When you are studying a language, a dictionary is an essential tool. But you also need to put down the dictionary sometimes and trust your ability to guess.

Read the sentences below. In each sentence there is a word underlined. Do you know the meaning of the word? If not, first look at the words around it and try and create a picture in your mind. For example, look at the example below and try to guess the meaning of the word "foundered."

Could you guess the meaning? Perhaps you couldn't. But in this example, there are several words that you probably do know. For example:

Now look at those words. If you were out in the ocean in a boat in a very strong wind, with very high waves, what could happen to your ship? Use your imagination.

Now, what do you think foundered means?:

入港した

沈んだ

進だ

Answer 沈んだ

In fact, in all languages there are hints like this that can help you guess the meaning of new words. Of course you usually cannot guess the exact meaning of the words, but as you see them over and over again, you can start to get a better idea of the meaning.

But remember that you should not guess like this all the time. At some point you should use a dictionary for words that you feel that are important enough to have a very clear and precise understanding of. But for many words, just getting the gist is enough.

Now click on the red button below to try a few examples (Exercises courtesy of Jared Lubarsky)