Mother West Wind "Why" Stories — Page 26

Vocabulary

は

wa — Topic-marking particle indicating the sentence topic

の

no — Possessive or linking particle connecting nouns

千代

chiyo — A long age or generation; also a proper name

前

mae — Before; in front of; previous time or place

先祖

senzo — Ancestor; forefather; one's forebears

で

de — Particle indicating location, means, or cause

あり

ari — To be; to exist (formal or literary form)

今

ima — Now; the present moment or time

と

to — And; with; quotation particle connecting words

同様

dōyō — Same; similar; in the same way or manner

に

ni — Particle indicating direction, location, or purpose

森

mori — Forest; woods; a wooded area

草原

sōgen — Grassland; meadow; open grassy field

仲間

nakama — Companion; fellow; member of a group

たち

tachi — Plural suffix indicating a group of people or beings

中

naka — Inside; among; in the middle of something

最も

mottomo — Most; the superlative degree of an adjective

賢い

kashikoi — Clever; wise; intelligent; smart

者

mono — Person; one who does something; individual

一人

hitori — One person; alone; a single individual

し

shi — Conjunctive verb ending listing reasons or actions

た

ta — Past tense auxiliary verb indicating completed action

彼

kare — He; him; third-person masculine pronoun

とても

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

賢かった

kashikokatta — Was clever; past tense of the adjective kashikoi

賢く

kashikoku — Cleverly; wisely; adverbial form of kashikoi

見せ

mise — To show; to display; stem form of miseru

ない

nai — Negative auxiliary; not; does not exist

よう

yō — Appearance; seeming; in order to; so that

する

suru — To do; to perform; general-purpose action verb

こと

koto — Thing; fact; matter; nominalizer for verbs

を

wo — Direct object particle marking the action's target

心得

kokoroe — Knowledge; understanding; knowing how to behave

て

te — Conjunctive particle connecting actions sequentially

おり

ori — To be; to exist (humble or literary form)

実際

jissai — In reality; actually; in practice; the truth

ところ

tokoro — Place; situation; point in time or circumstance

近所

kinjo — Neighborhood; nearby area; the local vicinity

どちらか

dochira ka — Either one; whichever of two options

いえ

ie — To say; if one were to say; rather (conjunctive)

ば

ba — Conditional particle meaning if or when

鈍い

nibui — Dull; slow-witted; blunt; not sharp

だ

da — Copula; plain form of desu meaning to be

思っ

omot(te) — Thought; stem of omou meaning to think

い

i — Stem of iru; to be; to exist (animate)

まし

mashi — Polite past auxiliary; stem form of mashita

他

hoka — Other; another; the rest; other things or people

多く

ōku — Many; much; a large number or quantity

ただ

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

ふれ

fure — To touch; to mention; stem of fureru

地味

jimi — Plain; modest; subdued; not flashy or showy

な

na — Adjectival particle linking na-adjectives to nouns

茶色

chairo — Brown color; the color of tea

服

fuku — Clothing; garment; clothes; attire

着

ki — To wear; stem of kiru meaning to put on clothing

人目

hitome — Public eye; others' attention; being noticed

引く

hiku — To pull; to attract; to draw attention

何

nani / nani mo — What; anything; nothing (with negative)

も

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

ませ

mase — Polite imperative or negative auxiliary stem

ん

n — Contraction of nai (negative) or no (explanatory)

でし

deshi — Polite copula stem; part of deshita (past polite)

いつ

itsu — When; what time; at any time

誰

dare — Who; which person; anyone; someone

対し

taishi — Toward; against; in relation to someone

本当

hontō — True; real; genuine; really; truly

礼儀

reigi — Manners; etiquette; politeness; proper conduct

正しく

tadashiku — Correctly; properly; rightly; in a right manner

そう

sō — So; that way; it seems; I see

です

desu — Polite copula meaning to be or it is

さん

san — Polite honorific suffix used with names

正しい

tadashii — Correct; right; proper; accurate; just

方

kata / hō — Person (polite); direction; way; method

自分

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

だけ

dake — Only; just; as much as; limited to that

専念

sennen — Devotion; concentration; focusing solely on something

いる

iru — To be; to exist; used for animate beings

見え

mie — To appear; to seem; stem of mieru

くだらない

kudaranai — Trivial; worthless; nonsensical; pointless

質問

shitsumon — Question; inquiry; something asked of someone

回っ

mawat(te) — To go around; to circulate; stem of mawaru

たり

tari — Listing particle indicating among other actions

他人

tanin — Other people; strangers; someone else

首

kubi — Neck; head; being fired; one's throat area

突っ込ん

tsukkon(de) — To thrust into; to poke into; to meddle

だり

dari — Listing auxiliary particle for alternating actions

決し

kesshi — Never; by no means; stem of kesshite

じいさん

jiisan — Old man; grandfather; elderly male person

カエル

kaeru — Frog; a small amphibian; also means to return

こう

kō — Like this; in this way; thus; this manner

言っ

it(te) — Said; spoke; stem of iu meaning to say

後

ato / nochi — After; later; behind; subsequent to something

少し

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

間

ma / aida — Interval; gap; between; a period of time

立ち止まり

tachitomari — Stopping; pausing; coming to a halt momentarily

じっと

jitto — Fixedly; steadily; staying still without moving

見つめ

mitsume — To stare at; to gaze; stem of mitsumeru

居心地

igokochi — Comfort; how comfortable one feels somewhere

悪

waru / aku — Bad; evil; wrong; uncomfortable (in compounds)

さて

sate — Well; now then; transitional word changing subject

全く

mattaku — Completely; entirely; totally; indeed; really

興味

kyōmi — Interest; curiosity; having interest in something

が

ga — Subject particle marking the grammatical subject

全員

zen'in — All members; everyone; the entire group together

鋭い

surudoi — Sharp; keen; acute; piercing; quick-witted

耳

mimi — Ear; hearing; the organ used for listening

二つ

futatsu — Two things; a pair; the number two (native)

持っ

mot(te) — To have; to hold; to possess; stem of motsu

振る舞い

furumai — Behavior; conduct; manners; the way one acts

ながら

nagara — While doing; simultaneously; although; even though

言われる

iwareru — To be said; to be told; passive form of iu

すべて

subete — Everything; all; entirely; the whole of something

聞き

kiki — To listen; to hear; stem of kiku

続け

tsuzuke — To continue; to keep doing; stem of tsuzukeru

聞い

kiit(te) — Heard; listened; stem of kiku in te-form

覚え

oboe — To remember; to learn; stem of oboeru

程なく

hodonaku — Before long; soon after; in a short while

合わせ

awase — To match; to combine; to put together; joining

より

yori — Than; from; more than; compared to something

周り

mawari — Surroundings; around; nearby area; circumference

起き

oki — To get up; to happen; stem of okiru

か

ka — Question particle at end of sentence; or; whether

よく

yoku — Well; often; thoroughly; adverb from yoi (good)

知る

shiru — To know; to learn; to come to understand

なり

nari — Became; to become; a literary or formal form

しかし

shikashi — However; but; nevertheless; on the other hand

口

kuchi — Mouth; opening; entrance; one's way of speaking

しっかり

shikkari — Firmly; properly; tightly; in a reliable manner

閉じ

toji — To close; to shut; stem of tojiru

まま

mama — As is; remaining the same; unchanged state

非常

hijō — Extremely; very; extraordinary; emergency situation

謙虚

kenkyo — Humble; modest; unassuming; self-effacing attitude