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JLPT N2 Abstract Concepts — Degree & Relation Vocabulary (2026)

Complete JLPT N2 Abstract Concepts — Degree & Relation vocabulary with readings and example sentences (84 words).

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This set of 84 words covers the abstract vocabulary N2 reading passages rely on to describe how things change, connect, and are structured — tendency (傾向), correlation (相関), transition (推移), proportion (比例). These words rarely have a single vivid image to anchor them, so N2 test-writers favor them precisely because they force learners to distinguish near-synonyms by kanji and context rather than by simple memorization.

This article is part of our JLPT N2 Complete Vocabulary Guide. Practice all 84 words with the Abstract Concepts — Degree & Relation Vocabulary deck in Onigiri Anki.

Process & Progression (12)

Words for how a process unfolds or moves forward over time — occurrence, shift, progress, transition — vocabulary that dominates N2 passages about social, economic, or historical change.

tendency傾向keikou

若者は都会に住む傾向があります。 — Young people tend to live in cities.

flow流れnagare

この川は流れが穏やかです。 — The flow of the river is calm here.

transition推移suii

天気の推移を見ています。 — We are watching the changes in the weather.

shift移行ikou

来月から新しいシステムに移行します。 — We will shift to the new system next month.

occurrence発生hassei

試合中に事故が発生しました。 — An accident occurred during the game.

progress進行shinkou

会議は順調に進行しています。 — The meeting is progressing smoothly.

transfer移転iten

事務所は来月、新しいビルへ移転します。 — The office will move to a new building next month.

process; workflow工程koutei

工程をていねいに確認しました。 — We checked the process carefully.

passage of time; progress経過keika

経過とともに、彼は落ち着きました。 — As time passed, he calmed down.

progress (status update)進捗shinchoku

プロジェクトの進捗は順調です。 — The progress of the project is going well.

rate of progress進度shindo

この仕事の進度は少し遅いです。 — The rate of progress is a little slow.

transition; vicissitudes変遷hensen

その町の変遷は、歴史を見るとよくわかります。 — The town's changes can be seen in its history.

Stages of a Timeline (9)

Words marking a position within a sequence, from initial stage to final stage, used constantly in N2 texts that describe project timelines, historical periods, or step-by-step processes.

interval区間kukan

電車の区間は二時間あります。 — The train segment lasts two hours.

middle; intermediate中間chuukan

中間地点でお待ちください。 — Please wait at the halfway point.

middle of a process中途chuuto

仕事は中途でやめました。 — I quit my job halfway through.

initial stage初期shoki

初期の段階では、基本的なルールだけを確認しました。 — At the initial stage, we only checked the basic rules.

latter stage; terminal stage末期makki

その病気は末期に入っています。 — The illness has reached its terminal stage.

final stage終盤shuuban

プロジェクトの終盤は来週から始まります。 — The final stage of the project will start next week.

final; last最終saishuu

最終決定は明日します。 — The final decision will be made tomorrow.

gradual; stepwise段階的dankaiteki

仕事は段階的に減らしていきます。 — We will gradually reduce the workload.

point in time時点jiten

その時点では、まだ計画は決まっていませんでした。 — At that point in time, the plan had not yet been decided.

Increase, Decrease & Degree (18)

Quantitative vocabulary for growth, decline, difference, and proportion — the language of statistics, trends, and comparisons that appears in N2 reading passages built around graphs or data.

inclination傾斜keisha

この道は傾斜がきついです。 — The road has a steep incline.

increase and decrease増減zougen

来場者の数は季節によって増減します。 — The number of visitors increases and decreases depending on the season.

weighting; proportion比重hijuu

会社はお客さんの意見に比重を置いています。 — The company gives more weight to customer opinions.

degree; extent度合いdoai

被害の度合いは思ったより小さかったです。 — The degree of damage was smaller than I expected.

increase増加zouka

今月は売り上げが増加しました。 — Sales increased this month.

decrease減少genshou

今年は欠席者が減少しました。 — The number of absences decreased this year.

descent; decline下降kakou

飛行機が下降し始めました。 — The airplane began its descent.

growth; increase伸びnobi

給料の伸びが少しありました。 — My salary increased a little.

