Mother West Wind "Why" Stories — Page 17

Vocabulary

もちろん

mochiron — Of course; naturally; without a doubt.

そんな

sonna — That kind of; such a thing as that.

こと

koto — Thing; fact; matter; abstract concept.

は

wa — Topic-marking particle indicating the subject.

知っ

shit(te) — Knowing; to know (conjunctive form of 知る).

て

te — Conjunctive particle connecting verbs or clauses.

い

i — Auxiliary verb stem indicating ongoing state or action.

ます

masu — Polite verb ending indicating formal speech.

と

to — Quotation particle; also means 'and' or 'with'.

シマリス

shimarisu — Chipmunk; small striped rodent of the squirrel family.

が

ga — Subject-marking particle identifying the grammatical subject.

答え

kotae — Answer; reply; response to a question.

まし

mashi — Polite past tense auxiliary verb stem.

た

ta — Past tense verb ending indicating completed action.

でも

demo — But; however; even so; nevertheless.

私

watashi — I; me; first-person singular pronoun.

たち

tachi — Plural suffix indicating a group of people.

知り

shiri — Knowing; want to know (stem of 知る).

たい

tai — Desire auxiliary; want to do something.

の

no — Possessive or nominalizing particle; explanatory tone.

彼

kare — He; him; third-person masculine singular pronoun.

どう

dou — How; in what way; by what means.

やっ

yat(te) — Doing; performing (conjunctive stem of やる).

ふう

fuu — Way; manner; style; appearance of doing something.

に

ni — Directional or locational particle; at, in, to.

人

hito — Person; human being; people in general.

を

wo — Object-marking particle indicating the direct object.

だま

dama(su) — To deceive; to trick; to fool someone.

せる

seru — Causative verb suffix; to make or let someone do.

気づい

kidzui(te) — Noticed; became aware of; realized something.

か

ka — Question particle placed at the end of a sentence.

そし

soshi(te) — And then; moreover; furthermore (conjunctive).

自分

jibun — Oneself; one's own self; reflexive pronoun.

し

shi — Conjunctive verb ending; also, because, and moreover.

わかる

wakaru — To understand; to know; to realize something.

という

to iu — Called; known as; which says that.

です

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

おそらく

osoraku — Probably; most likely; presumably; I suppose.

お母さん

okaasan — Mother; mom; polite term for one's mother.

教え

oshie — Teaching; lesson; instruction given to someone.

だろう

darou — Probably; I suppose; conjecture or supposition.

よ

yo — Sentence-ending particle adding assertion or emphasis.

カエル

kaeru — Frog; amphibious jumping creature living near water.

じいさん

jiisan — Old man; grandfather; elderly male person.

のど

nodo — Throat; the internal passage for swallowing and speaking.

奥

oku — Deep inside; back of; interior of a space.

で

de — Particle indicating location of action or means used.

また

mata — Again; also; once more; in addition.

くつくつ

kutsukutsu — Chuckling softly; bubbling sound of suppressed laughter.

笑い

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

ながら

nagara — While doing; simultaneously performing two actions.

言い

ii — Saying; speaking (stem of 言う to say).

では

dewa — Well then; in that case; introducing next topic.

誰

dare — Who; which person; interrogative pronoun for people.

しつこく

shitsukoku — Persistently; insistently; in a nagging stubborn manner.

聞き

kiki — Asking; listening; hearing (stem of 聞く).

おろか

oroka — Foolish; stupid; senseless; lacking good judgment.

な

na — Adjectival noun ending or negative imperative particle.

緑

midori — Green; the color of plants and leaves.

ハエ

hae — Fly; common housefly insect.

パクッ

pakku — Snapping sound of mouth biting something suddenly.

かみつき

kamitsuki — Biting; snapping at; act of biting something.

それ

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

白

shiro — White; the color white; purity.

黄色

kiiro — Yellow; the bright warm color of the sun.

チョッキ

chokki — Vest; waistcoat; sleeveless upper-body garment.

なか

naka — Inside; middle; center of something; interior.

しっかり

shikkari — Firmly; securely; properly; in a reliable manner.

おさまる

osamaru — To settle into; to fit snugly; to calm down.

もう

mou — Already; anymore; soon; expressing changed state.

一度

ichido — Once; one time; a single occurrence.

