Mother West Wind "Why" Stories — Page 7

Vocabulary

。

(kuten) — Japanese full stop punctuation mark.

「

(kagikakko) — Opening quotation mark used in Japanese text.

の

no — Possessive or linking particle connecting nouns.

坊や

bōya — Little boy; affectionate term for a young boy.

は

wa — Topic marker particle indicating the sentence topic.

いつも

itsumo — Always; usually; at all times.

より

yori — Than; more than; used in comparisons.

一層

issō — Even more; all the more; to a greater degree.

と

to — And; with; quotation particle connecting clauses.

身

mi — Body; one's self; one's own person.

を

wo — Object marker particle indicating the direct object.

縮め

chijime — To shrink; to make smaller; to curl up.

、

(toten) — Japanese comma; punctuation mark separating clauses.

一言

hitokoto — A single word; one word; brief remark.

も

mo — Also; even; not even (with negative).

言い

ii — To say; to speak; to utter (stem form).

ませ

mase — Polite verb ending used in formal speech.

ん

n — Negative or explanatory sentence-ending particle.

でし

deshi — Polite copula stem form; precedes た in past tense.

た

ta — Past tense verb ending indicating completed action.

さん

san — Polite honorific suffix used after names.

空洞

kūdō — Hollow; cavity; empty space inside something.

切り株

kirikabu — Tree stump; the remaining base after cutting.

中

naka — Inside; within; the interior of something.

手探り

tesaguri — Groping; feeling around blindly with hands.

し

shi — Verb stem connector; and; also (conjunctive).

長い

nagai — Long; lengthy; extended in length or time.

爪

tsume — Claw; nail; talon of an animal or bird.

で

de — At; with; by means of; location or method particle.

内側

uchigawa — Inside; inner side; interior surface.

ひっかい

hikkai — To scratch; to scrape with claws or nails.

ので

node — Because; since; therefore; causal conjunction.

毛

ke — Fur; hair; feathers on an animal or body.

すっかり

sukkari — Completely; entirely; wholly; all the way.

逆立っ

sakadatt- — To stand on end; hair or fur bristling up.

て

te — Conjunctive particle connecting sequential actions.

しまい

shimai — To end up doing; result in an unintended outcome.

まし

mashi — Polite past auxiliary verb stem form.

そう

sō — So; like that; it seems; that way.

です

desu — Polite copula meaning to be; is; are.

それほど

sorehodo — That much; to that extent; so very much.

彼

kare — He; him; that person (male third person).

怖かっ

kowakatt- — Was scared; was frightened (past stem form).

が

ga — Subject marker particle; but; however (conjunction).

逆立つ

sakadatsu — To stand on end; bristle up (of hair or fur).

それ

sore — That; that thing; referring to something nearby.

にやり

niyari — Grinning slyly; a smirk; cunning smile (onomatopoeia).

笑い

warai — Laughter; a laugh; smile; act of laughing.

見る

miru — To see; to look at; to watch something.

から

kara — From; because; since; after (conjunction or particle).

に

ni — In; at; to; direction or location particle.

醜い

minikui — Ugly; unsightly; unpleasant to look at.

もう

mō — Already; anymore; soon; a little more.

少し

sukoshi — A little; a small amount; slightly.

奥

oku — Depth; inner part; far interior of something.

まで

made — Until; as far as; up to; extent particle.

手

te — Hand; arm; handwriting; means or method.

伸ばし

nobashi — To extend; to stretch out; to reach forward.

つかもう

tsukamō — Let's grab; volitional form of to grasp or seize.

大きく

ōkiku — Widely; largely; greatly; in a big manner.

広げ

hirogе — To spread; to open wide; to expand something.

鋭い

surudoi — Sharp; keen; pointed; acute in sensation or edge.

首

kubi — Neck; head; throat area of a person or animal.

あたり

atari — Around; vicinity; approximately; in the area of.

コート

kōto — Coat; outer garment worn over clothing.

引っかかり

hikkakari — Caught on; snagged; hooked onto something.

その

sono — That; the (demonstrative adjective modifying a noun).

