Mother West Wind "Why" Stories — Page 60

Vocabulary

私

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

が

ga — Subject marker particle in Japanese grammar

知ら

shira — Stem form of 'shiru', to know or be aware

ない

nai — Negative auxiliary; indicates something does not exist or occur

こと

koto — Abstract noun meaning 'thing', 'fact', or 'matter'

は

wa — Topic marker particle highlighting the sentence subject

知っ

shit(te) — Conjunctive form of 'shiru', meaning to know

て

te — Conjunctive particle connecting verbs or clauses

いる

iru — Verb meaning 'to be' or indicating ongoing action

より

yori — Particle meaning 'than', used in comparisons

も

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

多い

ooi — Adjective meaning 'many', 'much', or 'numerous'

けれど

keredo — Conjunction meaning 'but', 'however', or 'although'

いつ

itsu — Interrogative adverb meaning 'when' or 'at what time'

でも

demo — Particle/conjunction meaning 'even', 'but', or 'anytime'

学ぶ

manabu — Verb meaning 'to learn', 'to study', or 'to acquire knowledge'

準備

junbi — Noun meaning 'preparation' or 'readiness'

でき

deki — Stem of 'dekiru', meaning 'to be able' or 'ready'

よ

yo — Sentence-ending particle adding emphasis or assertion

今度

kondo — Noun/adverb meaning 'this time', 'next time'

何

nani — Interrogative pronoun meaning 'what'

だい

dai — Casual sentence-ending question particle used by males

なぜ

naze — Interrogative adverb meaning 'why' or 'for what reason'

モグラ

mogura — Noun meaning 'mole', a burrowing mammal

の

no — Possessive or nominalizing particle in Japanese

マイナー

mainaa — Loanword meaning 'minor' or 'lesser known'

地面

jimen — Noun meaning 'ground surface' or 'earth'

下

shita — Noun/position word meaning 'below', 'under', 'beneath'

に

ni — Particle indicating location, direction, or indirect object

住ん

sun(de) — Conjunctive form of 'sumu', meaning 'to live' or 'reside'

で

de — Particle indicating location of action or means

シマリス

shimarisu — Noun meaning 'chipmunk', a small striped rodent

作っ

tsukut(te) — Conjunctive form of 'tsukuru', meaning 'to make' or 'build'

た

ta — Past tense auxiliary verb indicating completed action

土手

dote — Noun meaning 'embankment', 'bank', or 'mound of earth'

を

wo — Direct object marker particle in Japanese grammar

指さし

yubisashi — Noun/verb meaning 'pointing' at something with a finger

考え込み

kangaekomi — Verb meaning 'to think deeply' or 'to be lost in thought'

ながら

nagara — Conjunction meaning 'while doing' two actions simultaneously

頭

atama — Noun meaning 'head' or 'mind'

かい

kai — Casual question particle, softer male version of 'ka'

わから

wakara — Negative stem of 'wakaru', meaning 'to understand'

と

to — Particle meaning 'and', 'with', or quoting speech

彼

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

とうとう

toutou — Adverb meaning 'finally', 'at last', or 'eventually'

白状

hakujou — Noun/verb meaning 'confession' or 'to confess honestly'

し

shi — Conjunctive form of 'suru'; also lists reasons

今まで

ima made — Phrase meaning 'until now' or 'up to this point'

考え

kangae — Noun/verb stem meaning 'thought', 'idea', or 'to think'

なかっ

nakat(ta) — Past negative form of 'nai', meaning 'was not' or 'did not'

もちろん

mochiron — Adverb meaning 'of course' or 'naturally'

何か

nanika — Pronoun meaning 'something' or 'some kind of thing'

理由

riyuu — Noun meaning 'reason', 'cause', or 'grounds'

ある

aru — Verb meaning 'to exist' or 'there is' for inanimate things

はず

hazu — Noun meaning 'expectation' or 'should be the case'

だ

da — Copula meaning 'is' or 'it is'; plain form of desu

たち

tachi — Plural suffix for animate nouns, especially people

一緒

issho — Noun meaning 'together' or 'at the same time'

遊び

asobi — Noun meaning 'play', 'game', or 'amusement'

出

de — Verb stem of 'deru', meaning 'to come out' or 'emerge'

くる

kuru — Verb meaning 'to come' or indicating action toward speaker

決して

kesshite — Adverb meaning 'never', used with negative verb forms

なく

naku — Negative conjunctive form of 'nai', meaning 'without being'

ただ

tada — Adverb meaning 'just', 'only', or 'merely'

暗い

kurai — Adjective meaning 'dark', 'dim', or 'gloomy'

地下

chika — Noun meaning 'underground' or 'basement'

ひとり

hitori — Noun meaning 'one person' or 'alone'

掘っ

hot(te) — Conjunctive form of 'horu', meaning 'to dig'

ずっと

zutto — Adverb meaning 'all along', 'the whole time', or 'far'

時間

jikan — Noun meaning 'time' or 'hours'

