Kanbun Syntax (Classical Chinese as read in Japanese)

未 is read twice, as いまだ〜ず (imada ... zu), and expresses incompleteness: 'has not yet done'. Following the return marks, the first reading is an adverb and the second an auxiliary of negation, which is the principle of all twice-read characters. It is easily confused with 将 (masani ... n to su), but the decisive difference is that 未 contains a negation. In writing out the reading, forgetting to put the second element ず in kana is a common way to lose marks.

将 is read まさに〜んとす (masani ... n to su) and expresses the near future, 'about to do'. The character 且 has the same reading and almost the same sense, so learn them as a pair. Because 当 (masani ... beshi) has the same first reading, the trap is that you must separate them by the second reading, んとす versus べし.

当 is read まさに〜べし (masani ... beshi) and expresses a strong obligation, 'one ought naturally to do it'. The near-synonym 応 (masani ... beshi) is basically translated as a conjecture, 'it is surely so', and telling those translations apart is what multiple-choice items aim at. Note too that 将 (masani ... n to su) shares the same first reading.

宜 is read よろしく〜べし (yoroshiku ... beshi) and expresses a mild recommendation, 'it would be good to do so'. Since 須 (subekaraku ... beshi, 'there is a need to do it') and 当 (masani ... beshi, 'one ought naturally to do it') all share べし as the second reading, the sore point of the exam is telling the first readings apart. Note that 宜しく here is not the modern greeting but a sense of urging or suitability.

須 is read すべからく〜べし (subekaraku ... beshi) and expresses need or duty, 'there is a real need to do it'. Translating it with the feeling of the modern misuse of すべからく as 'entirely' loses marks. Distinguish it from 宜 ('it would be good to do so') by its higher degree of compulsion, and fix it as the 須 of 必須 (hissu), meaning indispensable.

猶 is read なほ〜ごとし (nao ... gotoshi) and is a twice-read character of comparison, 'just like'; 由 works the same way. Fixing it with 過猶不及, read 過ぎたるはなほ及ばざるがごとし (sugitaru wa nao oyobazaru ga gotoshi), 'going too far is just like falling short', makes it stick. Since 猶ほ also exists as an ordinary adverb meaning 'even so', judge by whether there is a return mark sending you back to ごとし.

不常〜, with the negative above the adverb, is partial negation and is translated 'does not always do'. With the order reversed, 常不来 is total negation, 'never comes at any time', so the meaning flips completely. The iron rule is to judge mechanically by word order, negative on top means partial negation, and it is the point that separates candidates most in the standardised-test format.

常不〜, with 常 above the negative 不, is total negation and cancels completely: 'never does it at any time'. The difference in word order from 不常〜, partial negation meaning 'does not always', is the standard trap. Think 'the word on top takes effect first', and understand that 常, standing above the negative, modifies the whole.

Piling up negatives makes a strong affirmative, so 無不知 means 'he knows it all'. Many candidates see two negatives and reflexively translate 'does not know'. Process it mechanically as negative times negative equals strong affirmative, and memorise the reading pattern 〜ざる（は）無し as a whole for safety.

不敢〜 is read あへて〜ず (aete ... zu) and means 'does not venture to do it, has not the nerve to do it'. With the order reversed, 敢不〜, read あへて〜ざらんや (aete ... zaran ya), is a rhetorical question, 'how could he not do it, of course he does', which is almost the opposite. The difference in word order between 不敢 and 敢不 is a frequent loss of marks, so read straight from the character on top.

不復〜 is partial negation, 'does not do it a second time', meaning there was a first time but it is not repeated. 復不〜 would be total negation, 'this time too he does not do it'. Like 不常 and 不必, it can be handled by the principle that a negative above the adverb makes partial negation. Whether you can pick 'a second time' out of the options decides the mark.

莫 is basically read なし (nashi), like 無, and negates existence. At the end of a sentence it can be read なかれ (nakare) and become a prohibition, but it is not exclusively a prohibition, which is the trap in the options. Sorting out the division of labour among negatives, 非 (arazu) negating a judgement and 不 (zu) negating an action, keeps you from losing marks across all pattern questions.

不可不〜 is a double negation, 'it is not permitted not to do it', that is, a strong duty, 'one must certainly do it'. It looks very like 不可〜, read 〜すべからず (subekarazu), 'one must not do it', so always check whether there are two 不. Memorise it with its reading as the flagship case of double negation making a strong affirmative.

非 is read 〜にあらず (ni arazu) and is a negative of judgement, denying a noun or a state: 'A is not B'. Its division of labour with 不, which cancels an action, is asked as basic knowledge. In writing out the reading, the rule is to supply に before it and write 〜に非ず, and dropping that に also tends to cost marks.

