JLPT Listening Traps: How to Tell “Requests” from “Confirmations”

Have you ever listened to a JLPT dialogue and thought, “I understood the words, but I still chose the wrong answer”?

This often happens in listening questions that include 依頼表現 (irai hyōgen / request expressions).

For example:

「コピーしておいてください。」
Please make copies in advance.

「コピーしてありますか。」
Have the copies already been made?

Both sentences include コピー (kopī / copy), but the speaker’s purpose is completely different.

In the first sentence, the speaker is asking someone to do something.
In the second sentence, the speaker is checking whether something has already been done.

This difference is small, but in JLPT listening, it can decide the correct answer.

The Main Point: Requests Ask Someone to Act, Confirmations Check Information

The first thing to listen for is not only the verb, but the function of the sentence.

Is the speaker asking the other person to do something from now on?
Or is the speaker checking a current situation, a completed action, or a plan?

Compare these two sentences:

「会議の資料を印刷しておいてください。」
Please print the meeting materials in advance.

「会議の資料は印刷してありますか。」
Have the meeting materials already been printed?

The first sentence is お願い (onegai / a request).
The second sentence is 確認 (kakunin / confirmation or checking).

The verb 印刷する (insatsu suru / to print) appears in both, but the answer choice you should choose will be different.

How to Recognize お願い (Request Expressions)

お願い (onegai / request) means the speaker wants the listener to do something.

Common request patterns include:

• 〜てください
• 〜てもらえますか
• 〜ていただけますか
• 〜ておいてください
• 〜ようにしてください
• 〜てもらえると助かります

For example:

「明日までにこの書類を確認していただけますか。」
Could you check this document by tomorrow?

Even though the sentence includes 確認 (kakunin / confirmation), the function of the sentence is a request.

The speaker is not asking whether the document has already been checked.
The speaker is asking the listener to check it.

This is a common JLPT trap.

The word 確認 (kakunin / confirmation) does not always mean the sentence is a confirmation question. You must listen to the ending.

How to Recognize 確認 (Confirmation Expressions)

確認 (kakunin / confirmation) means the speaker wants to check whether something is correct, completed, or decided.

Common confirmation patterns include:

• 〜ましたか
• 〜てありますか
• 〜ていますか
• 〜ことになっていますか
• 〜でよろしいですか
• 〜ということでいいですか

For example:

「明日の会議は10時からでよろしいですか。」
Is it correct that tomorrow’s meeting starts at 10?

This is not a request to start the meeting at 10.
It is a confirmation of information.

Another example:

「資料はもう送ってありますか。」
Have the materials already been sent?

The speaker is not asking the listener to send the materials now.
The speaker is checking whether the action has already been completed.

Be Careful: 「確認してください」 Is a Request

One very important trap is 「確認してください」.

Look at this sentence:

「この内容を確認してください。」
Please check this content.

The word 確認 (kakunin / check) appears, but the sentence is not a confirmation question.

It is a request.

The speaker wants the listener to do the action of checking.

Now compare these three:

「確認してください。」
Please check it.

「確認しましたか。」
Did you check it?

「確認してありますか。」
Has it already been checked?

The first one is a request.
The second and third are confirmations.

In JLPT listening, this difference often appears in the answer choices.

Why 「〜ておいてください」 Is Often Tested

The pattern 「〜ておいてください」 is especially important.

「〜ておく」 means to do something in advance so that there will be no problem later.

For example:

「会議の前に、資料を人数分コピーしておいてください。」
Please make copies of the materials for everyone before the meeting.

This does not simply mean “copy the materials.”
It means “prepare them in advance.”

In the answer choices, this may be rephrased as:

• Prepare the materials before the meeting
• Make enough copies for everyone
• Get the materials ready in advance

So do not listen only for コピー (kopī / copy).
Listen for the idea of preparation before a future event.

「〜でよろしいですか」 Means Confirmation, Not Request

In business conversations, shops, hotels, and phone calls, you will often hear 「〜でよろしいですか」.

For example:

「お名前は田中様でよろしいですか。」
Is your name Tanaka?

「ご予約は明日の午後3時でよろしいですか。」
Is your reservation for tomorrow at 3 p.m.?

「お支払いはカードでよろしいですか。」
Will you be paying by card?

These are confirmation expressions.
The speaker is checking whether the information is correct.

However, a request may come right after the confirmation.

「お支払いはカードでよろしいですか。」
Will you be paying by card?

「はい。」
Yes.

