Mother West Wind "Why" Stories — Page 43

Vocabulary

の

no — Possessive or nominalizing particle.

美しい

utsukushii — Beautiful, lovely, or aesthetically pleasing.

羽衣

hagoromo — Feathered robe; beautiful plumage or garment.

は

wa — Topic-marking particle indicating the subject.

よう

you — Like, similar to; expresses resemblance or manner.

に

ni — Particle indicating direction, location, or manner.

善良

zenryou — Goodness, virtue; being morally good and kind.

さ

sa — Nominalizing suffix turning adjectives into nouns.

へ

e — Directional particle meaning toward or to.

報酬

houshuu — Reward, compensation, or payment for services.

で

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

なく

naku — Not; negative connective form of 'nai'.

緑

midori — Green; the color green or lush greenery.

森

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

と

to — And; particle joining nouns or indicating quotation.

草原

sougen — Grassland, meadow; an open grassy plain.

他

hoka — Other, another; referring to different things or beings.

小さな

chiisana — Small, little; attributive form describing small things.

生き物

ikimono — Living creature, organism; any living being.

たち

tachi — Plural suffix for people or animate beings.

が

ga — Subject-marking particle highlighting the grammatical subject.

自ら

mizukara — Oneself; by oneself, personally, on one's own.

を

wo — Object-marking particle indicating the direct object.

守り

mamori — Protecting, guarding; the act of keeping safe.

いたずら

itazura — Mischief, prank; playful or troublesome behavior.

求め

motome — Seeking, searching for; requesting or pursuing something.

て

te — Conjunctive particle connecting sequential actions.

こっそり

kossori — Secretly, stealthily; doing something without being noticed.

うろつい

urotsui — Wandering, loitering; roaming around aimlessly.

いる

iru — To exist, to be; indicates ongoing state or action.

とき

toki — Time, moment; when a particular situation occurs.

彼

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

居場所

ibasho — Whereabouts, location; the place where someone is.

把握

haaku — Grasping, understanding; knowing or comprehending a situation.

できる

dekiru — To be able to, can; expressing capability or possibility.

する

suru — To do; general verb for performing an action.

ため

tame — For the purpose of, in order to; indicating reason.

もの

mono — Thing, object; also adds nuance of explanation or reason.

な

na — Adjectival copula or sentence-final particle for emphasis.

です

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

さて

sate — Well, now then; transitional expression to shift topic.

どう

dou — How; asking in what way or manner.

思い

omoi — Thought, feeling; what one thinks or feels.

ます

masu — Polite verb ending indicating formal or respectful speech.

か

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

一方

ippou — On the other hand; meanwhile, in contrast.

長い

nagai — Long; describing something extended in length or duration.

耳

mimi — Ear; the organ of hearing.

かき

kaki — Scratching; the action of scratching something.

それ

sore — That; referring to something previously mentioned.

から

kara — From, after; indicating origin, reason, or sequence.

もう

mou — Already, anymore; indicates a change of state.

物思い

monoomoi — Deep thought, contemplation; being lost in reflection.

ふけり

fukeri — Being absorbed in; indulging deeply in thought.

ながら

nagara — While doing; indicates two simultaneous actions.

少し

sukoshi — A little, slightly; a small amount or degree.

恥ずかしそう

hazukashisou — Looking embarrassed or shy; appearing to feel ashamed.

顔

kao — Face; the front part of the head.

答え

kotae — Answer, response; a reply to a question.

まし

mashi — Polite past tense auxiliary verb form.

た

ta — Past tense suffix indicating completed action.

母なる

haha naru — Mother; used poetically as 'Mother Nature'.

自然

shizen — Nature; the natural world and environment.

きっと

kitto — Surely, certainly; expressing strong confidence or conviction.

間違い

machigai — Mistake, error; something done incorrectly or wrongly.

犯さ

okasa — Committing (a crime or error); violating a rule.

ず

zu — Negative conjunctive form meaning without doing.

常に

tsuneni — Always, constantly; at all times without exception.

自分

jibun — Oneself; referring to one's own self.

何

nani — What; an interrogative pronoun asking about things.

し

shi — Doing; conjunctive form of 'suru' or listing reasons.

