Mother West Wind "Why" Stories — Page 71

Vocabulary

もし

moshi — If; used to introduce a hypothetical condition

彼

kare — He; him; third-person masculine pronoun

が

ga — Subject marker particle in Japanese grammar

たまたま

tamatama — By chance; accidentally; coincidentally

トラブル

toraburu — Trouble; problem; conflict or difficulty

の

no — Possessive or nominalizing particle in Japanese

現場

genba — Scene; site; location where something occurred

近く

chikaku — Nearby; close to a place or thing

で

de — At; in; particle indicating location of action

見つかっ

mitsukatt(a) — Was found; was discovered (past stem form)

た

ta — Past tense auxiliary verb ending in Japanese

場合

baai — Case; situation; circumstance or occasion

も

mo — Also; even; too; inclusive particle

は

wa — Topic marker particle highlighting sentence subject

自分

jibun — Oneself; myself; yourself; reflexive pronoun

そこ

soko — There; that place; mid-distance location

に

ni — In; at; to; direction or location particle

い

i — To be; to exist (for animate beings, stem)

理由

riyuu — Reason; cause; explanation for something

を

wo — Direct object marker particle in Japanese

説明

setsumei — Explanation; description; to explain something

する

suru — To do; general-purpose action verb

話

hanashi — Story; talk; conversation; narrative

いつも

itsumo — Always; usually; habitually at all times

用意

youi — Preparation; readiness; having something ready

し

shi — And; verb stem conjunctive form connecting actions

て

te — Conjunctive particle linking verbs or clauses

それ

sore — That; it; mid-distance demonstrative pronoun

とても

totemo — Very; extremely; quite; intensifying adverb

本当

hontou — Truth; reality; truly; genuine or real

らしく

rashiku — Seeming like; appearing to be; -ly adverb form

聞こえ

kikoye — To sound; to be heard; audible impression

また

mata — Also; again; moreover; in addition

正直

shoujiki — Honest; frank; straightforward in character

な

na — Adjectival copula particle linking noun or adjective

様子

yousu — Appearance; manner; state or situation observed

話す

hanasu — To speak; to talk; to tell someone something

誰

dare — Who; which person; interrogative pronoun

疑おう

utagaou — To doubt; volitional form of to suspect

と

to — And; with; quotation particle; conditional if

思わ

omowa — To think; negative stem of think (omou)

なかっ

nakatt(a) — Did not; past negative auxiliary (stem form)

こう

kou — Like this; in this way; thus

ヘビ

hebi — Snake; serpent; reptile without legs

さん

san — Polite honorific suffix for names or titles

嘘

uso — Lie; falsehood; untruth spoken to deceive

つく

tsuku — To tell (a lie); to attach; to stick

こと

koto — Thing; matter; fact; nominalizer for verbs

ごまかし

gomakashi — Deception; trickery; cheating to conceal truth

や

ya — And; listing particle for non-exhaustive lists

盗み

nusumi — Stealing; theft; act of taking something unlawfully

役立つ

yakudatsu — To be useful; to serve a purpose helpfully

わかり

wakari — Understanding; comprehension; grasping a concept

その

sono — That; the; demonstrative determiner for nouns

間

aida — Between; during; interval of time or space

ずっと

zutto — All along; continuously; for a long time

どれ

dore — Which one; interrogative pronoun for selecting items

ほど

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

賢い

kashikoi — Clever; smart; wise; intelligent in nature

か

ka — Question marker particle; or; whether

考え

kangae — Thought; idea; thinking; consideration or notion

続け

tsuzuke — To continue; to keep doing something (stem)

まし

mashi — Polite past auxiliary (-ました stem); better (まし)

しかし

shikashi — However; but; nevertheless; conjunctive word

少し

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

ばかり

bakari — Only; just; approximately; nothing but

良心

ryoushin — Conscience; moral sense; inner ethical awareness

あり

ari — To have; to exist (stem form of aru)

時々

tokidoki — Sometimes; occasionally; from time to time

悩ませる

nayamaseru — To trouble; to cause worry; to torment someone

では

dewa — Well then; in that case; so; transitional phrase

どう

dou — How; in what way; what do you think

思い

omoi — Thought; feeling; emotion; strong inner feeling

ます

masu — Polite present/future verb ending suffix

なんと

nanto — How; what; expressing surprise or exclamation

ごまかす

gomakasu — To deceive; to cheat; to gloss over truth

すっかり

sukkari — Completely; entirely; thoroughly; all at once

習慣

shuukan — Habit; custom; routine practice done regularly

なっ

natt(a) — Became; turned into (past stem of naru)

