# JFT-Basic Expression (2-2): the phrase the moment calls for

Category 2-2 asks which set phrase fits a situation. Why these are learned whole rather than built from grammar, with three worked items from working life.

## The short answer

Expression is category 2-2. A short dialog appears and you choose the set phrase that fits the moment. The Japan Foundation's purpose for it is to test whether you can use the appropriate expression matching the context. These phrases are not built from grammar rules, they are learned whole, and most of them belong to a specific moment in a Japanese workplace or home.

## Key facts

- **Section:** Conversation and Expression
- **Category number:** 2-2
- **What it tests:** Expressions that match the context
- **Questions in the section:** Around 12
- **Stimulus:** A short dialog between two people
- **Review:** Allowed anywhere inside the section

Sections, categories and rules come from the Japan Foundation's JFT-Basic pages and its "About the JFT-Basic" deck, checked 27 September 2026.

## How it's scored

Every option is a phrase a Japanese speaker says. None of them is wrong in the abstract, and none can be worked out from its parts. The question is which moment each one belongs to.

Most of the phrases mark a transition: arriving, leaving, starting a meal, receiving help, apologizing. Learning them by the moment rather than by the translation is what makes this category quick.

> Ask what just happened in the dialog. Somebody left, somebody helped, somebody arrived. The phrase attaches to the event, not to the words around it.

## Expression examples

Worked examples written for this page. Answer each one before you open the model response: memorizing a response is scored as an irrelevant answer in the real test.

**Example 1 -- a colleague leaves before you**

> 会社で、リンさんが 同僚と 話して います。
> 同僚：「じゃあ、お先に しつれいします。」
> リン：「（　　）。」

Prompt: Which expression fits the gap best?

- A. いってらっしゃい
- B. ごちそうさまでした
- C. おまたせしました
- D. おつかれさまでした
Answer: D.

Model response: おつかれさまでした. It is what you say to someone finishing work and going home.

Why it scores: いってらっしゃい is for someone leaving and coming back, which is why it works at a front door and not at the end of a shift. The distinction is the whole item.

**Example 2 -- at the door of someone's home**

> リンさんが 同僚の 家に あそびに 来ました。げんかんで 話して います。
> 同僚：「どうぞ、入って ください。」
> リン：「（　　）。」

Prompt: Which expression fits the gap best?

- A. おじゃまします
- B. いただきます
- C. いってきます
- D. ただいま
Answer: A.

Model response: おじゃまします. It is the phrase for stepping into somebody else's home.

Why it scores: ただいま is said by the person who lives there, coming back. Each of these phrases belongs to one person in one doorway, and mixing up who is speaking is the usual error.

**Example 3 -- someone has done the work for you**

> 会社で、リンさんが 同僚と 話して います。
> 同僚：「たのまれた しりょう、ぜんぶ できましたよ。」
> リン：「ほんとうですか。（　　）。」

Prompt: Which expression fits the gap best?

- A. こまりました
- B. たすかりました
- C. がんばります
- D. おかげさまで
Answer: B.

Model response: たすかりました. It is what you say when somebody's help has saved you real trouble, and it is warmer than a plain thank-you.

Why it scores: おかげさまで is the near miss. It answers a question about how you are doing, after good news about yourself, rather than thanking someone for an action.

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## Common mistakes

| What costs marks | Do this instead |
| --- | --- |
| Translating the phrase and choosing on the translation. | Several options translate as thank you or excuse me. The moment is what separates them, not the English. |
| Mixing up who says which half of a pair. | いってきます and いってらっしゃい, ただいま and おかえりなさい. Learn both sides and who stands where. |
| Using おつかれさま for someone who is coming back. | It marks the end of work. For someone stepping out and returning, いってらっしゃい is the phrase. |
| Learning these from a vocabulary list. | Learn each one attached to its situation. A list gives you the words without the moment they belong to. |

**See how far 200 is** The JFT-Basic score checker turns a total on the 10-250 scale into its level band, says whether it clears A2, and works out what you still need. [Open the JFT-Basic score checker](/jft-basic/score-checker)

## How to practice

1. Build a list by moment rather than alphabetically: arriving, leaving, eating, being helped, apologizing.
2. Practice the paired phrases together so you learn which speaker says which.
3. Watch a workplace drama scene and note every set phrase with what had just happened.
4. For each item you miss, write the situation the wrong option actually belongs to. That fixes two phrases at once.

## Common questions

### What is the difference between JFT-Basic 2-1 and 2-2?

Category 2-1 tests grammar that fits the context, so the options are forms attached to a verb. Category 2-2 tests set phrases, which are learned whole and cannot be built from rules.

### Do I need to know keigo for the Expression questions?

You need the everyday polite phrases of working life, which is where most of these come from. Full honorific and humble conjugation is beyond what an A2 test asks for.

### Why do all the options sound polite?

Because they are all real phrases at a similar level of politeness. The category is not asking which is polite enough, it is asking which belongs to the moment in the dialog.

**Sources**
- [The Japan Foundation: About the JFT-Basic, test structure and categories (PDF)](https://www.jpf.go.jp/jft-basic/e/about/pdf/describing_en.pdf)
- [The Japan Foundation: about the JFT-Basic (checked 27 September 2026)](https://www.jpf.go.jp/jft-basic/e/about/index.html)

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