Conversational Japanese Quiz: Giving Basic Directions
5 questions · exam conditions
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Giving Basic DirectionsQuestion 1 of 5

During a Japanese language exam, a student is asked to evaluate four sets of directions to the same location. The destination is a bookstore that is on the right side of the street, three blocks straight ahead from the train station, and next to a pharmacy.

Which of the following sets of directions is both accurate AND uses the most natural Japanese phrasing for giving basic directions to the bookstore?

「駅からまっすぐ三ブロック行ってください。本屋は薬局の隣で、右側にあります。」
「駅から右に曲がって、三ブロック行ってください。薬局の隣に本屋があります。」
「駅から左に曲がってください。まっすぐ行くと、右側に薬局があります。その隣が本屋です。」
「駅の前に立って、まっすぐ三ブロック行ってください。左側に本屋があります。薬局の隣です。」
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Conversational Japanese Quiz

Conversational Japanese Quiz: Giving Basic Directions

Practice Giving Basic Directions in Conversational Japanese with focused quiz questions that help you check what you know, review explanations, and build confidence with test-style prompts.

What this quiz covers

This quiz focuses on Giving Basic Directions, giving you a quick way to practice the rules, question types, and explanations that matter most for Conversational Japanese.

How to use this quiz

Try each quiz question before looking at the correct answer. Use the explanations to review missed ideas, then come back to similar questions until the pattern feels familiar.

All questions

Question 1

During a Japanese language exam, a student is asked to evaluate four sets of directions to the same location. The destination is a bookstore that is on the right side of the street, three blocks straight ahead from the train station, and next to a pharmacy.

Which of the following sets of directions is both accurate AND uses the most natural Japanese phrasing for giving basic directions to the bookstore?

  1. 「駅からまっすぐ三ブロック行ってください。本屋は薬局の隣で、右側にあります。」 (correct answer)
  2. 「駅から右に曲がって、三ブロック行ってください。薬局の隣に本屋があります。」
  3. 「駅から左に曲がってください。まっすぐ行くと、右側に薬局があります。その隣が本屋です。」
  4. 「駅の前に立って、まっすぐ三ブロック行ってください。左側に本屋があります。薬局の隣です。」
Explanation: When giving directions in Japanese, you need to evaluate two things simultaneously: factual accuracy (do the directions match the actual location?) and natural phrasing (does it sound like something a native speaker would say?). The destination is straight ahead three blocks, on the right, next to a pharmacy. Choice A correctly states to go straight three blocks from the station, then identifies the bookstore as being on the right side next to the pharmacy — all facts match. The phrasing 「まっすぐ三ブロック行ってください」is natural and idiomatic, and 「右側にあります」clearly communicates position. This is both accurate and well-phrased, making A the correct answer. Choice B is factually wrong from the start — it says to turn right (「右に曲がって」), but the directions require going straight. No matter how natural the remaining phrasing is, incorrect directions disqualify an answer immediately. Choice C compounds errors: it instructs you to turn left (「左に曲がってください」), which contradicts the premise of going straight. It also places the pharmacy on the right before reaching the bookstore, which misrepresents the layout entirely. Choice D goes straight correctly but then says the bookstore is on the left side (「左側に本屋があります」) — the opposite of the actual right side. This is a classic distractor that gets the route right but flips the final detail. A useful habit: always verify every factual claim in each answer choice against the passage before judging naturalness. A perfectly phrased sentence that sends you the wrong direction is useless — accuracy comes first, then fluency.

Question 2

Kenji is asked to give directions in Japanese to four different people. Each person needs to reach a different place. Review the following exchange:

Person: 「すみません、市役所はどこですか。」 Kenji: 「ここからまっすぐ行って、三つ目の信号を左に曲がってください。市役所は公園の右隣にあります。」

The person thanks Kenji and walks forward. After passing two traffic lights, the person stops and asks someone else for confirmation.

The second person the traveler asks says the city hall is actually to the RIGHT at the third traffic light, not the left. Assuming Kenji made a single directional error, which element of Kenji's original directions was most likely incorrect?