何 at the head of a sentence, read なんぞ (nanzo), is an interrogative asking cause or reason, basically translated 'why does he do it?'. Read なに or なにをか (nani, nani wo ka) it can instead ask for an object, 'what', and telling the readings apart is examined. Check as well that it turns into a rhetorical question when the sentence ends in 〜（せ）ん.

安くんぞ〜ん is a rhetorical question expressing strong negation, 'how could it be so, of course it is not'. 安 also has the reading いづくにか (izuku ni ka), asking a place, so judge by the context and by the final ん. The iron rule for rhetorical questions is to add a negative at the end of the translation; translate it as a plain question and you pick the wrong option.

豈に〜んや is the flagship rhetorical pattern: 'how could one do it, of course one does not', so the conclusion is negative, while the content is the strong affirmative 'I shall never forget'. The practical reading habit is to suspect a rhetorical question the moment you see 豈. Options translating it as a plain question, 'is it perhaps', are the standard trap, so settle it as rhetorical on the evidence of the final んや.

At the end of a sentence 乎 is read や or か (ya, ka) and marks a question, a rhetorical question or an exclamation; 哉, 邪 and 与 belong to the same group. Inside a sentence, by contrast, 乎 works like 於 as a preposition meaning 'at' or 'than', showing place or comparison. Asking how the function changes with position, final or medial, is standard, and reading it mechanically as や is a mistake.

Questions and rhetorical questions use the same interrogative words, so the shape of the ending is the greatest clue. Closing with the conjectural or volitional ん, as in 〜んや or 〜ん, makes a rhetorical question likely, while 〜や or an attributive plus か leans towards a plain question. Because a rhetorical question is translated by supplying 'of course not', picking an option that treats it as a plain question loses the whole mark. In the end it also matters to settle it by context.

何如, read いかん (ikan), asks 'how is it', that is state, degree or whether something is acceptable, while 如何, read いかん or いかんせん (ikan, ikansen), asks 'what shall be done', that is means or method. Since only the order of the characters changes but the thing asked changes with it, it appears often in multiple-choice items. Note too that when 如何 is read いかんせん it leans towards the exclamatory or rhetorical 'there is nothing to be done'.

誰, read たれ or たれか (tare, tare ka), is an interrogative asking after a person, and when the sentence ends in ん it becomes rhetorical: 'who would do it, nobody would'. This example sentence is rhetorical too and means 'nobody can do it'. Learning 孰, read いづれ or たれ (izure, tare), alongside it as a near-synonym asking after a person or a choice is efficient.

幾何, read いくばく (ikubaku), is an interrogative asking 'how much', that is quantity or degree. It is often used with a note of exclamation to mean rhetorically 'not much at all', as in 人生幾何, read 人生いくばくぞ (jinsei ikubaku zo). Items centre on the reading itself, so be able to answer 幾何 equals ikubaku instantly.

使 is the representative causative character: 'A をして B せしむ' means 'make A do B'. The pattern in reading it out is to add をして to the person affected and close with しむ. Dropping をして, or mistaking it for a passive, is the typical loss of marks, so learn 使, 令, 教 and 遣 together as the four causative characters.

令 is a causative character like 使, and 令AB is read 'A をして B せしむ'. The trap is that the image of 命令 (meirei, order) makes candidates read it as the verb 'to order', but in a pattern question you should suspect the causative first. Never drop the two-part set, をして for the person affected and しむ at the end.

Besides 使 and 令, the causative characters include 教, 'make someone do something', and 遣, 'send someone to do something', and both are read しむ (shimu). If you know 教 only as 'teach' and 遣 only as 'dispatch', you will misread causative sentences. 見 and 被 mark the passive and 於 and 于 are prepositions, so beware of options that mix in characters with different functions.

見 immediately before a verb is a passive character, so 見欺 means 欺かる (azamukaru), 'to be deceived'. Reading it as みる (miru) is the commonest error, and the iron rule is to suspect the passive whenever a verb follows. Sorting out the passive characters 見, 被, 為 and 所 together gives you steady marks.

被 is placed above a verb and marks the passive, read る or らる (ru, raru), so 被殺 means 'to be killed'. From the feel of 被害 (higai, damage) it also has a full-word use read こうむる (komuru), but in a pattern question the passive use is what is asked first. Treat it as working the same way as 見, and the marking point is whether you can turn 被 into a kana auxiliary when writing out the reading.