extension; growth伸長shinchou

今年も会社の伸長が続きました。 — The company’s growth continued this year.

high and low; degree高低koutei

グラフの高低を比べてください。 — Please compare the highs and lows of the graph.

superiority and inferiority優劣yuuretsu

この二つの案に優劣はありません。 — There is no superiority or inferiority between these two proposals.

upper and lower上下jouge

上下をよく確認してください。 — Please check the upper and lower parts carefully.

inside and outside内外naigai

建物の内外に気をつけてください。 — Please be careful about the inside and outside of the building.

difference in level; step段差dansa

入口に段差があります。 — There is a step at the entrance.

balance; difference差額sagaku

差額を現金で払ってください。 — Please pay the difference in cash.

difference; delta差分sabun

二つの数字の差分を確認してください。 — Please check the difference between the two numbers.

proportion比例hirei

値段に比例して、金額も上がります。 — The amount rises in proportion to the price.

inverse proportion逆比例gyakuhirei

彼の給料は、経験年数に逆比例しています。 — His salary is in inverse proportion to his years of experience.

Relations, Links & Correspondence (18)

Words describing how two or more things connect, correlate, merge, spread, or stay apart — essential for tracking cause-and-effect and comparative relationships in N2 reading comprehension.

mutual相互sougo

人間関係では相互の理解が大切です。 — Mutual understanding is important in a relationship.

cooperation連携renkei

私たちはチームと連携しています。 — We are collaborating with the team.

continuation連続renzoku

彼女は三日連続で勉強しました。 — She studied for three days in a row.

correlation相関soukan

睡眠と健康には相関があります。 — There is a correlation between sleep and health.

separation分離bunri

ごみをプラスチックと紙に分離してください。 — Please separate the trash into plastic and paper.

correspondence; relation対応関係taioukankei

この二つの言葉には対応関係があります。 — There is a correspondence between these two words.

balance; matching見合いmiai

仕事と休みの見合いが大切です。 — The balance between work and rest is important.

interlocking; linkage連動rendou

そのアプリは、スマートフォンと連動しています。 — The app is linked to my smartphone.

uniform; even均一kinitsu

部屋全体に均一な光が広がっています。 — A uniform light is spreading throughout the room.

equality; uniformity均等kintou

仕事をメンバーで均等に分けました。 — We divided the work equally among the members.

coexistence; standing side by side並立heiritsu

仕事と家庭は並立できます。 — Work and family life can be balanced and coexist.

connection; coupling連結renketsu

この二つの線は、線で連結されています。 — These two lines are connected by a line.

fusion; merging融合yuugou

二つの会社が融合して、新しい事業を始めました。 — The two companies merged and started a new business.

aggregation; consolidation集約shuuyaku

この会社はデータを一か所に集約することを目指しています。 — This company aims to consolidate its data in one place.

dispersion; decentralization分散bunsan

人口の分散により、地域の店が減りました。 — Due to population dispersion, local stores have decreased.

reflection; influence反映hanei

彼女の言葉には、多くの社員の気持ちが反映されています。 — Her words reflect the feelings of many employees.

spread; ripple effect波及hakyuu

その事故の影響は、すぐに町全体に波及しました。 — The impact of the accident quickly spread throughout the entire town.

close; intimate密接missetsu

私の仕事は教育と密接に関係しています。 — My job is closely related to education.

Structure, Form & Category (14)

Words for the underlying shape, foundation, or classification of something, including how it comes into being — common in expository and academic-style N2 passages.

foundation基盤kiban

この学校は、しっかりした基盤の上に成り立っています。 — This school is built on a strong foundation.

aspect側面sokumen

その計画の側面についていろいろ話し合いました。 — We discussed various aspects of the plan.

form形態keitai

この機械は簡単な形態ではありません。 — This machine is not in a simple form.

phase様相yousou

事態の様相が変わりました。 — The situation changed.

establishment確立kakuritsu

会社は新しい安全対策を確立しました。 — The company established new safety measures.

establishment (coming into existence)成立seiritsu

その計画は長い話し合いの末に成立しました。 — That plan was established after long discussion.

