Mother West Wind "Why" Stories — Page 39

Vocabulary

私

watashi — First-person pronoun meaning 'I' or 'me'.

が

ga — Subject-marking particle in Japanese grammar.

言い

ii — Stem form of 'to say'; used in compounds.

たかった

takatta — Past tense of 'wanted to'; expresses past desire.

の

no — Nominalizer or possessive particle in Japanese.

は

wa — Topic-marking particle highlighting the sentence topic.

もし

moshi — Conditional word meaning 'if' or 'supposing that'.

大自然

daishizen — Grand nature; the natural world in its entirety.

お母さん

okaasan — Polite word for 'mother' or 'mom'.

立場

tachiba — One's standpoint, position, or social role.

だったら

dattara — Conditional form meaning 'if it were' or 'if so'.

地味

jimi — Plain, modest, or inconspicuous in appearance or manner.

な

na — Adjectival linking particle used with na-adjectives.

人たち

hitotachi — Plural form of 'people'; a group of persons.

に

ni — Particle indicating direction, time, or indirect object.

も

mo — Particle meaning 'also', 'too', or 'even'.

立派

rippa — Splendid, magnificent, or admirable in quality.

衣装

ishou — Costume or clothing, especially elaborate attire.

を

wo — Object-marking particle indicating the direct object.

与える

ataeru — To give, grant, or bestow something to someone.

だろう

darou — Expresses conjecture or probability; 'probably' or 'likely'.

と

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

いう

iu — To say, call, or express something verbally.

こと

koto — Nominalizer meaning 'thing', 'fact', or 'matter'.

です

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

確かに

tashikani — Certainly, surely, or indeed; affirming a statement.

よう

you — Like, similar to; used for comparisons or resemblance.

悪党

akutou — Villain, scoundrel, or evildoer; a wicked person.

緑

midori — The color green; also used for lush greenery.

森

mori — Forest or woods; a dense area of trees.

で

de — Particle indicating location of action or means used.

一番

ichiban — Number one; the most or best among others.

美しい

utsukushii — Beautiful, lovely, or aesthetically pleasing in appearance.

上着

uwagi — Outer garment such as a jacket or coat.

一つ

hitotsu — One (item); the number one for counting objects.

与え

atae — Stem/conjunctive form of 'to give' or 'bestow'.

たり

tari — Particle listing representative actions or states alternately.

しない

shinai — Negative plain form of 'to do'; 'does not do'.

でしょう

deshou — Polite conjecture meaning 'probably' or 'I suppose'.

同じ

onaji — Same, identical, or equal in nature or quality.

くらい

kurai — Approximately; about; to the extent of something.

よく

yoku — Well, often, or thoroughly; adverb of good manner.

知っ

shitte — Te-form of 'to know'; used in progressive constructions.

て

te — Te-form conjunctive particle linking sequential actions.

いれ

ire — Conditional form of 'iru'; 'if (one) is/exists'.

ば

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

彼

kare — Third-person masculine pronoun meaning 'he' or 'him'.

正直

shoujiki — Honest, truthful, or frank; sincerity in one's conduct.

それ

sore — That (near the listener); a mid-distance demonstrative pronoun.

手

te — Hand; also used in compounds related to skill.

入れ

ire — Stem of 'to put in'; to insert or place inside.

た

ta — Past tense auxiliary indicating completed action.

信じる

shinjiru — To believe, trust, or have faith in something.

難しい

muzukashii — Difficult, hard, or challenging to do or understand.

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.

喉

nodo — Throat; the passage inside the neck for swallowing.

奥

oku — The inner part, back, or depths of something.

くっくっ

kukkuku — Onomatopoeia for suppressed chuckling or quiet laughter.

笑い

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

まし

mashi — Polite past stem of a verb; used in -mashita forms.

十分

juubun — Sufficient, enough, or adequate in amount or degree.

ん

n — Colloquial contraction of 'no'; nominalizer or explanation marker.

だ

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

よ

yo — Sentence-final particle asserting information to the listener.

そう

sou — That's right; so; indicating agreement or acknowledgment.

とも

tomo — Of course; certainly; emphatic agreement particle.

なぜなら

nazenara — Because; the reason being; introduces an explanation.

父親

chichióya — Father; one's male parent or paternal figure.

から

kara — From; because; particle of origin or reason.

受け継が

uketsuga — Stem of 'to inherit'; to pass down through generations.

れ

re — Passive or potential auxiliary attached to verb stems.

もの

mono — Thing, object, or something; also expresses reasoning softly.

