Mother West Wind "Why" Stories — Page 99

Vocabulary

自分

jibun — Oneself; refers to the speaker themselves.

で

de — Particle indicating means, location, or context.

何

nani — What; an interrogative pronoun.

と

to — Particle meaning 'and' or quotation marker.

か

ka — Question marker particle placed at sentence end.

困難

konnan — Difficulty; a hard or challenging situation.

から

kara — Particle meaning 'from' or 'because'.

抜け出す

nukedasu — To escape from; to break free of something.

方法

houhou — Method; a way or means of doing something.

を

wo — Object marker particle in Japanese grammar.

考え

kangae — Thought; idea; the act of thinking.

ば

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

なら

nara — Conditional form meaning 'if that is the case'.

ない

nai — Negative auxiliary; indicates something does not exist.

年老い

toshioi — Aged; having grown old in years.

た

ta — Past tense auxiliary verb in Japanese grammar.

コウモリ

koumori — Bat; the flying nocturnal mammal.

さん

san — Honorific suffix added to names or titles.

は

wa — Topic marker particle in Japanese grammar.

思い

omoi — Thought; feeling; emotion held in the mind.

どう

dou — How; in what way or manner.

し

shi — Verb 'do'; conjunctive form of suru.

て

te — Conjunctive particle connecting verbs or clauses.

も

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

でき

deki — To be able to; to become possible.

わかっ

wakatt- — Understood; past stem of wakaru, to understand.

とき

toki — Time; moment; occasion when something happens.

はじめ

hajime — Beginning; first; the start of something.

自然

shizen — Nature; the natural world; something occurring naturally.

の

no — Possessive or nominalizing particle in Japanese grammar.

母上

hahaue — Honorific term for one's mother; revered mother.

ところ

tokoro — Place; location; point in time or situation.

へ

e — Directional particle indicating movement toward a place.

行く

iku — To go; to move toward a destination.

頃合い

koro-ai — Right timing; the appropriate or suitable moment.

という

to iu — Called; known as; that which is said to be.

もの

mono — Thing; object; abstract concept or matter.

だ

da — Copula meaning 'is' or 'am'; plain form.

もちろん

mochiron — Of course; naturally; it goes without saying.

空中

kuuchuu — In the air; mid-air; aerial space above ground.

くねっ

kunett- — To twist or wind; zigzag movement through space.

たり

tari — Particle listing representative actions or states alternately.

身

mi — Body; one's physical self or being.

かわし

kawashi — To dodge; to evade or sidestep something incoming.

旋回

senkai — Circling; revolving; turning around in the air.

いる

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

に

ni — Particle indicating location, direction, or indirect object.

考える

kangaeru — To think; to consider or ponder something carefully.

とても

totemo — Very; extremely; to a great degree.

難し

muzukashi- — Difficult; hard; not easy to do or understand.

こと

koto — Thing; fact; abstract matter or circumstance.

です

desu — Polite copula meaning 'is', 'am', or 'are'.

まる

maru — Circle; round; complete; entirely or wholly.

すべて

subete — Everything; all; the entirety of something.

知っ

shitt- — Past stem of shiru; to know or be aware.

よう

you — Appearance; seeming; manner; like or as if.

言い

ii — To say; conjunctive stem of iu.

それ

sore — That; refers to something near the listener.

誰か

dareka — Someone; some unspecified person.

夕食

yuushoku — Dinner; the evening meal consumed at day's end.

として

toshite — As; in the capacity or role of something.

丸呑み

marunomi — Swallowing whole; gulping something down entirely.

れる

reru — Passive auxiliary verb suffix indicating receiving an action.

危険

kiken — Danger; risk; a hazardous or unsafe situation.

なし

nashi — Without; lacking; absence of something specified.

ひとり

hitori — Alone; one person; by oneself without company.

静か

shizuka — Quiet; calm; peaceful and free from noise.

が

ga — Subject marker particle; also indicates contrast or emphasis.

できる

dekiru — To be able to; to be possible or capable.

場所

basho — Place; location; a spot or specific area.