  1. Kenji said 「左に曲がって」 when he should have said 「右に曲がって」, meaning the turn direction was reversed while the number of traffic lights and the landmark relationship were correct. (correct answer)
  2. Kenji said 「三つ目の信号」 when he should have said 「二つ目の信号」, meaning the turn should happen one light earlier and to the right rather than at the third light to the left.
  3. Kenji said 「公園の右隣」 when he should have said 「公園の左隣」, meaning the city hall's position relative to the park was reversed while the turn direction was correct.
  4. Kenji said 「まっすぐ行って」 when he should have said 「少し左に行って」, meaning the initial walking direction was slightly off, which caused the entire route to shift rightward.
Explanation: When answering Japanese directions questions, focus on what the problem explicitly tells you changed versus what remained consistent. The scenario gives you one clear clue: the second person confirms the city hall is at the third traffic light but turning right, not left. This means the number of signals (三つ目) was correct, and only the turn direction was wrong. This points directly to A as the correct answer. Kenji said 「左に曲がってください」("please turn left") when he should have said 「右に曲がってください」("please turn right"). The landmark detail — city hall being to the right of the park (公園の右隣) — is actually consistent with a rightward turn, which further supports that only the direction word was swapped. A single substitution of 左 → 右 fixes everything. B is incorrect because it changes both the signal number (三つ目 → 二つ目) and the turn direction, which contradicts the premise that Kenji made only a single error. The second person confirmed the third light was correct. C is a trap — it targets the landmark relationship (公園の右隣 vs. 左隣), but the problem says the error was in reaching city hall, not in identifying where it sits relative to the park. The landmark description is secondary and wasn't contradicted. D introduces an entirely new phrase (少し左に行って) that wasn't part of the original directions at all, making it an unsupported fabrication rather than a logical correction. Your study tip: in Japanese directions, memorize the contrast pairs 左 (ひだり, left) and 右 (みぎ, right) cold — exam questions frequently test whether you can catch a single swapped direction word in an otherwise correct sentence.

Question 3

A student is taking an oral Japanese exam. The examiner says: 「図書館から駅までの道を教えてください。」 The student responds: 「図書館を出て、右に曲がって、まっすぐ行くと、駅は左側にあります。」

The examiner then asks a follow-up: 「もし図書館の反対側の出口から出たら、どう言いますか。」

Which of the following responses to the examiner's follow-up question is most linguistically accurate and logically consistent with the adjusted starting point?

  1. 「反対側の出口から出て、まっすぐ行くと、右に曲がって、駅は左側にあります。」
  2. 「反対側の出口から出て、右に曲がって、まっすぐ行くと、駅は右側にあります。」
  3. 「反対側の出口から出て、左に曲がって、まっすぐ行くと、駅は左側にあります。」
  4. 「反対側の出口から出て、左に曲がって、まっすぐ行くと、駅は右側にあります。」 (correct answer)
Explanation: When giving directions in Japanese, you need to think spatially — not just linguistically. This question tests whether you can mentally rotate your perspective when the starting point changes, then express that adjusted route accurately in Japanese. Here's the key insight: if you exit from the opposite side of the building, your entire orientation is flipped 180 degrees. In the original route, you turned 右 (right), walked straight, and the station appeared on your 左 (left). Exiting from the opposite side means you're now facing the opposite direction. A right turn from the original exit becomes a left turn (左に曲がって) from the reversed exit. And because you're now approaching the station from the opposite angle, the station — which was on your left before — will now appear on your right side (右側). That makes D the correct answer: 「反対側の出口から出て、左に曲がって、まっすぐ行くと、駅は右側にあります。」 Choice A is wrong because it keeps "まっすぐ" before the turn, which is illogical sequencing — you turn before going straight, not after. Choice B keeps the original right turn, ignoring that the flipped exit reverses your facing direction entirely. Choice C correctly switches to a left turn but fails to update the station's side — it still says 左側, which contradicts the reversed approach angle. A useful strategy: whenever a Japanese directions question changes the starting orientation, mentally draw a simple map. Flip your arrow 180° and re-trace each step. Spatial reasoning and grammar accuracy must work together in these questions.

Question 4

A student is being evaluated on giving directions in Japanese. The rubric requires directions to include: (1) a starting reference point, (2) at least one turn with a direction word, (3) a distance or landmark indicator showing how far to travel, and (4) the location of the destination relative to a nearby landmark. The student gives the following directions to a hotel:

「駅を出て、まっすぐ行くと、ホテルは右側にあります。コンビニの隣です。」

Based on the rubric, which criterion does the student's response FAIL to meet, and why?

