Mother West Wind "Why" Stories — Page 4

Vocabulary

気分

kibun — Mood, feeling, or general mental state

が

ga — Subject marker particle in Japanese grammar

ちょうど

choudo — Exactly, just, precisely at that moment

よい

yoi — Good, fine, favorable condition or quality

とき

toki — Time, moment, occasion when something occurs

彼

kare — He, him; third-person masculine pronoun

は

wa — Topic marker particle highlighting sentence subject

あの

ano — That (over there); referring to distant thing

遠い

tooi — Far, distant in space or time

昔

mukashi — Long ago, old times, the distant past

の

no — Possessive or linking particle connecting nouns

日々

hibi — Days, everyday, daily life or routine

について

ni tsuite — About, concerning, regarding a topic

話す

hanasu — To speak, talk, or tell someone something

とても

totemo — Very, extremely, quite; degree intensifier adverb

好き

suki — Like, fond of, to love something or someone

な

na — Adjectival ending linking na-adjective to noun

です

desu — Polite copula meaning 'is, am, are'

ある

aru — To exist, be, have (for inanimate things)

朝

asa — Morning, the early part of the day

陽気

youki — Cheerful, merry, jovial; bright sunny weather

小さな

chiisana — Small, little, tiny in size or amount

そよ風

soyokaze — Gentle breeze, soft refreshing wind

たち

tachi — Plural suffix for people or living things

カエル

kaeru — Frog; a small amphibian living near water

じいさん

jiisan — Old man, grandfather; elderly male person

いつも

itsumo — Always, usually, habitually at all times

よう

you — Appearing like, seeming as if, in the manner of

に

ni — Direction, location, or purpose particle

大きな

oukina — Large, big, great in size or scale

緑

midori — Green color; the color of plants and leaves

蓮

hasu — Lotus plant; aquatic flower with large leaves

葉

ha — Leaf, foliage of a plant or tree

上

ue — Above, on top of, upper position

座っ

suwatte — Sitting (te-form of suwaru, to sit down)

て

te — Te-form connective particle linking verb phrases

いる

iru — To be, exist (animate); progressive state marker

を

wo — Direct object marker particle in a sentence

見つけ

mitsuke — Find, discover, spot something or someone

まし

mashi — Polite past auxiliary verb stem form

た

ta — Past tense verb ending suffix

そして

soshite — And then, and also, furthermore connecting ideas

白

shiro — White color; the lightest achromatic color

と

to — And, with; quotation or listing particle

黄色

kiiro — Yellow color; bright warm primary color

チョッキ

chokki — Vest, waistcoat; sleeveless upper body garment

で

de — At, by, with; location or means particle

手

te — Hand; part of the arm below the wrist

組ん

kun — Folding, crossing (arms or hands together)

様子

yousu — Appearance, state, situation, manner of something

から

kara — From, because, since; origin or reason particle

おなか

onaka — Stomach, belly, abdomen of a person

ばか

baka — Full of, stuffed; also means fool or idiot

ハエ

hae — Fly; a common winged insect pest

いっぱい

ippai — Full, lots of, packed completely with something

だ

da — Casual copula, plain form of desu (is/am/are)

わかり

wakari — Understanding, comprehension; stem of wakaru

縞

shima — Stripe, striped pattern on fabric or fur

リス

risu — Squirrel; small bushy-tailed rodent in trees

コート

kooto — Coat; an outer garment worn over clothes

あんな

anna — That kind of, such (referring to something distant)

美しい

utsukushii — Beautiful, lovely, gorgeous in appearance

模様

moyou — Pattern, design, motif on a surface

なぜ

naze — Why, for what reason or cause

か

ka — Question marker particle ending an interrogative sentence

どうか

douka — Please, somehow; begging or hoping for something

教え

oshie — Teaching, tell me; stem of oshieru (to teach)