探し

sagashi — Searching; looking for something or someone.

行っ

itt- — Past stem of iku; went; moved toward a place.

カエル

kaeru — Frog; small amphibian living near water.

おじいさん

ojiisan — Grandfather; elderly man; respectful term for old man.

続け

tsuzuke — To continue; to keep doing something without stopping.

彼

kare — He; him; refers to a male third person.

飛ん

ton- — Flying; conjunctive stem of tobu, to fly.

その

sono — That (near listener); demonstrative adjective modifying a noun.

な

na — Sentence-final particle expressing emotion or mild prohibition.

見つける

mitsukeru — To find; to discover something previously unseen.

希望

kibou — Hope; wish; a desire for something to happen.

ほとんど

hotondo — Almost; nearly; mostly; for the most part.

諦め

akirame — Giving up; resignation; abandoning hope or effort.

かけ

kake — About to; on the verge of doing something.

洞窟

doukutsu — Cave; cavern; a hollow space in rock or earth.

見つけ

mitsuke — Found; stem of mitsukeru, to find or discover.

中

naka — Inside; the interior or middle of something.

暗く

kuraku — Darkly; adverbial form of dark; lacking light.

見え

mie — Visible; stem of mieru, to appear or be seen.

飛び込む

tobikómu — To dive into; to plunge or jump inside something.

十分

juubun — Sufficient; enough; adequately large or plentiful.

大き

ooki- — Large; big; adjective stem meaning great in size.

入っ

hait- — Entered; went inside; stem of hairu, to enter.

いき

iki — Going; conjunctive form of iku, to go.

タカ

taka — Hawk; a sharp-eyed predatory bird of prey.

決し

kesshi- — Absolutely; decidedly; used with negative for 'never'.

そこ

soko — There; that place; a location near the listener.

天井

tenjou — Ceiling; the overhead interior surface of a room.

近く

chikaku — Near; close by; in the vicinity of something.

小さ

chiisa- — Small; little; adjective stem meaning tiny in size.

棚

tana — Shelf; ledge; a flat surface for storing things.

後

ato / nochi — After; behind; later; subsequent in time or position.

つけ

tsuke — To attach; stem of tsukeru, to put or affix.

くる

kuru — To come; to move toward the speaker's location.

かも

kamo — Might; perhaps; expressing uncertainty about a possibility.

四本足

yonhonashi — Four-legged; referring to quadruped animals as enemies.

敵

teki — Enemy; opponent; a hostile or threatening adversary.

安全

anzen — Safety; security; a condition free from danger.

わかり

wakari — Understanding; stem of wakaru, to understand or grasp.

まさ

masa — Indeed; exactly; just right; precisely as expected.

休ん

yasun- — Resting; stem of yasumu, to rest or take a break.

休み

yasumi — Rest; break; holiday; a period of not working.

ながら

nagara — While doing; simultaneous action conjunction particle.

じっくり

jikkuri — Carefully; slowly and thoroughly; taking one's time.

やがて

yagate — Soon; before long; eventually; after a while.

外

soto — Outside; the exterior; area beyond an enclosed space.

なっ

natt- — Became; past stem of naru, to become something.

気がつき

ki ga tsuki — Noticed; became aware; realized something suddenly.

大変

taihen — Terrible; very serious; an exclamation of distress.

今日

kyou — Today; this current day.

何か

nanika — Something; some unspecified thing or matter.

食べる

taberu — To eat; to consume food by mouth.

つもり

tsumori — Intention; plan; meaning to do something.

急が

isoga — To hurry; stem of isogu, to rush or hasten.

出

de- — Exit; go out; stem of deru, to leave or emerge.

みる

miru — To try doing; to see; to look at something.

お日さま

ohisama — The sun; a warm, honorific term for sunlight.

もう

mou — Already; anymore; soon; expresses a changed state.

床

yuka / toko — Floor; bed; the surface one walks or sleeps on.

つい

tsui — Unintentionally; just recently; inadvertently doing something.

しまっ

shimatt- — Completed regrettably; stem of shimau, indicating finality.