全長

zenchō — Total length; full length from end to end.

わたっ

watatt- — Spanning; extending across; covering the whole length.

細く

hosoku — Thinly; narrowly; in a slender manner.

引き裂い

hikisai- — To tear apart; to rip; to split by pulling.

もちろん

mochiron — Of course; naturally; needless to say.

痛さ

itasa — Pain; the degree or intensity of pain felt.

悲鳴

himei — Scream; shriek; cry of pain or terror.

上げ

age — To raise; to let out (a sound); to lift up.

ひどく

hidoku — Terribly; severely; awfully; to a harsh degree.

痛かっ

itakatt- — Was painful; was hurting (past stem of painful).

裂け

sake — To tear; to split; to be ripped apart.

こと

koto — Thing; fact; matter; nominalizer for verbs.

喜び

yorokobi — Joy; delight; happiness; gladness.

もし

moshi — If; supposing that; in case (conditional opener).

なかっ

nakatt- — Was not; did not exist (past negative stem).

たら

tara — If; when; conditional form of past tense.

きっと

kitto — Surely; certainly; definitely; without doubt.

引っ張り

hippari — To pull; to drag; to tug forcefully.

出し

dashi — To take out; to pull out; to extract something.

い

i — To be; to exist (for animate beings, stem form).

でしょ

desho — Probably; right?; I suppose (polite conjecture).

う

u — Volitional or speculative verb ending suffix.

時間

jikan — Time; hour; a period or duration of time.

経っ

tatt- — To pass; to elapse (of time passing by).

後

ato — After; later; behind; subsequent to something.

うなり声

unarigoe — Growl; snarl; low threatening animal sound.

あげ

age — To let out; to raise; to produce (a sound).

ながら

nagara — While doing; simultaneously; at the same time.

諦め

akirame — To give up; to resign oneself; to abandon hope.

立ち去り

tachisari — To leave; to go away; to depart from a place.

安全

anzen — Safe; safety; security; free from danger.

だ

da — Is; are; plain form copula ending a sentence.

思っ

omott- — To think; to feel; to believe (stem past form).

とき

toki — Time; moment; when; occasion or instance.

古い

furui — Old; aged; ancient; not new or recent.

這い出

haide — To crawl out; to creep out of a space.

急い

isoi — To hurry; to rush; to move quickly (stem form).

家

ie — House; home; one's dwelling or residence.

へ

e — To; toward; directional particle indicating destination.

帰り

kaeri — To return; to go back home; homeward journey.

痛み

itami — Pain; ache; soreness in the body.

感じ

kanji — To feel; to sense; a feeling or sensation.

地味

jimi — Plain; modest; dull; subdued in appearance or style.

な

na — Adjectival particle linking na-adjectives to nouns.

茶色

chairo — Brown; brown color; the color of tea.

小さな

chiisana — Small; little; tiny (attributive adjective form).

細切れ

komagire — Small pieces; scraps; tiny fragments cut finely.

他人

tanin — Other people; strangers; someone else; others.

突っ込ん

tsukkonn- — To thrust into; to poke into; to meddle in.

報い

mukui — Retribution; reward or punishment for one's actions.

これ

kore — This; this thing; referring to something nearby.

苦々しく

niganigarashiku — Bitterly; with bitterness or resentment; grudgingly.

自分

jibun — Oneself; myself; yourself; one's own self.

だけ

dake — Only; just; merely; limited to that extent.

気

ki — Spirit; mind; feeling; attention; mood.

いれ

ire — To put in; to place inside; to pay attention.

ば

ba — If; conditional particle expressing a condition.

こんな

konna — This kind of; such; like this (demonstrative adjective).

なら

nara — If; in that case; conditional conjunctive particle.

ちょうど

chōdo — Exactly; just; precisely at that moment or amount.

ふと

futo — Suddenly; by chance; unexpectedly; on a whim.

方

hō — Direction; side; person; way or manner of doing.

見

mi — To see; to look; stem form of miru.

そこ

soko — There; that place; referring to a nearby location.