Mother West Wind "Why" Stories — Page 48

Vocabulary

さて

sate — Well; now; used to change or introduce a topic

大自然

daishizen — Great nature; the natural world in its entirety

の

no — Possessive or descriptive particle linking nouns

母

haha — Mother; one's own mother

は

wa — Topic-marking particle indicating the sentence subject

いつも

itsumo — Always; all the time; habitually

よう

yō — Manner; appearance; seeming like something

に

ni — Particle indicating direction, location, or manner

鋭く

するどく — Sharply; keenly; with acute awareness

見張っ

mihatte — Watching closely; keeping guard; monitoring carefully

て

te — Conjunctive particle connecting verb phrases sequentially

い

i — Stem of iru; being; existing (continuous state)

た

ta — Past tense auxiliary verb suffix

です

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

が

ga — Subject marker or conjunction meaning 'but'

彼ら

karera — They; them; third-person plural pronoun

陸地

rikuchi — Land; dry ground as opposed to water

を

wo — Object-marking particle for direct objects

一番

ichiban — Most; number one; the best or most preferred

好む

konomu — To prefer; to like; to be fond of

ほど

hodo — To the extent that; as much as; degree

愚か

oroka — Foolish; stupid; unwise

で

de — Particle indicating means, location, or copula te-form

ある

aru — To exist; to be (for inanimate things)

こと

koto — Thing; fact; nominalizer turning verbs into nouns

気づく

kizuku — To notice; to realize; to become aware of

と

to — Particle meaning 'and,' 'with,' or conditional 'when'

ため

tame — For the sake of; in order to; because of

快適

kaiteki — Comfortable; pleasant; agreeable living conditions

な

na — Adjectival particle linking na-adjectives to nouns

環境

kankyō — Environment; surroundings; living conditions

整える

totonoeru — To arrange; to prepare; to put in order

できる限り

dekiru kagiri — As much as possible; to the best of one's ability

し

shi — Conjunction listing reasons or actions; and also

彼女

kanojo — She; her; also used for girlfriend

それぞれ

sorezore — Each; respectively; every one individually

最も

mottomo — Most; extremely; to the greatest degree

応じ

ōji — Responding to; according to; suiting each case

走り

hashiri — Running; the act of running

跳び

tobi — Jumping; leaping; bounding

登り

nobori — Climbing; ascending; going up

掘る

horu — To dig; to burrow into the ground

方法

hōhō — Method; way; manner of doing something

教え

oshie — Teaching; instruction; lesson given to someone

そのため

sono tame — Therefore; for that reason; consequently

やがて

yagate — Before long; soon; eventually; in due time

多く

ōku — Many; much; a large number or amount

者

mono — Person; one who does something; individual

たち

tachi — Plural suffix for people or living things

かつて

katsute — Once; formerly; in the past; at one time

水

mizu — Water; liquid; aquatic environment

中

naka — Inside; within; middle of something

暮らし

kurashi — Living; daily life; livelihood; way of living

忘れ

wasure — Forgetting; having forgotten something previously known

まだ

mada — Still; yet; not yet; continuing up to now

住ん

sunde — Living; residing; dwelling in a place

見下し

mikusoshi — Looking down on; despising; treating with contempt

気取っ

kidotte — Acting pretentiously; putting on airs; being affected

頭

atama — Head; one's head held in a position

高く

takaku — High; highly; in an elevated manner

持ち上げる

mochiageru — To lift up; to raise; to hold something high

なり

nari — Becoming; turning into; a classical verb ending

もちろん

mochiron — Of course; naturally; certainly; needless to say

これ

kore — This; this thing here (near the speaker)

快く

こころよく — Pleasantly; gladly; with good feeling

思わ

omowa — Thinking; feeling; regarding (negative or conditional form)

ず

zu — Negative verb suffix meaning 'without doing'

罰する

bassuru — To punish; to penalize; to impose a penalty

たとえ

tatoe — Even if; even though; supposing that

望ん

nozonde — Wishing; desiring; hoping for something

も

mo — Also; even; too; inclusive particle

もはや

mohaya — No longer; already; not anymore; by now

生き

iki — Living; being alive; surviving

られ

rare — Potential or passive auxiliary verb suffix

ない

nai — Negative auxiliary; not; does not exist

言い渡し

iiwatashi — Pronouncing a sentence; declaring a verdict or judgment

最初

saisho — First; the beginning; at first; initially

ただ

tada — Just; only; merely; simply; for free

笑っ

waratte — Laughing; smiling; expressing amusement

そう

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

あっ

a' — Oh!; Ah!; exclamation of sudden realization or surprise

くつろげ

kutsuroge — To relax; to feel at ease; to be comfortable

たら

tara — Conditional form: if; when; once something happens

どんな

donna — What kind of; what sort of; whatever type

良い

yoi — Good; fine; nice; favorable

か

ka — Question particle; or; uncertainty marker

思う

omou — To think; to feel; to consider; to believe

時

toki — Time; moment; when; occasion

しばしば

shibashiba — Often; frequently; repeatedly; from time to time

気づき

kizuki — Noticing; awareness; moment of realization

しかし

shikashi — However; but; nevertheless; yet

手遅れ

teokure — Too late; past the point of being able to help

水面

suimen — Water surface; the top surface of water

上

ue — Above; on top; upper part; surface

出し

dashi — Putting out; producing; bringing forth

続け

tsuzuke — Continuing; keeping on doing something persistently

泳げる

oyogeru — Can swim; able to swim (potential form)

水中

suichū — Underwater; beneath the water surface; submerged

入れる

ireru — To put in; to insert; to let enter

すぐ

sugu — Immediately; right away; soon; directly

溺れ

oborete — Drowning; being submerged and unable to breathe

しまい

shimai — Ending up doing; completing unfortunately (auxiliary use)

あなた

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

今日

kyō — Today; this day; the current day

そういう

sōiu — That kind of; such; like that; of that sort

もの

mono — Thing; object; something; nominalizer for situations

しょう

shō — Volitional form: let's; shall we; I will

うなずき

unazuki — Nodding; a nod of agreement or acknowledgment

彼

kare — He; him; third-person masculine pronoun

必要

hitsuyō — Necessary; needed; essential; required

あれ

are — That (over there); conditional stem of ある

ば

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

分かっ

wakatte — Understanding; knowing; having realized something

ほんの

honna — Just a little; merely; only a tiny amount

少し

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

距離

kyori — Distance; the space between two points

しか

shika — Only; nothing but; used with negatives for 'only'

泳げ

oyoge — Can swim; potential/imperative form of oyogu

その

sono — That; the (referring to something previously mentioned)

考える

kangaeru — To think; to consider; to ponder; to reflect on

嫌

iya — Unpleasant; disliked; disagreeable; no (refusal)