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In my [JLPT](http://www.jlpt.jp/e/) workbook, there is this example question:

> **適当{てきとう}な語{ご}を選{えら}びなさい**
>
> この殺人{さつじん}事件{じけん}の裏{うら}には（ ）上{じょう}のトラブルがあるようだ。
>
> **A** 金額{きんがく} **B** 大金{たいきん} **C** 金銭{きんせん} **D** 基金{ききん}

The answer is... (drum roll, please)... **C** , `金銭{きんせん}`.

First, I'm a little vague on the meaning of `金銭{きんせん}`. Seems to just mean
"money", but how is it different from just saying `金{かね}`?

More importantly, while it does fit as an answer, I don't clearly see why it's
a better answer than **B** , `大金{たいきん}` (can also be read `おおがね`), which means
"a large amount of money".

To me it makes more sense that a large amount of money is more of a motive for
murder than just money in general.

Why is `金銭{きんせん}` a better answer than `大金{たいきん}`?

* * *

Rough translation of the question:

> **_Select the appropriate word_**
>
> It appears that underneath this incident of murder there was some trouble
> with ( ).
>
> **A** An amount of money **B** a large amount of money **C** money(?) **D**
> a fund
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2011-09-19T03:44:53.703
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word-choice jlpt
Why isn't a large amount of money a good enough reason to kill someone?
As @nkjt said in a comment above, this `〜上` is the one meaning, "from the
viewpoint/standpoint of 〜". A very common one you'll see in a lot of places is
`安全上の注意 ("safety precautions" -- I used to see this under the lids of those
fancy toilets)`. So `金銭上` would mean "from the standpoint of money", or put
more simply, "financial". So it would translate as, "...it appears there was
some financial trouble."

Also, as you mentioned in the comments, the other answers aren't necessarily
wrong, but they are not the best choice for the sentence. In this case, the
other three words `金額 (amount of money)`, `大金 (large sum of money)`, and `基金
(funds/funding)` could work if there were more context. However, for it to be
the _best_ answer, it seems like you'd need a fair amount of context. You'd
almost need a short "story", probably involving an amount of money and/or a
description of the crime scene. But something like that would be better fitted
to the reading section of the test instead the grammar or vocab section.
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2011-09-19T14:42:06.303
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2014-05-04T03:46:52.757
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answer