Mother West Wind "Why" Stories — Page 24

Vocabulary

は

wa — Topic-marking particle indicating the sentence topic.

彼

kare — He; third-person masculine pronoun.

の

no — Possessive or linking particle connecting nouns.

姿

sugata — Figure, form, or appearance of a person.

が

ga — Subject-marking particle identifying the grammatical subject.

見え

mie — To be visible; can be seen (stem form).

なく

naku — Negative connective form meaning 'not' or 'without'.

なる

naru — To become; to change into a new state.

まで

made — Until; up to a point in time or space.

見送っ

miokut(te) — To see someone off; watch them leave.

た

ta — Past tense auxiliary indicating completed action.

まあ

mā — Well; my; exclamation expressing mild surprise.

あんな

anna — That kind of; such a (distant reference).

すてき

suteki — Wonderful, lovely, splendid; expressing admiration.

な

na — Adjectival particle connecting na-adjectives to nouns.

上着

uwagi — Jacket, coat; outer garment worn on top.

あっ

at(tara) — To have; exist (conditional stem, colloquial).

たら

tara — Conditional form meaning 'if' or 'when'.

いい

ii — Good; fine; desirable; expressing a wish.

に

ni — Particle indicating direction, location, or purpose.

と

to — Quotation particle or conjunctive 'and/with'.

長い

nagai — Long; extended in length or duration.

ため息

tameiki — A sigh; deep breath expressing emotion.

を

wo — Object-marking particle indicating the direct object.

つい

tsui(te) — To let out; emit (sigh); unintentionally do.

て

te — Te-form connective linking sequential or related actions.

言っ

it(te) — To say; speak (te-form of 言う).

ご存知

gozonji — Honorific form of 'knowing'; as you know.

よう

yō — Like; as if; it seems; appearance.

とても

totemo — Very; extremely; highly; quite.

地味

jimi — Plain, modest, understated in style or appearance.

で

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

本当に

hontō ni — Truly; really; genuinely; in truth.

だ

da — Copula; plain form of 'to be'.

自分

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

着

ki(nakereba) — To wear; put on clothing (stem form).

なけれ

nakere(ba) — Must; conditional negative meaning 'unless one does'.

ば

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

なら

nara — Conditional 'if it is'; contextual conditional form.

ない

nai — Negative auxiliary; not; does not exist.

同じ

onaji — Same; identical; alike; no different.

理由

riyū — Reason; cause; grounds for something.

し

shi — Conjunction listing reasons; and also; moreover.

そう

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

思わ

omowa(nai) — To think; believe (negative stem form).

でしょ

desho — Probably; right? seeking agreement or confirmation.

う

u — Volitional auxiliary; let's; probably (sentence ending).

善い

yoi — Good; virtuous; morally right or proper.

心

kokoro — Heart; mind; spirit; inner feeling.

正直

shōjiki — Honest; straightforward; truthful in character.

行い

okonai — Conduct; behavior; deeds; actions one takes.

立派

rippa — Fine; splendid; admirable; impressive in quality.

服

fuku — Clothing; clothes; garment worn on body.

より

yori — Than; more than; comparative particle.

も

mo — Also; even; too; inclusive particle.

大切

taisetsu — Important; precious; valued; to be cherished.

です

desu — Polite copula; is; am; are (formal).

よ

yo — Sentence-final particle asserting or emphasizing information.

顔

kao — Face; facial expression; countenance.

上げ

age — To raise; lift up (stem form).

古い

furui — Old; aged; not new; worn over time.

イバラ

ibara — Briar; thorny shrub or bramble plant.

茂み

shigemi — Thicket; dense growth of bushes or shrubs.

一つ

hitotsu — One; a single thing or item.

生意気

namaiki — Cheeky; impudent; cocky; presumptuous attitude.

活発

kappatsu — Lively; active; energetic; full of vitality.

小さな

chiisana — Small; little; tiny in size.

せわしなく

sewashinaku — Busily; restlessly; in a hurried, fussy manner.

動き回っ

ugokimawat(te) — To move around; bustle about actively.

い

i(ru) — To be; exist (for animate beings).

