Mother West Wind "Why" Stories — Page 23

Vocabulary

もう

mou — Already; anymore; soon; expressing exasperation.

邪魔

jama — Disturbance, interference, or hindrance to someone.

を

wo — Object marker particle indicating the direct object.

し

shi — Conjunctive form of suru, meaning to do.

ない

nai — Negative auxiliary; expresses negation or absence.

で

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

おくれ

okure — Informal imperative meaning please do something for me.

昼寝

hirune — A daytime nap or afternoon sleep.

たい

tai — Auxiliary expressing the speaker's desire to do something.

の

no — Possessive or nominalizing particle in Japanese grammar.

だ

da — Plain-form copula meaning is or am.

から

kara — Because; from; indicates reason or starting point.

と

to — Quotation particle; also means and or with.

カエル

kaeru — Frog; a small amphibian living near water.

おじいさん

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

は

wa — Topic marker particle highlighting the sentence's subject.

言い終え

iioe — Finished speaking; completed what one wanted to say.

た

ta — Past tense auxiliary indicating a completed action.

ありがとう

arigatou — Thank you; common expression of gratitude in Japanese.

シマリス

shimarisu — Chipmunk; small striped rodent common in forests.

叫び

sakebi — A shout or cry; act of calling out loudly.

探し

sagashi — Searching for something or someone; looking around.

に

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

出かけ

dekake — Setting out; leaving home to go somewhere.

四

shi / yon — The number four in Japanese.

なぜ

naze — Why; used to ask for a reason or cause.

赤い

akai — Red; describing something that is red in color.

毛皮

kegawa — Fur; animal skin with fur used as covering.

持っ

mott(e) — Holding or possessing something; stem of motsu.

て

te — Te-form particle connecting verbs or indicating manner.

いる

iru — To be; indicates ongoing state or existence (animate).

か

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

懐かしい

natsukashii — Nostalgic; fondly remembering something from the past.

古い

furui — Old; describing something aged or from long ago.

イバラ

ibara — Thorny bush or briar; prickly wild shrub.

茂み

shigemi — A thicket or dense cluster of bushes and shrubs.

真ん中

mannaka — The very middle or center of something.

座っ

suwar(i) — Sitting down; being seated somewhere; stem of suwaru.

向かっ

mukat(te) — Facing or heading toward something; stem of mukau.

顔

kao — Face; the front part of a person's head.

しかめ

shikame — Scowling or frowning; contorting the face in displeasure.

笑っ

warat(te) — Laughing or smiling; stem of warau.

い

i — Continuative form of iru indicating ongoing state.

もちろん

mochiron — Of course; naturally; expressing something obvious or expected.

それ

sore — That; referring to something near the listener.

よい

yoi — Good; fine; positive quality or acceptable condition.

こと

koto — Thing; matter; fact; nominalizing an action or state.

なかっ

nakat(ta) — Past negative of nai; was not; did not exist.

少し

sukoshi — A little; a small amount or degree.

も

mo — Also; too; even; additive or emphasis particle.

よく

yoku — Well; often; frequently; adverb form of yoi.

しかし

shikashi — However; but; conjunction indicating contrast or contradiction.

たった今

tatta ima — Just now; at this very moment; just a moment ago.

間一髪

kamiichi hatsu — By a hair's breadth; a very narrow escape from danger.

逃げ延び

nigenobi — Managed to escape; successfully fled from danger.

ところ

tokoro — Place; point in time; situation or circumstance.

だっ

dat(ta) — Past tense of da; was; it was the case.

という

to iu — Called; known as; meaning that; quoting or naming.

が

ga — Subject marker particle; also means but or however.

細い

hosoi — Thin; narrow; slender in shape or width.

小道

komichi — A small path or narrow lane through nature.

下っ

kudat(te) — Going down; descending a slope or path.

き

ki — Conjunctive or continuative form; came; stem usage.

とき

toki — Time; moment; when something occurs.

陰

kage — Shadow; shade; something hidden behind another object.

飛び出し

tobidashi — Leaping out; suddenly jumping or rushing out from somewhere.