「では、こちらにサインをお願いします。」
Then please sign here.

In this dialogue, the first sentence is confirmation.
The last sentence is a request.

JLPT listening often mixes both in one conversation, so you need to catch which part is being asked about.

Listening Tip 1: Do Not Stop at the Verb

Many learners hear the verb and choose an answer too quickly.

For example, they hear:

送る (okuru / to send)
確認する (kakunin suru / to check)
予約する (yoyaku suru / to reserve)
変更する (henkō suru / to change)

These verbs are important, but they are not enough.

You must also listen to the sentence ending.

「送ってください。」
Please send it.

「送りましたか。」
Did you send it?

「送ってありますか。」
Has it already been sent?

「送ることになっていますか。」
Is it scheduled or arranged to be sent?

The action is similar, but the speaker’s purpose is different.

Listening Tip 2: Ask Yourself, “What Does the Speaker Want?”

When you are unsure, ask this question:

Does the speaker want the listener to act?
Or does the speaker want to check information?

For example:

「このメールを部長に転送してもらえますか。」
Could you forward this email to the department manager?

The speaker wants the listener to forward the email.
This is a request.

Now compare:

「このメールは部長に転送してありますか。」
Has this email already been forwarded to the department manager?

The speaker wants to know whether the email has already been forwarded.
This is confirmation.

In JLPT listening, the correct answer often expresses the speaker’s purpose, not the exact words from the dialogue.

Listening Tip 3: Watch for Paraphrases in the Answer Choices

JLPT answer choices often paraphrase the dialogue.

For example, the audio may say:

「資料を人数分コピーしておいてください。」
Please make copies of the materials for everyone in advance.

But the answer choice may say:

「会議の準備をする」
Prepare for the meeting

The words are different, but the function is the same.

Or the audio may say:

「予約は明日の午後2時でよろしいですか。」
Is the reservation for tomorrow at 2 p.m.?

The answer choice may say:

「予約時間を確認する」
Confirm the reservation time

Again, the words are not identical, but the meaning matches.

This is why listening only for matching vocabulary is dangerous.

You need to listen for the function:

• Request: What does the speaker want someone to do?
• Confirmation: What information does the speaker want to check?

Mini Practice: Request or Confirmation?

Try identifying each sentence.

1

「明日の資料を印刷しておいてください。」
Please print tomorrow’s materials in advance.

This is a request.
The speaker is asking someone to print the materials.

2

「明日の資料は印刷してありますか。」
Have tomorrow’s materials already been printed?

This is confirmation.
The speaker is checking whether the printing is complete.

3

「この内容でよろしいですか。」
Is this content okay?

This is confirmation.
The speaker is checking whether the content is correct or acceptable.

4

「この内容を確認していただけますか。」
Could you check this content?

This is a request.
The speaker is asking the listener to check the content.

5

「会議室は予約してありますか。」
Has the meeting room already been reserved?

This is confirmation.
The speaker is checking whether the reservation has been completed.

Easy Expressions Can Be the Most Dangerous

Request and confirmation expressions often use simple words.

That is exactly why they are easy to miss.

You may think, “I understood it,” but if you miss the sentence ending, you may misunderstand the speaker’s intention.

In JLPT N3–N2 listening, the question is often not just “What word did you hear?”

It is more like:

• What is the speaker asking the listener to do?
• What is the speaker checking?
• Who will do what next?

When you train yourself to hear these points, the dialogue becomes much clearer.

Conclusion: Listen to the Ending, Then Understand the Purpose

To avoid mistakes in request and confirmation questions, remember these three points.

• 「〜てください」 and 「〜てもらえますか」 usually express a request.
• 「〜ましたか」, 「〜てありますか」, and 「〜でよろしいですか」 usually express confirmation.
• 「確認してください」 contains 確認, but the function is a request.

If you often feel, “I can hear the words, but I still choose the wrong answer,” the problem may not be your vocabulary.

You may simply need to train your ears to notice sentence endings and speaker intention.

RJT (Rapid Japanese Training) helps learners practice Japanese grammar, vocabulary, reading, and listening through focused questions and clear explanations. You can listen to audio, check explanations, review key expressions, and build the kind of listening judgment needed for the JLPT.

If you want to stop losing points on “almost understood” listening questions, start practicing with RJT here:

https://rapid-jt.com/

For key listening signals, see the guide to JLPT listening expressions you should not miss. JLPT Listening Expressions You Should Not Miss