realization実現jitsugen

いつか自分の夢を実現したいです。 — I hope to realize my dream someday.

synthesis総合sougou

会議では総合的な報告をします。 — We will give a comprehensive report at the meeting.

outline; broad outline大筋oosuji

まず、計画の大筋を教えてください。 — First, please tell me the outline of the plan.

category; scope範疇hanchuu

その質問は、この会議の範疇ではありません。 — That question is outside the scope of this meeting.

field; domain分野bunya

この分野は、毎年ますます重要になっています。 — This field is becoming more important every year.

class; category部類burui

この本はあの本とは別の部類です。 — This book is in a different category from that one.

foundation; groundwork下地shitaji

彼は日本語を学ぶ下地があります。 — He has a foundation for learning Japanese.

framework; skeleton骨組みhonegumi

骨組みはもうほぼできています。 — The framework is almost complete.

Actual State & Judgment (13)

Words that describe the real condition of something as opposed to how it appears, alongside vocabulary for asserting, deciding, and setting limits — frequent in opinion and argumentative N2 texts.

current situation現状genjou

まず現状を把握しましょう。 — First, let's grasp the current situation.

claim / assertion主張shuchou

彼は自分の主張を曲げません。 — He does not change his assertion.

limit限界genkai

私が手伝えるのにも限界があります。 — There is a limit to how much I can help.

level水準suijun

物価の水準はまだ高いです。 — The price level is still high.

decision決定kettei

最後の決定は部長がしました。 — The final decision was made by the manager.

selection選択sentaku

この三つから一つを選択してください。 — Please choose one option from these three.

guide目安meyasu

この値段を目安にしてください。 — Please use this price as a guide.

outcome; state of affairs始末shimatsu

その始末は悪い結果になりました。 — The outcome was bad. / It ended badly.

actual situation実情jitsujou

決める前に、実情を知る必要があります。 — We need to understand the actual situation before deciding.

substance; essence実質jisshitsu

実質は値段ではなく、品質です。 — In reality, it is not the price but the quality that matters.

conditioning; making conditional条件付けjoukenzuke

このアプリは、勉強の習慣を作るために条件付けを行っています。 — This app is using conditioning to build study habits.

general situation; overview概況gaikyou

まず、あなたの今の概況を教えてください。 — First, please tell me your current overall situation.

real substance; actual state内実naijitsu

内実は私が想像したものと違いました。 — The actual state was different from what I imagined.

Four ways to say 'link' with 連

連携, 連動, 連結, and 連続 all share the kanji 連 (link) but describe different kinds of connection. 連携 is cooperation between independent parties, as when two companies or departments coordinate. 連動 is a functional link where moving one part causes another to move, like linked settings in an app or linked exchange rates. 連結 is a physical or structural coupling, such as train cars or a parent company's consolidated accounts (連結決算). 連続 is simple unbroken continuity in time or sequence, with no implication of cooperation or mechanism at all. Mixing up 連携 and 連動 is a common N2 vocabulary-substitution trap because both get translated as 'linked' in English.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between 進捗, 進度, and 進行?

進捗 (shinchoku) is a status check on how far a specific task or project has advanced right now, as in 進捗はいかがですか (how's it going?). 進度 (shindo) is the pace or rate of advancement, often used for structured processes like a curriculum's pacing (学習の進度). 進行 (shinkou) describes the act of proceeding itself, as in 会議が進行中 (the meeting is in progress) — it is closer in meaning to 経過, which emphasizes time simply passing.

How is 実情 different from 実質 and 内実?

実情 (jitsujou) is the actual situation on the ground, as opposed to official reports or assumptions about it. 実質 (jisshitsu) is the substantive content of something as opposed to its formal label — a 実質的な変化 is a change in substance, not just in name. 内実 (naijitsu) is what is actually happening inside an organization or situation, usually implying a gap between outward appearance and inner reality. All three show up in N2 passages that contrast how something looks with how it really is.

Practice All 84 Abstract Concepts — Degree & Relation Vocabulary Words

Import the Abstract Concepts — Degree & Relation Vocabulary deck into Onigiri Anki and master this category with spaced repetition.