N2 Japanese Reading Practice: After the Meeting
This free JLPT N2 reading practice is a short reflection after a meeting—tone and omission matter as much as vocabulary. Read with optional furigana, check the notes and questions, then continue with intermediate passages in Yomigi.
会議のあと
会議のあと、言いかけた意見を飲み込んだことが、妙に気になっていた。反対したかったわけではない。ただ、皆が急いで結論に向かう中で、自分だけが小さな違和感を抱えているように感じた。その違和感の正体を考えるほど、さっきの沈黙が重くなっていった。
会議のあと、言いかけた意見を飲み込んだことが、妙に気になっていた。反対したかったわけではない。ただ、皆が急いで結論に向かう中で、自分だけが小さな違和感を抱えているように感じた。その違和感の正体を考えるほど、さっきの沈黙が重くなっていった。Summary
After a meeting, the narrator keeps thinking about an opinion they started to say and then swallowed. They did not necessarily want to oppose the group—only felt a small unease while everyone rushed to a conclusion. The more they examine that unease, the heavier the earlier silence becomes.
Key Vocabulary
- 言いかけたいいかけたstarted to say / was about to say
- 飲み込んだのみこんだswallowed (here: held back words)
- わけではないわけではないit is not that … / not necessarily …
- 違和感いわかんsense of unease; something feeling off
- 正体しょうたいtrue nature / what something really is
- 沈黙ちんもくsilence
Grammar Notes
- 〜わけではない
- 反対したかったわけではない denies a simple motive: the issue is unease, not clear opposition.
- 〜中で
- 急いで結論に向かう中で frames the narrator’s feeling against the group’s rushing motion.
- 〜ば〜ほど / 考えるほど
- 正体を考えるほど… quantifies escalation: more thinking → heavier silence.
Comprehension
01What keeps bothering the narrator after the meeting?Reveal AnswerHide Answer
That they started to offer an opinion and then swallowed it.
02Did they want to oppose everyone?Reveal AnswerHide Answer
Not exactly—反対したかったわけではない. The feeling was a small sense that something was off.
03What happens as they examine that unease?Reveal AnswerHide Answer
The earlier silence feels heavier and heavier.
Why This Level
Tone, self-correction, and abstract nouns (違和感, 正体, 沈黙) push into N2 territory.
Subjects stay mostly omitted; you must track who feels what.
Still a concrete workplace-adjacent scene, not academic prose.