Mother West Wind "Why" Stories — Page 89

Vocabulary

おじいさん

ojiisan — Grandfather or old man, elderly male figure

カエル

kaeru — Frog, a small amphibian animal

は

wa — Topic marker particle in Japanese grammar

二

ni — The number two

三度

sando — Three times, occurring on three occasions

咳払い

sekibarai — Clearing one's throat to get attention

を

wo — Object marker particle in Japanese grammar

した

shita — Past tense of 'to do,' did something

座り

suwari — Sitting, the act of taking a seat

なさい

nasai — Polite imperative form, telling someone to do something

クマ

kuma — Bear, a large omnivorous mammal

の

no — Possessive or linking particle between nouns

王様

ousama — King, a male ruler of a kingdom

しっぽ

shippo — Tail, the appendage at the back of an animal

話

hanashi — Story or conversation, something spoken or told

から

kara — From, because; indicates origin or reason

教訓

kyoukun — Lesson or moral learned from an experience

学び

manabi — Learning, the act of gaining knowledge

と

to — And, with, or quotation particle in Japanese

彼

kare — He or him, third-person masculine pronoun

とても

totemo — Very, extremely; intensifier for adjectives

真剣

shinken — Serious, earnest; with great sincerity and focus

に

ni — Direction, location, or time marker particle

言っ

it(te) — Said, spoke; stem form of 'to say'

た

ta — Past tense auxiliary verb ending in Japanese

昔々

mukashimukashi — Once upon a time, long long ago

世界

sekai — World, the entire earth or universe

が

ga — Subject marker particle in Japanese grammar

まだ

mada — Still, not yet; indicating continuation of state

若かっ

wakak(atta) — Was young; past form of 'young'

頃

koro — Around that time, approximate period or era

緑

midori — Green, the color of plants and nature

森

mori — Forest, a large area covered with trees

支配

shihai — Rule or control over a territory or people

し

shi — Conjunctive verb form meaning 'and' or 'doing'

て

te — Conjunctive particle linking sequential actions

い

i — Continuative form of 'to be' (iru)

みんな

minna — Everyone, all people in a group

貢ぎ物

mitsugimono — Tribute or offering given to a ruler

持っ

mot(te) — Having, holding; stem form of 'to hold'

き

ki — Came; archaic past tense of 'to come'

覚え

oboe — Memory or recollection; remembering something

いる

iru — To exist or be present (animate beings)

だろう

darou — Probably, I suppose; expresses conjecture

うなずき

unazuki — Nodding, the act of nodding one's head in agreement

続け

tsuzuke — Continue doing something without stopping

さて

sate — Well then, now; transitional phrase shifting topic

遠い

tooi — Far, distant; physically or temporally remote

先祖

senzo — Ancestor, a person from whom one is descended

だっ

dat(ta) — Was, past form of the copula 'da'

全く

mattaku — Completely, entirely; used for emphasis or negation

なかっ

nakak(atta) — Did not exist; past negative of 'aru'

こと

koto — Thing, fact, or matter; nominalizes verbs

以外

igai — Except for, other than, besides something

よく

yoku — Well, often; adverb indicating frequency or quality

似

ni — Resembles, is similar to someone or something

片鱗

henrin — Fragment or glimpse of a quality or trait

さえ

sae — Even, not even; emphasizes extremity or addition

も

mo — Also, too, even; inclusive or additive particle

最初

saisho — First, the beginning or very start of something

なる

naru — To become, to turn into something new

前

mae — Before, in front of; spatial or temporal reference

この

kono — This, referring to something nearby the speaker

気

ki — Spirit, feeling, mood, or inclination

実

jitsu — Truth, reality; actually, in fact

ところ

tokoro — Place, point; situation or moment in time

ない

nai — Not exist, negative form; there is not

むしろ

mushiro — Rather, on the contrary; expressing preference

喜ん

yorokon(de) — Gladly, with joy; happy to do something

で

de — At, by, with; indicates location or means

くらい

kurai — About, approximately; to the extent that

という

to iu — Called, known as; used to quote or name

何

nani — What, which thing; question word for objects

役

yaku — Use, role, purpose; being useful for something

立つ

tatsu — To stand; to be useful or helpful

か

ka — Question particle placed at end of sentences

思いつか

omoitsuka(nai) — Cannot think of, fails to come up with idea

わずらわしい

wazurawashii — Troublesome, annoying; needlessly complicated and bothersome

だ

da — Is, am, are; plain form of the copula

これ

kore — This, referring to something close to speaker

まさに

masani — Exactly, precisely; just as described or expected

自然

shizen — Nature; natural world or what is natural

お母さん

okaasan — Mother, mom; polite term for one's mother

考え

kangae — Thought, idea, or way of thinking about something

同じ

onaji — Same, identical; exactly alike or equivalent

彼女

kanojo — She, her; third-person feminine pronoun

本当

hontou — True, real; genuinely or actually the case

必要

hitsuyou — Necessary, needed; something required or essential

な

na — Adjectival copula linking na-adjectives to nouns

もの

mono — Thing, object; tangible or abstract item

すべて

subete — Everything, all; the entirety of something

与え

atae — To give, provide; offering something to someone

よう

you — Let's, in order to; volitional or purpose form

最善

saizen — Best effort, optimum; doing the very best possible

尽くし

tsukushi — Exhausted effort; doing everything one can do

さん

san — Honorific title used after someone's name

少し

sukoshi — A little, slightly; a small amount of something

思え

omoe — Think, feel; potential or conditional form of 'think'

なく

naku — Without, lacking; negative conjunctive form

すっかり

sukkari — Completely, entirely; thoroughly changed or finished

幸せ

shiawase — Happiness, fortunate; state of being content and glad

食べ物

tabemono — Food, things to eat; edible items generally

十分

juubun — Enough, sufficient; adequate amount or degree

手

te — Hand; also used in phrases meaning 'to obtain'

入れる

ireru — To put in, insert; to obtain or acquire

忙しく

isogashiku — Busily, in a busy manner; adverb form of busy

くだらない

kudaranai — Worthless, trivial; not worth one's time or effort

や

ya — And, or; lists items in a non-exhaustive way

無駄

muda — Wasteful, pointless; useless expenditure of resources

望み

nozomi — Wish, desire, hope for something wanted

持つ

motsu — To hold, have, carry something in one's possession

暇

hima — Free time, leisure; having nothing to do

など

nado — Et cetera, and so on; indicates non-exhaustive list