Mother West Wind "Why" Stories — Page 9

Vocabulary

彼

kare — He; that person (male third-person pronoun).

は

wa — Topic-marking particle indicating the sentence topic.

そのように

sono you ni — In that way; like that; in such a manner.

手

te — Hand; arm; hands of the body.

を

wo — Object-marking particle indicating the direct object.

組んで

kunde — Folding or crossing (arms/hands); interlocking together.

座る

suwaru — To sit; to take a seated position.

の

no — Possessive or nominalizing particle; connecting nouns.

が

ga — Subject-marking particle; indicates grammatical subject.

とても

totemo — Very; extremely; quite; to a great degree.

好き

suki — Like; fond of; having affection or preference for something.

です

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

から

kara — From; because; since; indicating origin or reason.

少し

sukoshi — A little; a small amount; slightly.

離れた

hanareta — Separated; at a distance; apart from something.

ところ

tokoro — Place; spot; location; a point in time or situation.

に

ni — Particle indicating location, direction, time, or target.

座って

suwatte — Sitting (te-form of 座る); in a seated position.

い

i — Stem of いる; used in progressive or resultant state constructions.

まし

mashi — Polite past auxiliary; part of ました (polite past tense).

た

ta — Past tense auxiliary verb ending; indicates completed action.

背筋

sesuji — Spine; back muscles; the line of the back.

伸ばして

nobashite — Stretching or straightening out; extending something lengthwise.

前

mae — Front; before; in front of; previous.

だらり

darari — Limply; loosely hanging; drooping in a relaxed way.

と

to — Particle meaning 'and,' 'with,' or quotation marker.

垂れて

tarete — Hanging down; drooping; dangling loosely downward.

それ

sore — That; that thing (mid-distance demonstrative pronoun).

気づき

kizuki — Noticing; becoming aware of; realization of something.

なぜ

naze — Why; for what reason; used to ask cause.

私

watashi — I; me; first-person singular pronoun (polite/neutral).

よう

you — Like; in the manner of; appearance or seeming.

組ま

kuma — Stem of 組む; to fold/cross arms (base form).

ない

nai — Negative auxiliary; not; does not; indicates negation.

ん

n — Colloquial nominalizer or explanatory sentence-final particle.

か

ka — Question-marking particle; turns statement into a question.

叫び

sakebi — A shout; a cry; exclaiming loudly in surprise or emotion.

ぼく

boku — I; me; informal first-person pronoun used by males.

し

shi — Conjunction meaning 'and'; or stem of する (to do).

たく

taku — Desiderative stem of たい; wanting to do something.

だ

da — Informal copula meaning 'is,' 'am,' or 'are.'

どもり

domori — Stuttering; stammering; stumbling over words when speaking.

ながら

nagara — While doing; simultaneously performing two actions at once.

言い

ii — Saying (stem of 言う); to say or speak something.

でき

deki — Stem of できる; to be able to; can; possible.

って

tte — Colloquial quotation or topic marker; informal 'they say.'

こと

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

でしょ

desho — Probably; right?; seeking confirmation or expressing assumption.

う

u — Volitional ending; let's; shall; expresses intention or conjecture.

あざ笑い

azawarai — Mockery; scornful laughter; laughing at someone derisively.

聞こえ

kikoe — Can be heard; audible; stem of 聞こえる (to be audible).

ふり

furi — Pretending; acting as if; feigning a certain behavior.

て

te — Te-form connective particle linking sequential or manner clauses.

数分

suufun — Several minutes; a few minutes of time elapsed.

後

nochi / ato — After; later; afterward; subsequent to an event.

懐かしい

natsukashii — Nostalgic; dear; fondly remembered from the past.

いばら

ibara — Briar; thorny bush; bramble; prickly shrub or thicket.

茂み

shigemi — Thicket; dense growth of bushes or undergrowth.

向かって

mukatte — Heading toward; facing; directed at a destination.

ぴょんぴょん

pyonpyon — Hopping; bounding; onomatopoeia for light repeated jumping.

跳んで

tonde — Jumping; leaping; hopping (te-form of 跳ぶ).

行き

iki — Going; heading somewhere (stem of 行く, to go).

行く

iku — To go; to move toward a destination or place.

見て

mite — Looking; seeing (te-form of 見る, to look/see).

その

sono — That (attributive); modifies a noun referring to nearby thing.