しまっ

shimatt(a) — Ended up; unfortunately completed action (stem)

ついに

tsui ni — Finally; at last; in the end; ultimately

自身

jishin — Oneself; own self; emphasizing reflexive identity

ごまかそう

gomakasou — Will deceive; volitional form of to cheat

です

desu — Polite copula meaning is; am; are

つい

tsui — Unintentionally; inadvertently; before one realizes

いる

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

とき

toki — Time; moment; when; occasion or instance

片目

katame — One eye; single eye; winking one eye

ウィンク

winku — Wink; closing one eye as a gesture

心

kokoro — Heart; mind; spirit; inner emotional being

中

naka — Inside; within; among; middle of something

言い

ii — To say; speaking (stem form of iu)

ない

nai — Not; negative auxiliary; does not exist

という

to iu — Called; known as; meaning that; quoting expression

意味

imi — Meaning; significance; what something signifies

だ

da — Plain copula; is; am; are (informal form)

そして

soshite — And then; and; moreover; continuing connector

この

kono — This; demonstrative determiner for nearby nouns

人

hito — Person; people; human being or individual

たち

tachi — Plural suffix for people and animate beings

私

watashi — I; me; first-person singular pronoun

見

mi — To see; to look (stem form of miru)

理解

rikai — Understanding; comprehension; grasping meaning fully

賢く

kashikoku — Cleverly; wisely; adverb form of kashikoi

なら

nara — If; given that; conditional topic marker

言う

iu — To say; to speak; to utter words

信じる

shinjiru — To believe; to trust; to have faith in

彼ら

karera — They; them; third-person masculine plural pronoun

責任

sekinin — Responsibility; duty; accountability for actions

話しかけ

hanashikake — To speak to; to address someone; initiating talk

相手

aite — Partner; the other person; opponent or companion

から

kara — From; because; after; starting point particle

顔

kao — Face; facial expression; countenance

そむけ

somuke — To turn away; to avert (face or gaze)

方

kata / hou — Person (polite); direction; way of doing something

目

me — Eye; gaze; point of view; visual sense

よう

you — Like; as if; seems; manner or appearance

気

ki — Spirit; feeling; mood; attention or mind

つけ

tsuke — To attach; be careful (ki o tsukete: take care)

まあ

maa — Well; hmm; somewhat; softening interjection

でしょう

deshou — Probably; I suppose; right? polite conjecture

緑

midori — Green; the color green; verdant hue

草原

sougen — Grassland; meadow; open grassy plain

森

mori — Forest; woods; dense area of trees

大変

taihen — Very; terrible; difficult; serious situation

続い

tsuzui — Continued; followed; went on (stem of tsuzuku)

事態

jitai — Situation; state of affairs; serious circumstances

悪化

akka — Worsening; deterioration; becoming worse over time

年老い

toshioi — Aged; grown old; elderly in appearance

大自然

daishizen — Great nature; Mother Nature; the natural world

母

haha — Mother; one's own mother; maternal figure

小さな

chiisana — Small; little; tiny; diminutive in size

生き物

ikimono — Living creature; organism; living being

来

ki — To come; arrival (stem form of kuru)

彼女

kanojo — She; her; girlfriend; third-person feminine pronoun

あまり

amari — Too much; not very; excessively; remainder

多く

ooku — Many; much; a lot; large quantity

不満

fuman — Dissatisfaction; discontent; complaint; grievance

声

koe — Voice; sound produced by speaking or singing

聞かさ

kikasa — To be made to hear; caused to listen (stem)

れ

re — Passive auxiliary suffix indicating being acted upon

どこ

doko — Where; what place; interrogative location word

問題

mondai — Problem; question; issue; matter to be solved

解決

kaiketsu — Solution; resolution; solving a problem completely

始めれ

hajimere — If one begins; conditional form of to start

ば

ba — If; conditional particle expressing hypothetical action

よい

yoi — Good; fine; all right; favorable or acceptable

ほとんど

hotondo — Almost; mostly; nearly all; hardly any

ませ

mase — Polite imperative or negative suffix component

ん

n — Negative contraction; explanatory nominalizer particle