Mother West Wind "Why" Stories — Page 65

Vocabulary

彼ら

karera — They; third-person plural pronoun.

は

wa — Topic marker particle in Japanese grammar.

彼

kare — He; third-person masculine singular pronoun.

の

no — Possessive or nominalizing particle in Japanese.

穴

ana — Hole; pit; cavity in a surface.

底

soko — Bottom; lowest part of something.

まで

made — Until; up to; as far as.

掘り下げ

horisage — Digging deeper; delving further into something.

が

ga — Subject marker particle; also means 'but'.

そこ

soko — There; that place nearby.

で

de — Location or means particle in Japanese grammar.

を

wo — Object marker particle in Japanese grammar.

見つけ

mitsuke — Finding; discovering something or someone.

られ

rare — Passive or potential verb suffix in Japanese.

ため

tame — Because of; for the sake of; due to.

すぐ

sugu — Immediately; right away; soon.

に

ni — Direction, time, or purpose particle in Japanese.

口論

kouron — Quarrel; argument; verbal dispute between people.

始め

hajime — Beginning; starting something for the first time.

互い

tagai — Each other; mutual; reciprocal relationship.

これ

kore — This; referring to something nearby the speaker.

ほど

hodo — To the extent of; as much as; degree.

多く

ooku — Many; much; a large number or amount.

骨折り損

honeorizon — Wasted effort; labor with no resulting benefit.

仕事

shigoto — Work; job; occupation; task to be done.

提案

teian — Proposal; suggestion; putting forward an idea.

と

to — And; with; quotation particle in Japanese.

相手

aite — Partner; opponent; the other person involved.

責め合い

Blaming each other; mutual accusation between parties.

最終的

saishūteki — Final; ultimately; in the end; conclusive.

去っ

sat(te) — Leaving; departing; going away from a place.

いき

iki — Going; moving away (as auxiliary of direction).

それ

sore — That; referring to something near the listener.

でも

demo — Even so; but; however; nevertheless.

悪口

waruguchi — Badmouthing; speaking ill of someone; slander.

言い続け

iitsuzuke — Continuing to say; keep saying something repeatedly.

おり

ori — Formal progressive form of 'to be/exist'.

その

sono — That (before noun); the aforementioned thing.

日

hi — Day; sun; a specific calendar day.

以来

irai — Since then; ever since a certain time.

キツネ

kitsune — Fox; the animal Vulpes vulpes.

アナグマ

anaguma — Badger; burrowing mammal of family Mustelidae.

友達

tomodachi — Friend; companion; close acquaintance.

なる

naru — To become; to turn into something.

こと

koto — Thing; fact; nominalizer for verb phrases.

あり

ari — There is/are; formal existential verb form.

モグラ

mogura — Mole; small burrowing mammal living underground.

さん

san — Honorific title used after someone's name.

九死

kyuushi — Nine deaths; near-death situation (in 九死一生).

一生

isshō — A lifetime; one's whole life; in 九死一生: narrow escape.

得

e/uru — To obtain; to gain; to receive something.

とても

totemo — Very; extremely; quite; used for emphasis.

感謝

kansha — Gratitude; thankfulness; appreciation toward someone.

考え

kangae — Thought; idea; thinking; one's perspective.

させる

saseru — To make someone do; causative verb form.

きっかけ

kikkake — Trigger; opportunity; chance that starts something.

もし

moshi — If; supposing; used to introduce hypotheticals.

地下

chika — Underground; below ground level; basement area.

トンネル

tonneru — Tunnel; underground or underwater passage.

たくさん

takusan — Many; a lot; plenty; large quantity.

持っ

mot(te) — Having; holding; possessing something in hand.

ば

ba — Conditional particle meaning 'if' in Japanese.

誰

dare — Who; which person; anyone.

も

mo — Also; even; (with negative) no one/nothing.

捕まえる

tsukamaeru — To catch; to capture; to grab someone.

でき

deki — Can; able to do; potential form stem.