目

me — Eye; eyes; gaze; point of view or perspective.

不思議

fushigi — Strange; mysterious; wonderful; puzzling and hard to understand.

そう

sou — Like that; so; seeming; in that way or manner.

な

na — Adjectival or sentence-final particle; soft assertion or modification.

表情

hyoujou — Facial expression; the look on someone's face.

浮かんで

ukande — Floating up; appearing on the surface; expression arising.

本当

hontou — True; real; genuine; actually; indeed; in truth.

組め

kume — Potential or imperative stem of 組む; can fold/cross.

思う

omou — To think; to feel; to believe; to consider something.

独り言

hitorigoto — Talking to oneself; a monologue; muttering alone quietly.

声

koe — Voice; sound produced by speaking or singing.

出して

dashite — Putting out; emitting; producing (te-form of 出す).

言って

itte — Saying (te-form of 言う); speaking; uttering words aloud.

ませ

mase — Polite imperative ending; please do (formal/polite command form).

家族

kazoku — Family; one's household members; relatives living together.

誰

dare — Who; which person; used in questions about identity.

も

mo — Also; too; even; neither (with negation); inclusive particle.

よ

yo — Sentence-final particle asserting or informing the listener.

低い

hikui — Low; short in height; quiet (of voice or position).

振り返る

furikaeru — To look back; to turn around; to reflect on past.

ヒキガエル

hikigaeru — Toad; a large warty amphibian; common garden toad.

おじいさん

ojiisan — Grandfather; elderly man; respectful term for old man.

一本道

ippondou — Single straight road; one-track path with no branches.

いる

iru — To be; to exist (used for animate beings present somewhere).

見え

mie — Visible; appearing (stem of 見える, to be visible).

尋ね

tazune — Asking; inquiring; stem of 尋ねる (to ask/inquire).

カエル

kaeru — Frog; small jumping amphibian living near water.

聞いて

kiite — Listening; asking; hearing (te-form of 聞く).

み

mi — Stem of みる (try doing); or 見 meaning sight/view.

なさい

nasai — Polite imperative; please do; instruction directed at listener.

なら

nara — If; in that case; conditional particle for given situations.

知って

shitte — Knowing (te-form of 知る); being aware of information.

ます

masu — Polite present/future auxiliary verb ending in Japanese.

答えて

kotaete — Answering; responding (te-form of 答える, to answer).

自分

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

用事

youji — Errand; business to attend to; things one needs to do.

出かけて

dekakete — Going out; heading out (te-form of 出かける).

いき

iki — Going (stem of 行く); breath; spirit; style.

こう

kou — Like this; in this way; thus; indicating current manner.

して

shite — Doing (te-form of する); connecting actions in sequence.

微笑み

hohoemi — A smile; gentle smiling expression on one's face.

池

ike — Pond; small body of still water in a landscape.

ほとり

hotori — Shore; edge; vicinity of a body of water.

集まった

atsumatta — Gathered; assembled; came together in one place.

草原

sougen / kusahara — Grassland; meadow; open field covered with grass.

森

mori — Forest; woods; a dense area of trees.

小さな

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

仲間

nakama — Companion; fellow; friend; member of the same group.

たち

tachi — Plural suffix for people or living beings; group marker.

この

kono — This (attributive); modifies noun referring to nearby thing.

話

hanashi — Story; talk; conversation; a tale being told.

語る

kataru — To tell; to narrate; to speak about a story or event.

なった

natta — Became; turned into (past tense of なる, to become).

ウサギ

usagi — Rabbit; hare; small long-eared fluffy mammal.

千代

chiyo — A thousand generations; long ages; eternity; also a name.

ご先祖様

go-senzo-sama — Honorable ancestors; respected forebears of one's family lineage.

いつも

itsumo — Always; usually; habitually; at all times without exception.

トラブル

toraburu — Trouble; problem; difficulty; borrowed word from English.

巻き込まれて

makikoma rete — Getting involved in; being dragged into trouble or situation.

巻き込まれ

makikomare — Being caught up in; entangled; drawn into a situation.

なければ

nakereba — If not; unless; conditional negative form of ない.

幸せ

shiawase — Happiness; good fortune; bliss; being content and fortunate.

で

de — Particle indicating place of action, means, or cause.

でし

deshi — Polite past stem (part of でした, polite past copula).