過ごし

sugoshi — Conjunctive form of 'sugosu', meaning 'to spend time'

ん

n — Informal contraction of 'no' or 'mono'; explanatory particle

不思議

fushigi — Na-adjective/noun meaning 'mysterious', 'strange', or 'wonder'

な

na — Sentence-ending particle expressing emotion or mild assertion

それ

sore — Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'that' near the listener

あなた

anata — Second-person pronoun meaning 'you'

君

kimi — Informal second-person pronoun meaning 'you'

思う

omou — Verb meaning 'to think', 'to feel', or 'to believe'

同じ

onaji — Adjective meaning 'same', 'identical', or 'equal'

さ

sa — Casual sentence-ending particle adding light emphasis

笑っ

warat(te) — Conjunctive form of 'warau', meaning 'to laugh' or 'smile'

他

hoka — Noun meaning 'other', 'another', or 'elsewhere'

する

suru — Verb meaning 'to do' or 'to perform an action'

なら

nara — Conditional particle meaning 'if', 'in that case'

プール

puuru — Loanword noun meaning 'pool', typically a swimming pool

へ

e — Directional particle meaning 'toward' or 'to a place'

行っ

it(te) — Conjunctive form of 'iku', meaning 'to go'

カエル

kaeru — Noun meaning 'frog', an amphibian

おじいさん

ojiisan — Noun meaning 'grandfather' or 'old man'

聞い

kii(te) — Conjunctive form of 'kiku', meaning 'to hear' or 'ask'

み

mi — Stem of 'miru' used in 'te miru', meaning 'to try doing'

よう

you — Volitional auxiliary meaning 'let's' or 'I will try'

きっと

kitto — Adverb meaning 'surely', 'certainly', or 'definitely'

二人

futari — Noun meaning 'two people' or 'a pair'

出発

shuppatsu — Noun/verb meaning 'departure' or 'to set off'

途中

tochuu — Noun meaning 'on the way', 'midway', or 'in the middle'

スカンク

sukanku — Loanword noun meaning 'skunk', a small striped mammal

出会っ

deaat(te) — Conjunctive form of 'deau', meaning 'to encounter' or 'meet'

とも

tomo — Particle meaning 'even if', 'also', or 'both'

か

ka — Question particle placed at end of interrogative sentences

彼ら

karera — Third-person plural pronoun meaning 'they' or 'them'

向かっ

mukat(te) — Conjunctive form of 'mukau', meaning 'to head toward'

温かい

atatakai — Adjective meaning 'warm', 'cozy', or 'gentle in temperature'

日差し

hizashi — Noun meaning 'sunlight' or 'rays of the sun'

中

naka — Noun meaning 'inside', 'within', or 'among'

大きな

ookina — Pre-noun adjective meaning 'large', 'big', or 'great'

緑

midori — Noun/adjective meaning 'green' color or greenery

睡蓮

suiren — Noun meaning 'water lily', an aquatic flowering plant

葉

ha — Noun meaning 'leaf' or 'petal' of a plant

上

ue — Noun meaning 'above', 'on top of', or 'upper part'

座っ

suwat(te) — Conjunctive form of 'suwaru', meaning 'to sit down'

い

i — Stem of 'iru', indicating ongoing state or action

今回

konkai — Noun meaning 'this time' or 'on this occasion'

ばかり

bakari — Particle meaning 'only', 'just', or 'nothing but'

話

hanashi — Noun meaning 'story', 'talk', or 'conversation'

せがま

segama — Stem of 'segamu', meaning 'to pester' or 'to beg insistently'

れる

reru — Passive auxiliary verb suffix indicating passive voice

低い

hikui — Adjective meaning 'low', 'short in height', or 'soft voiced'

声

koe — Noun meaning 'voice' or 'sound made by a person'

言っ

it(te) — Conjunctive form of 'iu', meaning 'to say' or 'speak'

一番

ichiban — Adverb/noun meaning 'most', 'number one', or 'best'

近く

chikaku — Noun/adverb meaning 'nearby', 'close', or 'in the vicinity'

隣人

rinjin — Noun meaning 'neighbor' or 'person living next door'

こんな

konna — Pre-noun adjective meaning 'this kind of' or 'such a'

なんて

nante — Particle expressing surprise, contempt, or 'how could such...'

たまら

tamara — Stem of 'tamaranu', meaning 'unbearable' or 'cannot stand'

顔

kao — Noun meaning 'face' or 'facial expression'

上げ

age — Conjunctive form of 'ageru', meaning 'to raise' or 'lift up'

陽気

youki — Na-adjective/noun meaning 'cheerful', 'merry', or 'lively'

丸く

maruku — Adverb meaning 'roundly', 'in a circular manner'

輝かしい

kagayakashii — Adjective meaning 'brilliant', 'radiant', or 'glorious'

お日さま

ohisama — Honorific noun meaning 'the sun', used affectionately

ウィンク

winku — Loanword noun/verb meaning 'wink', closing one eye briefly