  1. Criterion 1 is not met because 「駅を出て」 does not name a specific landmark at the station exit, so the starting reference point lacks sufficient precision for a first-time visitor.
  2. Criterion 2 is not met because the student does not include any turn with a direction word — 「まっすぐ」 indicates going straight, which is not a turn, so no left or right turn direction is specified. (correct answer)
  3. Criterion 4 is not met because 「コンビニの隣」 does not specify whether the hotel is to the left or right of the convenience store, so the relative location remains ambiguous.
  4. Criterion 3 is not met because 「まっすぐ行くと」 does not indicate any specific distance, and 「コンビニの隣」 describes the destination's neighbor rather than serving as a travel landmark showing how far to walk.
Explanation: When evaluating directions in Japanese against a rubric, your job is to carefully map each phrase in the student's response to each criterion — don't assume a criterion is met just because the directions sound reasonable overall. Look at what the student actually said: 「駅を出て、まっすぐ行くと、ホテルは右側にあります。コンビニの隣です。」The key word is 「まっすぐ」, which means "straight ahead." Criterion 2 explicitly requires a turn with a direction word — meaning the student must instruct the listener to turn left (左に曲がる) or right (右に曲がる). Going straight is the absence of a turn, not a turn itself. Since the student never instructs any turning movement, Criterion 2 is not met. That makes B the correct answer. Choice A is tempting but wrong. 「駅を出て」("exit the station") is a perfectly acceptable starting reference point — rubrics for beginner-level tasks typically accept a named location like a station as sufficient. The criterion does not demand pinpoint precision within the station. Choice D is a clever distractor because it's partially reasonable — 「まっすぐ行くと」 truly lacks a specific distance. However, 「コンビニの隣」does function as a landmark indicator showing where to stop, which satisfies the spirit of Criterion 3. The criterion is met, even imperfectly. Choice C is wrong because Criterion 4 asks for the destination's location relative to a nearby landmark, and 「コンビニの隣」("next to the convenience store") does exactly that — adjacency is a valid relative position. Your takeaway: when a rubric says "a turn," it means an actual change of direction (左/右に曲がる) — never confuse 「まっすぐ」 with directional turning vocabulary.

Question 5

Read the following dialogue between a tourist (T) and a local (L):

T: 「すみません、一番近い病院はどこですか。」 L: 「ここからまっすぐ行って、郵便局の隣のビルを右に曲がってください。病院はそこから左側の二つ目の建物です。」 T: 「ありがとうございます。」

The tourist walks straight, passes the post office, and sees a building next to it.

According to the local's directions, how many buildings does the tourist pass on the LEFT side before reaching the hospital after making the right turn?

  1. The tourist passes NO buildings on the left before reaching the hospital, because the hospital is the first building encountered on the left immediately after turning right.
  2. The tourist passes TWO buildings on the left before reaching the hospital, which is the third building on the left after turning right.
  3. The tourist passes ONE building on the left before reaching the hospital, which is the second building on the left after turning right. (correct answer)
  4. The tourist passes the hospital on the right side first, then must cross the street, because 'left side' refers to the direction of the turn, not the side of the street after turning.
Explanation: When navigating directions in Japanese, pay close attention to ordinal expressions like 「二つ目」(the second one). These tell you the count of something you reach, not how many you pass before it. The local says 「左側の二つ目の建物」— "the second building on the left side." This means the hospital is building #2 on the left after the tourist turns right. To reach the second building, the tourist must first pass one building (building #1) before arriving at the hospital (building #2). That confirms C is correct: one building is passed on the left before reaching the hospital. A is wrong because it interprets 「二つ目」as 「一つ目」— the first building. If the hospital were the first building on the left, the directions would say 「左側の一つ目の建物」. Confusing these ordinal counters is one of the most common traps in Japanese directions questions. B incorrectly treats 「二つ目」as if it means the tourist passes two buildings before the hospital, making the hospital the third. But 「二つ目」means the second item in the sequence, not the one after two passed items. D is a creative but baseless misreading. 「左側」clearly refers to the left side of the street after turning, not the direction of the turn itself. No crossing is implied. Your study tip: whenever you see 「〜つ目」in a directions question, visualize a numbered list — the hospital being 「二つ目」simply means it holds position #2 on that side.