ちゃんと

chanto — Properly, correctly; doing something in an orderly way.

わかっ

wakatt(e) — Understanding; knowing or comprehending something clearly.

でしょ

desho — Probably, right?; seeking agreement or expressing assumption.

う

u — Volitional or presumptive ending expressing supposition.

一番

ichiban — Number one, most; indicating the highest degree.

低い

hikui — Low, short; describing something of low height or pitch.

声

koe — Voice; the sound produced when speaking or singing.

言い

ii — Saying; the conjunctive form of the verb 'iu'.

彼女

kanojo — She, her; third-person feminine pronoun.

そう

sou — So, that way; indicating agreement or resemblance.

ある

aru — To exist, to have; used for inanimate things.

こと

koto — Thing, fact, matter; nominalizes verbs and phrases.

あり

ari — Existence; conjunctive form of 'aru'.

ませ

mase — Polite negative or imperative verb ending.

ん

n — Negative ending or explanatory particle.

そして

soshite — And then, and so; connecting sentences sequentially.

一つ

hitotsu — One thing; the number one for counting objects.

決して

kesshite — Never, by no means; used with negative expressions.

服装

fukusou — Clothing, attire; the way someone is dressed.

人

hito — Person, human; an individual human being.

判断

handan — Judgment, decision; evaluating or assessing something.

いけ

ike — Must not; negative imperative or prohibition form.

大きな

oukina — Big, large; attributive form describing large things.

非常

hijou — Extremely, very; indicating an exceptional degree.

地味

jimi — Plain, modest, subdued; not flashy in appearance.

時

toki — Time, when; indicating a particular moment or period.

最も

mottomo — Most; superlative adverb indicating the highest degree.

優しい

yasashii — Kind, gentle; having a tender and caring nature.

心

kokoro — Heart, mind, spirit; one's inner feelings and thoughts.

覆い隠し

ooi kakushi — Concealing, covering up; hiding something from view.

立派

rippa — Fine, splendid, admirable; being impressive or respectable.

しばしば

shibashiba — Often, frequently; happening many times repeatedly.

警戒

keikai — Caution, vigilance; being on guard against danger.

す

su — Verb stem ending used in formal or classical speech.

べき

beki — Should, ought to; expressing obligation or expectation.

警告

keikoku — Warning, caution; a notice alerting someone to danger.

なる

naru — To become; indicating transformation or a resulting state.

わ

wa — Sentence-final particle adding soft emphasis or femininity.

わかり

wakari — Understanding; conjunctive form of 'wakaru'.

でも

demo — But, however; introducing a contrasting statement.

あなた

anata — You; second-person pronoun in Japanese.

正しい

tadashii — Correct, right; being accurate or morally proper.

かも

kamo — Perhaps, maybe; expressing uncertainty or possibility.

しれ

shire — Might be; part of 'kamoshirenai' expressing possibility.

認め

mitome — Acknowledging, admitting; accepting something as true.

私

watashi — I, me; first-person pronoun.

い

i — Being; conjunctive or stem form of 'iru'.

なぜ

naze — Why; asking for a reason or explanation.

水

mizu — Water; the clear liquid essential for life.

中

naka — Inside, middle; within or among something.

家

ie — House, home; a place where someone lives.

建てる

tateru — To build, construct; erecting a structure or building.

旧友

kyuuyuu — Old friend; a friend from long ago.

訪ね

tazune — Visiting, paying a visit; going to see someone.

微笑む

ほhohoemu — To smile; expressing happiness through a gentle smile.

池

ike — Pond; a small body of still water.

向かい

mukai — Facing, heading toward; in the direction of something.

しかし

shikashi — However, but; introducing a contrasting statement.

どこ

doko — Where; asking about a location or place.

も

mo — Also, too, even; inclusive or emphatic particle.

見当たり

miatari — Finding, spotting; being able to locate something.

でし

deshi — Polite past auxiliary; part of 'deshita' ending.

二人

futari — Two people; a pair of individuals.

待っ

matt(e) — Waiting; holding on until something happens.

待ち

machi — Waiting; the act of staying until something arrives.

現れ

araware — Appearing, emerging; coming into sight or becoming visible.