Mother West Wind "Why" Stories — Page 32

Vocabulary

みんな

minna — everyone, all people together

は

wa — topic marker particle in Japanese grammar

急いで

isoide — hurrying, rushing, moving quickly

ほほえみ

hohoemi — a smile, gentle facial expression of happiness

の

no — possessive or nominalizing particle in Japanese

池

ike — a pond, small body of standing water

へ

e — directional particle indicating movement toward something

と

to — particle meaning 'and' or 'with' in Japanese

向かい

mukai — facing toward, heading in a direction

た

ta — past tense grammatical ending for Japanese verbs

陽気

yōki — cheerful, lively, merry in personality or mood

な

na — adjectival particle linking na-adjectives to nouns

小さな

chiisana — small, tiny, little in size or scale

そよ風

soyokaze — a gentle breeze, soft light wind

たち

tachi — plural suffix for people or living things

一生懸命

isshōkenmei — with all one's effort, doing one's very best

に

ni — particle indicating location, direction, or purpose

駆け

kake — running, dashing, sprinting at speed

がま

gama — cattail or bulrush, a water plant

葉

ha — a leaf of a plant or tree

を

wo — object marker particle in Japanese grammar

かき分け

kakiwake — pushing aside, parting through obstacles forcefully

て

te — conjunctive particle connecting sequential actions

飛び出し

tobidashi — leaping out, jumping suddenly into the open

大きな

ōkina — large, big in size or scale

緑

midori — the color green

睡蓮

suiren — a water lily, aquatic flowering plant

上

ue — above, on top of something

座っ

suwatte — sitting down, being seated

いる

iru — to exist, to be present (animate beings)

カエル

kaeru — a frog, amphibious jumping creature

じいさん

jiisan — old man, grandfather, elderly male person

取り囲ん

torikakon — surrounding, encircling from all sides

だ

da — plain form copula meaning 'is' or 'are'

とき

toki — time, moment, occasion when something happens

すっかり

sukkari — completely, entirely, thoroughly without remainder

息

iki — breath, breathing, respiration

が

ga — subject marker particle in Japanese grammar

切れ

kire — to run out, be cut off or exhausted

ねえ

nee — hey, say, used to get someone's attention

どう

dō — how, in what way or manner

スカンク

Sukanku — a skunk, black-and-white odor-spraying animal

けっして

kesshite — never, by no means, absolutely not

急が

isoga — negative stem of isogu, meaning to hurry

ない

nai — negation suffix meaning 'do not' or 'not'

彼ら

karera — they, them, a group of people

切らし

kirashi — running out of breath, having exhausted supply

ながら

nagara — while doing, simultaneously performing two actions

言い

ii — saying, speaking, uttering words

一番

ichiban — most, number one, the best or deepest

低く

hikuku — lowly, in a low manner or pitch

しゃがれ

shagare — hoarse, raspy, rough-sounding voice

声

koe — voice, the sound produced when speaking

で

de — particle indicating means, location of action

答え

kotae — an answer, a response to a question

おそらく

osoraku — probably, most likely, presumably

方

hō — direction, way, alternative option or side

よい

yoi — good, fine, acceptable, favorable

学ん

manande — having learned, studied something from experience

から

kara — because, from, since (reason or origin)

あら

ara — oh my, expression of mild surprise (feminine)

ひとり

hitori — one person, alone, by oneself

少し

sukoshi — a little, a small amount, slightly

かすれ

kasure — hoarse, faint, scratchy sound or voice

がっかり

gakkari — disappointed, let down, feeling deflated

よう

yō — seeming like, appearing to be a certain way

ちょうど

chōdo — exactly, just, precisely at that moment

その

sono — that, the (referring to nearby thing)

彼

kare — he, him, a male third person

太っ

futotte — fat, plump, having gained weight

間抜け

manuke — foolish, stupid, dimwitted person or creature

ハエ

hae — a fly, common winged insect pest

見つけ

mitsuke — finding, discovering, spotting something or someone

それ

sore — that, referring to something nearby or mentioned

ところ

tokoro — place, spot, point in time or situation

吹き飛ばす

fukitobasu — to blow away, scatter forcefully with wind

たちまち

tachimachi — instantly, in a flash, all at once

ぱくり

pakuri — snapping mouth shut to eat something whole

食べ

tabe — eating, consuming food

しまい

shimai — ending up doing, completing an action fully

すぐ

sugu — immediately, right away, without delay

全員

zen'in — all members, everyone in a group

探し

sagashi — searching for, looking for something

吹き飛ばし

fukitobashi — blowing away, scattering things with force

始め

hajime — beginning, start of an action or process

白

shiro — the color white

黄色

kiiro — the color yellow

チョッキ

chokki — a vest, waistcoat worn over a shirt

中

naka — inside, within, the middle of something

もう

mō — already, anymore, no longer, soon

一匹

ippiki — one small animal (counter for creatures)

も

mo — also, too, even, not even (with negative)

入ら

haira — entering, fitting inside a space

ほど

hodo — to the extent that, about, approximately

なり

nari — becoming, turning into a state

実際

jissai — actually, in reality, in practice

最後

saigo — the last, the final one, the end

飲み込もう

nomikомō — let's swallow, attempting to gulp something down

足

ashi — foot, leg, lower limb of a body

口

kuchi — mouth, the opening used for eating speaking

端

hashi — edge, tip, end of something

はみ出し

hamidashi — sticking out, protruding beyond a boundary

見え

mie — being visible, able to be seen

なく

naku — without, not having, negation of existence

しよう

shiyō — let's do, volitional form of to do

懸命

kenmei — with all one's might, desperately earnest effort

わし

washi — I, me (old man's first-person pronoun)

ため

tame — for the sake of, in order to benefit

何か

nanika — something, anything, some unspecified thing

くれ

kure — give me, requesting something be given

者

mono — person, one who does something, individual

いつも

itsumo — always, usually, all the time

あげ

age — giving something to someone, doing a favor

たい

tai — want to do, expressing desire for action

思っ

omotte — thinking, feeling, believing something

おる

oru — to be, exist (dialectal or humble form)

今

ima — now, at this present moment

こそ

koso — emphasis particle meaning 'precisely' or 'indeed'

か

ka — question particle placed at sentence end

話し

hanashi — talking, speaking, having a conversation

ば

ba — conditional particle meaning 'if' or 'when'

なら

nara — if it is, conditional meaning 'if that's so'

ここ

koko — here, this place, right here

たら

tara — conditional particle meaning 'if' or 'when done'

あげる

ageru — to give, to do something for someone