やあ

yā — Hey; hi; casual greeting or exclamation.

どう

dō — How; in what way; how are things.

赤い

akai — Red; of a red color.

いる

iru — To be; exist (animate beings); progressive auxiliary.

知ら

shira(nai) — To know; be aware of (negative stem).

でも

demo — But; even so; however; nevertheless.

言う

iu — To say; speak; tell; express in words.

つもり

tsumori — Intention; plan; expectation of doing something.

鋭い

surudoi — Sharp; keen; piercing; acute in perception.

目

me — Eye; eyes; gaze; point of view.

じっと

jitto — Steadily; fixedly; without moving; intently.

見つめ

mitsume — To stare at; gaze fixedly at something.

みんな

minna — Everyone; all; everybody; the whole group.

知っ

shit(te) — To know; be aware of (te-form).

思っ

omot(te) — To think; feel; believe (te-form).

わ

wa — Sentence-final particle adding feminine assertion or emphasis.

あなた

anata — You; second-person pronoun (polite or familiar).

鈍い

nibui — Dull; slow-witted; not sharp or perceptive.

ね

ne — Sentence-final particle seeking agreement or confirmation.

今

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

それ

sore — That; referring to something near the listener.

話す

hanasu — To speak; talk; tell; converse with someone.

時間

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

聞き

kiki — To listen; hear; ask (stem form).

行っ

it(te) — To go; have gone (te-form of 行く).

その

sono — That; the aforementioned (modifying noun).

こと

koto — Thing; matter; fact; abstract noun nominalizer.

全部

zenbu — All; everything; the whole amount.

から

kara — From; because; after; starting point particle.

言葉

kotoba — Word; language; speech; expression.

見つける

mitsukeru — To find; discover; locate something searched for.

前

mae — Before; in front; prior to a time.

立ち去っ

tachisart(te) — To leave; walk away; depart from a place.

しまっ

shimat(te) — To end up doing; finish (auxiliary te-form).

さて

sate — Well; now then; transitional discourse marker.

いかに

ikani — How much; to what degree; how very.

好奇心

kōkishin — Curiosity; inquisitive desire to know things.

旺盛

ōsei — Vigorous; abundant; full of energy or enthusiasm.

ある

aru — To exist; there is; to have (inanimate).

か

ka — Question-marking sentence-final particle.

みなさん

minasan — Everyone; ladies and gentlemen; polite plural address.

よく

yoku — Well; often; frequently; skillfully.

おしゃべり

oshaberi — Chatter; talkative; gossip; idle conversation.

舌

shita — Tongue; organ of taste and speech.

すっかり

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

沸き立た

wakitata(se) — To stir up; set boiling; excite or agitate.

せ

se — Causative auxiliary stem; make or let someone act.

なぜ

naze — Why; for what reason; what cause.

気

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

なっ

nat(te) — To become; turn into (te-form of なる).

られ

rare — Passive or potential auxiliary indicating ability or being done to.

なかっ

nacat(ta) — Past negative auxiliary; was not; did not.

以前

izen — Before; formerly; previously; in the past.

何も

nanimo — Nothing; not anything; not at all (negative context).

考え

kangae — Thought; idea; thinking; consideration.

頭

atama — Head; mind; brain; top of the body.

離れ

hanare — To leave; separate; move away from something.

どうして

dōshite — Why; how; for what reason; how come.

そこ

soko — There; that place; that location.

緑

midori — Green; the color green; verdant.

森

mori — Forest; woods; wooded area.

消え

kie — To disappear; vanish; go out of sight.

確かめ

tashikame — To confirm; verify; make certain of something.

ぴょんぴょん

pyonpyon — Hopping; bounding; skipping along lightly (onomatopoeia).

できる

dekiru — To be able to; can; become possible.

限り

kagiri — As much as possible; limit; to the extent.

速く

hayaku — Quickly; fast; at high speed; rapidly.

ほほえみ

hohoemi — A smile; gentle, warm facial expression.

池

ike — Pond; small body of still water.

へ

e — Directional particle indicating movement toward a place.

向かっ

mukat(te) — To head toward; face in a direction.