為A所B is read 'A の B するところとなる' and is the single most important passive pattern, 'to be B-ed by A'. Reading 為 as ために (tame ni, for the sake of) leads straight to the mistranslation 'laughs for the sake of people', a frequent trap. Memorise the shape whole so that the moment you see 為〜所… you judge it a passive.

於 below an adjective marks the standard of comparison and is read より (yori), so this sentence means 'whiter than snow'. 於 is multifunctional, marking place, the agent of a passive and comparison, and the knack is to judge it as comparison when an adjective precedes it. It is sometimes an unread character, but in comparison it must always be read より, and that is what is examined.

莫如〜 is read 〜に如くは莫し and is a superlative pattern, 'nothing comes up to it, so it is the best'. Because the negative 莫 is present, misreading it as the prohibition 'do not learn' is the typical trap. Keep the sense of 如く (shiku, to come up to) at the centre and link it with 如かず in 百聞は一見に如かず (hyakubun wa ikken ni shikazu), and you will not forget it.

不如A is read 'A に如かず' and is a comparative pattern meaning 'nothing comes up to A, so A is better', so in the end it recommends A. Being pulled along by the surface negative and translating it 'do not go home' reverses the sense completely. Learn the shape from 百聞不如一見 and process it mechanically as 'whatever follows 不如 is the superior thing'.

与其A寧B is read '其の A せんよりは寧ろ B せん' and is a pattern of choice that compares A with B and picks B. The greatest pitfall is reading 与 as と or ともに, which collapses the whole construction. Grasp that the act placed after 寧ろ (mushiro) is the one chosen, and you will not hesitate even in content-matching items. It trips up strong candidates too, so read the shape aloud until it sticks.

孰若, read いづれぞ (izure zo), works like 孰与: it sets A and B side by side and asks which is better, and in practice it is usually used in contexts that recommend B. 不若, 'does not come up to', is a flat comparison, and the difference from the question-shaped 孰若 is what is asked. Confirm as well that 孰 on its own is an interrogative asking after a person or a choice, read いづれ or たれ.

蓋し at the head of a sentence is an opening adverb that introduces a topic with a shade of conjecture: 'I should think, probably'. Do not be pulled along by the full-word sense of 蓋, a lid or to cover. Note also that 蓋 has a twice-read use urging action, なんぞ〜ざる (nanzo ... zaru), 'why do you not do it', the same as 盍, and telling the readings apart by context is asked at the top schools.

所以, read ゆゑん (yuen), is an important compound expressing 'the reason why' or 'the means by which'. Reading 所 and 以 separately as ところをもって is wrong. Telling it apart from 是以, read ここをもって (koko wo motte), which introduces a result, and 於是, read ここにおいて (koko ni oite), which changes the scene, is a standard option set, so organise the three together.

是以 is read ここをもって (koko wo motte) and is a connective that takes up what precedes and introduces a result or conclusion: 'this being so, therefore'. 以是 is used with the same sense. It is confusingly close to 於是, read ここにおいて (koko ni oite), meaning 'thereupon', in both reading and function, and items often ask you to match character order with translation. Learning it as a set of three with 所以, which expresses reason, is efficient.

於是 is read ここにおいて (koko ni oite) and is a connective that carries the story on to the next scene: 'thereupon, and so'. Confusion with 是以, read ここをもって (koko wo motte), 'therefore', is the most frequent trap, so separate them by function: 於是 changes the scene, 是以 marks cause and effect. It also serves as a signpost for the development of a narrative, so it matters for reading comprehension too.

'A 且（すら）〜、況んや B をや' is the a-fortiori pattern: it first raises A, the lesser case, and then presses the point that B is all the more so. In the 況んや〜をや part the predicate is not repeated, so the knack is to supply 'all the more so' in translation. Whether you can spot the correspondence of すら, 且つ and 況んや is what separates candidates, and it is the most important pattern in both written and multiple-choice items. Do not mistake the final をや for a question.

不啻〜, read 啻だに〜のみならず, negates the limiting 啻, and 唯 and 独 work the same way, so as to add on: 'not only that, but also'. The difference from the limiting pattern 唯だ〜のみ can be judged mechanically by whether a negative stands above. 非独〜 and 不唯〜 follow the same shape. Telling limitation from addition separates candidates, and overlooking the negative is a fatal loss.

唯, and likewise 惟, 只 and 独, followed by のみ is the limiting pattern, narrowing the range to 'only'. The shape is to supply のみ at the end when writing out the reading, and 耳, 已 and 爾 are also read のみ at the end of a sentence. When 不 or 非 is placed above, it turns into the additive pattern, so make a habit of checking for a negative and you will avoid losing marks.