その

sono — That (near listener); demonstrative adjective modifying nouns.

また

mata — Again, also, or furthermore; connecting repeated actions.

受け継ぎ

uketsugi — Inheritance; the act of passing something down successionally.

そして

soshite — And then; furthermore; connecting sequential or added statements.

やって

yatte — Te-form of 'yaru'; doing, managing, or carrying out.

世界

sekai — The world; the entire earth or a specific realm.

まだ

mada — Still, yet, or not yet; indicating ongoing state.

若かった

wakakatta — Was young; past tense of the adjective 'young'.

頃

koro — Around the time of; approximate period or era.

まで

made — Until, up to, or as far as a point.

さかのぼる

sakanoboru — To trace back; to go back in time or origin.

でも

demo — But, however, or even so; introduces a contrast.

言葉

kotoba — Word, language, or speech; verbal expression or vocabulary.

止め

tome — To stop, halt, or pause something in progress.

見かけ

mikake — Appearance or outward look; how something seems externally.

あの

ano — That (over there); demonstrative adjective for distant things.

夢見る

yumemiru — To dream; to have visions or fantasize about something.

遠く

tooku — Far away; distant place or a long distance.

見つめる

mitsumeru — To gaze at; to stare fixedly at something intently.

表情

hyoujou — Facial expression; the look on someone's face.

大きな

ookina — Big, large, or great; pre-noun adjective form of 'ookii'.

ぎょろっ

gyoro — Onomatopoeia for wide, bulging, or rolling eyes.

し

shi — Conjunctive form listing reasons or linking clauses.

目

me — Eye; the organ of sight on a face.

浮かび

ukabi — To float up, arise, or come to mind.

何

nani — What; interrogative pronoun asking about an unknown thing.

か

ka — Question-marking particle placed at the end of sentences.

もう

mou — Already, anymore, or soon; indicates change of state.

黙っ

damatte — Te-form of 'to be silent'; keeping quiet or still.

い

i — Stem of 'iru'; to exist or be (animate subjects).

られ

rare — Passive or potential auxiliary expressing ability or passivity.

なく

naku — Negative adverbial form meaning 'without' or 'not being'.

なっ

natte — Te-form of 'naru'; becoming or turning into something.

熱心

nesshin — Enthusiastic, eager, or zealous; showing keen interest.

尋ね

tazune — To ask, inquire, or question someone about something.

蓮

hasu — Lotus; an aquatic flowering plant sacred in Asia.

葉

ha — Leaf; a flat green part of a plant.

上

ue — Above, on top of, or the upper surface of.

心地よく

kokochiyoku — Comfortably, pleasantly; in a comfortable or agreeable manner.

腰

koshi — Hip, waist, or lower back region of the body.

落ち着け

ochitsuke — Imperative of 'to settle down'; calm yourself or sit comfortably.

じっと

jitto — Motionlessly, fixedly; staying still or staring steadily.

見つめ

mitsume — Stem of 'to gaze'; staring intently at someone.

お話

ohanashi — Polite word for story, tale, or conversation.

あげよう

ageyou — Volitional of 'to give'; 'I will tell/give (you)'.

なさっ

nasatte — Honorific te-form of 'to do'; politely doing something.

いる

iru — To exist or be; used for animate beings' presence.

正確

seikaku — Accurate, precise, or exact; free from error.

ご存じ

gozonji — Honorific form of 'to know'; respectfully knowing something.

二度

nido — Twice; two times; occurring on two occasions.

疑わ

utagawa — Stem of 'to doubt'; to question or be suspicious of.

ない

nai — Negative auxiliary meaning 'not'; plain negative ending.

する

suru — To do; the most common verb meaning to perform.

ため

tame — For the purpose of; for the sake of something.

ね

ne — Sentence-final particle seeking agreement or confirmation.

まず

mazu — First of all; to begin with; as a first step.

第一

daiichi — First, number one; the foremost or primary item.

悪い

warui — Bad, wrong, or poor in quality or morality.

習慣

shuukan — Habit, custom, or routine practice done regularly.

すべて

subete — All, everything, or entirely; without exception.

ついて

tsuite — Regarding, about, or concerning a particular topic.

完全

kanzen — Complete, perfect, or total; lacking nothing essential.

責め

seme — To blame, criticize, or hold responsible for something.

られる

rareru — Passive or potential auxiliary; 'can be done' or 'is done'.

わけ

wake — Reason, meaning, or grounds; 'that's why' or 'it means'.