ください

kudasai — Please give or do; polite request form

ひとり

hitori — One person, alone, by oneself

頼み

tanomi — Request, favor, plea; act of asking someone

ゲロゲロ

gerogero — Ribbit; sound a frog makes, croaking onomatopoeia

あれ

are — That (over there); exclamation of surprise or wonder

名誉

meiyo — Honor, glory, prestige; recognition of distinction

じゃ

ja — Casual form of dewa; well then, in that case

低く

hikuku — Low, in a low manner; adverb form of hikui

しわがれ

shiwagare — Hoarse, raspy; describing a rough cracked voice

声

koe — Voice, sound produced by speaking or singing

答え

kotae — Answer, reply, response to a question

まあ

maa — Well, oh my; softening or surprised interjection

すてき

suteki — Wonderful, lovely, splendid, great in appeal

ぜひ

zehi — By all means, definitely, certainly please do

話し

hanashi — Talk, story, conversation; stem of hanasu

お願い

onegai — Please, request; polite way of asking something

ぎょろり

gyorori — Staring wide-eyed; onomatopoeia for bulging eyes

し

shi — And, doing; connective verb stem form

目

me — Eye; the organ used for seeing

きらめか

kirameka — Sparkling, glittering, shimmering with bright light

せ

se — Causative verb ending making something happen

ながら

nagara — While doing, simultaneously performing two actions

始め

hajime — Beginning, start; stem of hajimeru (to begin)

むかし

mukashi — Long ago, once upon a time, ancient times

世界

sekai — World, the earth, global existence or realm

まだ

mada — Still, yet, not yet; continuing current state

若かっ

wakakatta — Was young; past tense form of wakai (young)

ころ

koro — Around that time, about when, approximate period

千代

chiyo — A thousand generations; very long time period

も

mo — Also, too, even; inclusive or additive particle

前

mae — Before, in front of, ago in time

ご先祖様

go-senzosama — Honorable ancestors, forebears of one's family

今

ima — Now, the present moment or time

ほとんど

hotondo — Almost, mostly, nearly; close to entirety

同じ

onaji — Same, identical, equal to something else

暮らし

kurashi — Living, livelihood, daily life and lifestyle

おり

ori — Being, existing; classical humble form of iru

たいへん

taihen — Very, terribly, extremely; also means serious/hard

忙しく

isogashiku — Busily; adverb form of isogashii (busy)

本当に

hontouni — Truly, really, genuinely, in all sincerity

しかも

shikamo — Moreover, furthermore, what is more, additionally

自分

jibun — Oneself, myself, yourself; reflexive personal pronoun

自身

jishin — Oneself, one's very self; emphatic reflexive pronoun

こと

koto — Thing, matter, fact; nominalizer for verb phrases

だけ

dake — Only, just, merely; limiting particle

忙しかっ

isogashikatta — Was busy; past form of isogashii (busy)

しっかり

shikkari — Firmly, properly, thoroughly, with full effort

専念

sennen — Devotion, dedication, concentrating fully on something

いれ

ire — Put in, place; conditional stem of ireru

ば

ba — Conditional particle meaning if or when something happens

隣人

rinjin — Neighbor, person living next door or nearby

口

kuchi — Mouth; opening used for eating and speaking

挟む

hasamu — To insert, sandwich, wedge in, stick nose into

暇

hima — Free time, leisure; having nothing to do

など

nado — Etc., and so on; listing or dismissive particle

ない

nai — Not exist, there is no; negation of aru

だから

dakara — Therefore, so, that is why; causal conjunction

面倒ごと

mendougoto — Troublesome matter, nuisance, bothersome situation

巻き込まれ

makikomare — Getting involved, being dragged into trouble

言い

ii — Saying; stem of iu (to say, tell)

そう

sou — So, that way, like that; expressing agreement

言っ

itte — Said, saying; te-form of iu (to say)

います

imasu — To be, exist (polite); progressive state marker

よ

yo — Sentence-ending particle asserting or emphasizing information

挟み

hasami — Inserting, sandwiching; also scissors; stem of hasamu

それ

sore — That (near listener); third demonstrative pronoun

つまり

tsumari — That is to say, in other words, meaning essentially

わし

washi — I, me; old-fashioned masculine first-person pronoun

おる

oru — To be, exist; humble or dialectal form of iru

くらい

kurai — About, approximately, to the extent of something

賢い

kashikoi — Wise, clever, smart, intelligent in thinking

いう

iu — To say, to be called, to express verbally