三人

sannin — Three people; a group of three persons.

小さな

chiisana — Small; little; tiny in size or scale.

訪問者

houmonsha — Visitor; guest; person who comes to visit.

ほう

hou — Direction; side; way; comparative option.

向き

muki — Facing; direction; orientation toward something.

その

sono — That (near the listener); the aforementioned.

大きな

ookina — Big; large; great in size or scale.

丸い

marui — Round; circular; spherical in shape.

目

me — Eye; eyes; organ of sight.

いたずらっぽい

itazurappoi — Mischievous; impish; having a playfully naughty look.

輝き

kagayaki — Sparkle; radiance; gleaming brightness of light.

あり

ari — There is/are; existing (stem of ある).

なるほど

naruhodo — I see; indeed; that makes sense now.

も

mo — Also; too; even; additive particle.

話

hanashi — Story; talk; conversation; narrative account.

わけ

wake — Reason; meaning; it follows that; naturally so.

だ

da — Plain copula meaning 'is,' 'am,' 'are.'

ね

ne — Sentence-ending particle seeking agreement or confirmation.

話し

hanashi — Talking; speaking (stem of 話す to speak).

あげれ

agere(ba) — If I give/do for you (conditional of あげる).

ば

ba — Conditional particle meaning 'if' or 'when.'

早く

hayaku — Quickly; soon; in a fast manner.

静か

shizuka — Quiet; calm; peaceful; without noise or disturbance.

もらえる

moraeru — Can receive; able to get something from someone.

おじさん

ojisan — Uncle; middle-aged man; familiar term for older male.

フクロネズミ

fukuronezumi — Opossum; marsupial mammal known for playing dead.

千代

chiyo — A thousand generations; also a Japanese female name.

前

mae — Before; in front of; ago; previous time.

ご先祖様

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

世界

sekai — World; the earth; the entire global realm.

まだ

mada — Still; not yet; continuing up to present time.

若かっ

wakakat(ta) — Was young; past tense of 若い young.

昔々

mukashi mukashi — Once upon a time; long long ago (storytelling opener).

口

kuchi — Mouth; opening; entrance; lips and oral cavity.

はさみ

hasami — Scissors; also pincers or claws of a crustacean.

にらみつけ

niramitsuke — Staring down; glaring fiercely at someone.

これ

kore — This; this thing here; proximal demonstrative pronoun.

以上

ijou — More than; beyond; no more; that is all.

はさむ

hasamu — To insert; to pinch; to wedge between things.

よう

you — If; in the event that; appearance or manner.

なら

nara — If; in that case; conditional particle.

今日

kyou — Today; this day; the current calendar day.

ない

nai — Not; does not exist; negation of verb or adjective.

厳しく

kibishiku — Strictly; sternly; severely; in a harsh manner.

恥ずかしそう

hazukashisou — Looking embarrassed; appearing ashamed or shy.

顔

kao — Face; facial expression; one's countenance.

終わる

owaru — To end; to finish; to come to a close.

まで

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

閉じ

toji — Closing; shutting (stem of 閉じる to close).

おく

oku — To leave in a state; to do something in advance.

約束

yakusoku — Promise; agreement; appointment with someone.

ひとつ

hitotsu — One; a single item; one thing.

鳴らし

narashi — Sounding; ringing; making a noise (stem of 鳴らす).

始め

hajime — Beginning; start; the first part of something.

今

ima — Now; at this moment; currently; the present time.

よく

yoku — Well; often; frequently; in a good manner.

似

ni — Resembling; looking like (stem of 似る to resemble).

少し

sukoshi — A little; a bit; a small amount.

きびきび

kibikibi — Briskly; energetically; moving in a lively sharp manner.

走れ

hashire — Run! (imperative form of 走る to run).

なく

naku — Without; not having; lacking (conjunctive negative form).

なる

naru — To become; to turn into; to come to be.

ほど

hodo — To the extent that; about; approximately; degree.

食べ

tabe — Eating (stem of 食べる to eat).

すぎ

sugi — Too much; excessive; overly; going beyond a limit.

くらい

kurai — About; approximately; to the degree of.

分別

funbetsu — Good sense; discretion; wisdom; sound judgment.

あっ

a(t)te — Oh! Ah! Expression of sudden surprise or realization.