もう少し

mou sukoshi — A little more; just a bit more of something.

捕まえる

tsukamaeru — To catch; to grab and hold someone or something.

実際

jissai — In reality; actually; in fact or in practice.

上着

uwagi — Jacket; outer garment worn over other clothing.

毛

ke — Fur; hair; fine strands on an animal or person.

むしり取っ

mushiritot(te) — Plucked off; pulled out roughly; snatched away forcefully.

今や

ima ya — Now; by this time; at this present moment already.

中

naka — Inside; the interior or middle of something.

安全

anzen — Safety; being free from danger or harm.

彼

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

息

iki — Breath; breathing; respiration.

切れ

kire — Cutting; running out; shortness of breath when exhausted.

なぜなら

nazenara — Because; the reason being; used to introduce an explanation.

できる

dekiru — Can do; to be possible; to be capable of.

限り

kagiri — Limit; as much as possible; to the extent of.

速く

hayaku — Quickly; fast; at high speed; adverb of hayai.

長い

nagai — Long; lengthy in distance, time, or shape.

足

ashi — Leg; foot; limb used for walking or running.

使わ

tsukawa — Using; employing; stem of tsukau before negative or conditional.

なけれ

nakere — Conditional negative form; unless; must (negative conditional).

ば

ba — Conditional particle meaning if or when something occurs.

なら

nara — If; conditional; speaking of; given that situation.

自分

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

きれい

kirei — Beautiful; clean; pretty; neat and tidy.

な

na — Adjectival particle for na-adjectives; also a soft imperative.

引き裂く

hikisaku — To tear apart; to rip something into pieces.

危険

kiken — Danger; risk; a hazardous or perilous situation.

冒そ

okaso — Volitional form of okasu; to dare to risk or brave.

う

u — Volitional suffix expressing intention or suggestion to do.

それに

sore ni — Moreover; besides; furthermore; adding to a previous point.

ひどく

hidoku — Terribly; severely; very badly; adverb of hidoi.

引っかく

hikkaku — To scratch; to claw at something with nails.

気に

ki ni — To mind; to care about; to be bothered by.

する

suru — To do; general-purpose action verb in Japanese.

いつか

itsuka — Someday; at some point in the future.

お前

omae — You; informal or rough second-person pronoun.

捕まえ

tsukamae — Catching; the stem of tsukamaeru meaning to catch.

やる

yaru — To do; to give; informal and determined action verb.

諦め

akirame — Giving up; accepting defeat; resignation from a pursuit.

緑

midori — Green; the color of leaves and nature.

森

mori — Forest; woods; a large area covered with trees.

へ

e — Directional particle indicating movement toward somewhere.

引き返し

hikikae shi — Turning back; returning the way one came from.

ながら

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

うなり声

unarigoe — A growl or groan; low threatening sound from an animal.

上げ

age — Raising; lifting up; producing a sound or action.

とても

totemo — Very; extremely; to a great degree.

狡猾

koukatsu — Cunning; crafty; sly in a deceptive manner.

素早い

subayai — Quick; swift; agile in movement or reaction.

でも

demo — But; even so; however; a contrastive conjunction.

私

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

ほど

hodo — To the extent of; as much as; approximately.

なろ

naro — Volitional form of naru; let it become; shall become.

無駄

muda — Useless; wasteful; futile effort with no result.

これ

kore — This; referring to something close to the speaker.

叫ぶ

sakebu — To shout; to scream; to cry out loudly.

振り返っ

furikaet(te) — Looking back; turning around to glance behind oneself.

歯

ha — Tooth; teeth; the hard structures inside the mouth.

むき出し

mukidashi — Bare; exposed; showing something openly without cover.

ただ

tada — Just; only; merely; free of charge; simply.

笑う

warau — To laugh; to smile; to express amusement or joy.

だけ

dake — Only; just; nothing more than a certain amount.

小走り

Trotting; moving at a light jogging or quick-stepping pace.

去っ

sat(te) — Going away; leaving; departing from a place.

いっ

it(te) — Going; spoken form of itte, the te-form of iku.