって」＝「上がっていって」. 「降りたら」 means after getting off the escalator.
Watch out
「手前」 and 「先」 point opposite ways「〜の手前」 means you haven’t reached X yet; 「〜の先」 means you have gone past X. 「郵便局の手前を右」 and 「郵便局の先を右」 are turns at two different junctions. The options often contain both words, so listen closely for which one follows X.
Compare
“Take the second left” is 「二つ目の角を左に曲がる」 in Japanese: the number comes first. “In front of” (by the door) is 「〜の前」, while “just before you reach” is 「〜の手前」. 「突き当たり」 is “the end of the street (a T-junction)”.
Listen through once: asking the way at a police box
Read the question first: 「体育館はどこにありますか。」 The options are: right at the second traffic lights, on the left just before the park at the end of the road; right at the third traffic lights, on the left before the park; right at the second traffic lights, inside the park; right at the second traffic lights, opposite the bank. They differ in three places: which traffic lights, before the park or inside it, and opposite or on the left.
- 留学生
すみません、市民体育館に行きたいんですが、この近くですか。
Excuse me, I’d like to go to the city sports centre. Is it near here?
- 警察官
体育館ですね。歩いて十分ぐらいです。この前の道をまっすぐ行って……。
The sports centre. It’s about ten minutes on foot. Go straight along this road out front …
- 留学生
はい。
Yes.
- 警察官
三つ目の信号を右……あ、違った。二つ目です。二つ目の信号を右に曲がってください。角に銀行があります。
Turn right at the third traffic lights … oh, no, sorry. The second. Turn right at the second traffic lights. There’s a bank on the corner.
- 留学生
二つ目の信号を右ですね。
Right at the second traffic lights.
- 警察官
ええ。曲がったら、しばらくまっすぐです。突き当たりに公園があって、体育館はその手前の左側です。
That’s it. After you turn, go straight for a while. There’s a park at the end of the road, and the sports centre is on the left just before it.
- 留学生
公園の中じゃないんですね。
So it’s not inside the park.
- 警察官
ええ、公園まで行っちゃうと行き過ぎです。白くて大きい建物なので、すぐわかりますよ。
No; if you get as far as the park, you’ve gone too far. It’s a big white building, so you’ll spot it easily.
- 留学生
わかりました。ありがとうございます。
I see. Thank you very much.
Tip
How to get the answerWhich traffic lights: the police officer first says 「三つ目」 but immediately corrects it with 「あ、違った。二つ目です」; what comes after the correction counts. The student repeats 「二つ目の信号を右ですね」, the officer answers 「ええ」, and it is settled. The bank: 「角に銀行があります」; the bank on the corner is a landmark, not where the sports centre is, so “opposite the bank” is a trap. The final position: 「突き当たりに公園」 and 「その手前の左側」; the student asks 「公園の中じゃないんですね」, and the officer says that going as far as the park is 「行き過ぎ」. Answer: right at the second traffic lights, on the left before the park.
Scene tips: finding your way in stations and buildings
Many small streets have no names, so directions usually rely on “which junction” and visible landmarks: convenience stores, banks, traffic lights, the colour of a sign. In stations and large buildings, people rely on exit numbers, floors and directions.
| Expression | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 〜番出口 | exit number … | big stations have many exits, so note the number first |
| 東口／西口 | east exit / west exit | if the exit is wrong, none of the directions after it will match |
| 地下一階 | first basement floor | don’t miss 「地下」 |
| 奥 | the back, the far end | the opposite of 「手前」 (the near side, this side) |
| エレベーターを降りて右 | get out of the lift and turn right | 「降りる」 here means getting out of the lift |
| 〜の並び | on the same side as … | the same side of the street, a few doors along |
| 目印 | landmark | 「〜が目印です」: when you see it, you’re nearly there |
Culture
People giving directions often stop halfway to check: 「ここまで、大丈夫ですか」. People asking the way also often repeat what they heard: 「二つ目を右ですね」. In listening questions, these repetitions are good clues; but a repetition can be wrong too, so listen for whether the other person answers 「ええ」 or corrects it.