ない

nai — Not; negative verb or adjective ending.

だろう

darou — Probably; I suppose; expressing conjecture or probability.

素晴らしい

subarashii — Wonderful; magnificent; splendid; amazing.

実行

jikkou — Execution; carrying out a plan or action.

取り掛かり

torikakari — Starting; beginning to work on something.

そして

soshite — And then; and; furthermore; connecting events.

発見

hakken — Discovery; finding something new or unexpected.

なんと

nanto — What a...! How surprising! Exclamatory expression.

でしょう

deshou — Probably; isn't it?; polite conjecture form.

地面

jimen — Ground surface; earth; the land below us.

下

shita — Below; under; beneath; lower position.

食べ物

tabemono — Food; things to eat; edible items.

たっぷり

tappuri — Plenty; in abundance; more than enough amount.

ミミズ

mimizu — Earthworm; segmented worm living in soil.

や

ya — And; listing particle implying non-exhaustive list.

幼虫

youchuu — Larva; grub; immature insect stage.

必要

hitsuyou — Necessary; needed; essential; required thing.

する

suru — To do; to perform; general action verb.

もの

mono — Thing; object; nominalizer expressing natural expectation.

すべて

subete — All; everything; every single thing.

そろっ

sorot(te) — Gathered together; all present; assembled completely.

時間

jikan — Time; hours; a period or duration.

中

naka — Inside; middle; among; within something.

過ごし

sugoshi — Spending time; passing days in a place.

めった

metta — Rarely; seldom; not often (used with negative).

外

soto — Outside; exterior; outdoors; beyond a boundary.

鼻

hana — Nose; the olfactory organ on the face.

出す

dasu — To put out; to take out; to show.

安全

anzen — Safe; secure; free from danger or harm.

快適

kaiteki — Comfortable; pleasant; agreeable living conditions.

掘る

horu — To dig; to burrow into the ground.

いつ

itsu — When; at what time; ever.

見つける

mitsukeru — To find; to discover; to locate something.

少し

sukoshi — A little; a small amount; slightly.

ずつ

zutsu — Each; at a time; distributive suffix for amounts.

昔

mukashi — Long ago; the old days; ancient times.

隣人

rinjin — Neighbor; person living nearby one's home.

たち

tachi — Plural suffix for people or animate beings.

すっかり

sukkari — Completely; entirely; totally; all at once.

忘れ

wasure — Forgetting; losing memory of something or someone.

しまい

shimai — Ending up; completing (often with regret).

目

me — Eye; the organ used for seeing.

ほとんど

hotondo — Almost; mostly; nearly; hardly (with negative).

使わ

tsukawa — Using; stem form of 使う before negative.

どんどん

dondon — Progressively; rapidly; one after another; steadily.

小さく

chiisaku — Small; becoming smaller; adverbial form of 小さい.

光

hikari — Light; radiance; brightness from a source.

出

de/shutsu — Going out; exiting; coming from somewhere.

とき

toki — Time; moment; when something happens.

痛く

itaku — Painfully; hurting; adverbial form of 痛い.

また

mata — Again; also; once more; additionally.

暗闇

kurayami — Darkness; pitch black; complete absence of light.

戻る

modoru — To return; to go back to a place.

喜ん

yokon(de) — Gladly; happily; with joy and pleasure.

だ

da — Copula; plain form of です (is/are).

完全

kanzen — Complete; perfect; total; without any deficiency.

幸せ

shiawase — Happiness; good fortune; being content and joyful.

満足

manzoku — Satisfaction; contentment; being fully pleased.

人生

jinsei — Life; one's lifetime; human existence overall.

おい

oi — Hey; informal interjection to get attention.

いる

iru — To exist; to be (for animate beings).

以上

ijou — More than; beyond; that is all; above.

良い

yoi/ii — Good; fine; excellent; favorable quality.

ある

aru — To exist; to have; to be (inanimate).

か

ka — Question particle used at sentence end.