Mother West Wind "Why" Stories — Page 109

Vocabulary

ああ

aa — Ah; expression of realization, relief, or resignation.

ありがとう

arigatou — Thank you; expression of gratitude.

カエル

kaeru — Frog; a small amphibian creature.

の

no — Possessive or linking particle indicating belonging or relation.

おじいさん

ojiisan — Grandfather or elderly man; respectful term.

と

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

は

wa — Topic marker particle highlighting the sentence subject.

長い

nagai — Long; describing something of great length or duration.

息

iki — Breath; air inhaled or exhaled by a person.

を

wo — Object marker particle indicating the direct object.

つき

tsuki — To exhale or let out (breath); verb stem form.

ながら

nagara — While doing; conjunction indicating simultaneous actions.

叫び

sakebi — Shout or cry out; to yell loudly.

まし

mashi — Polite verb auxiliary used before た in past tense.

た

ta — Past tense auxiliary verb indicating completed action.

それ

sore — That; pronoun referring to something near the listener.

自然

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

お母さん

okaasan — Mother; polite term for one's or another's mother.

が

ga — Subject marker particle identifying the grammatical subject.

し

shi — Do; verb stem of する, connecting clauses or listing.

て

te — Te-form particle connecting verbs or indicating sequence.

くれ

kure — To give (to me/us); receiving a favor from someone.

本当に

hontou ni — Really; truly; used to emphasize sincerity or truth.

素晴らしい

subarashii — Wonderful; magnificent; describing something impressively great.

こと

koto — Thing; fact; abstract noun nominalizing verbs or events.

だ

da — Casual copula meaning 'is' or 'am'; plain form.

よ

yo — Sentence-ending particle asserting or informing the listener.

から

kara — Because; from; indicates reason or starting point.

懐かしい

natsukashii — Nostalgic; fondly missed from the past; dear memory.

自分

jibun — Oneself; reflexive pronoun referring to one's own self.

家

ie / uchi — House; home; one's place of residence.

に

ni — Particle indicating direction, location, time, or purpose.

向かっ

mukatte (mukau) — Head toward; to face or move in a direction.

歩き

aruki — Walking; verb stem of 歩く, to walk on foot.

始め

hajime — Begin; start; verb stem of 始める indicating commencement.

その

sono — That; demonstrative adjective referring to nearby noun.

道中

douchuu — Along the way; during a journey or trip.

ずっと

zutto — All along; continuously; for a long time without break.

なぜ

naze — Why; asking for the reason or cause of something.

あの

ano — That (over there); demonstrative referring to distant thing.

話

hanashi — Story; talk; conversation or a narrative account.

聞き

kiki — Listen; verb stem of 聞く, to hear or ask.

たがっ

tagatte (tagaru) — Wanting to; showing desire to do something (third person).

いる

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

知っ

shitte (shiru) — Know; te-form of 知る, to be aware or informed.

い

i — Shortened form of いる used in て-form constructions.

か

ka — Question particle placed at end of interrogative sentences.

不思議

fushigi — Strange; mysterious; wondering about something puzzling.

思い

omoi — Thought; feeling; verb stem of 思う, to think.

続け

tsuzuke — Continue; verb stem of 続ける, to keep doing something.

そして

soshite — And then; furthermore; connecting sequential or additional ideas.

今日

kyou — Today; the current day.

至る

itaru — To reach; to arrive at; extending up to a point.

まで

made — Until; up to; indicating a limit of time or place.

答え

kotae — Answer; response to a question or problem.

わかっ

wakatte (wakaru) — Understand; to comprehend or grasp something clearly.

ませ

mase — Polite auxiliary verb ending used in negative constructions.

ん

n — Negative or explanatory ending; informal contraction of ない/の.

実は

jitsu wa — Actually; in truth; revealing surprising or hidden information.

聞い

kiite (kiku) — Heard or asked; te-form of 聞く indicating listening.

とき

toki — Time; when; moment at which something occurs.

聞き耳

kikimimi — Straining one's ears; listening very carefully and attentively.

立て

tate — Set up; prick up (ears); verb stem of 立てる.

気づか

kidzuka (kidzuku) — Notice; become aware of something; to realize or perceive.

なかっ

nakatte (nai) — Was not; negative past auxiliary connecting to た.

です

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

もちろん

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

好奇心

koukishin — Curiosity; strong desire to know or learn things.

よく

yoku — Often; well; frequently or skillfully doing something.

ので

node — Because; since; indicating reason or cause politely.

来る

kuru — To come; to arrive at the speaker's location.

だろう

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

すぐ

sugu — Soon; immediately; right away without delay.

見当

kentou — Guess; estimate; having an idea or rough expectation.

つけ

tsuke — Attach; make (a guess); verb stem of つける.

実際

jissai — Actually; in practice; in reality; as it truly is.

通り

toori — As expected; along; in accordance with something stated.

でし

deshi — Polite past copula stem preceding た (でした).

第

dai — Ordinal prefix meaning 'number' or 'chapter', as in 第一.

十六

juuroku — Sixteen; the number 16.

章

shou — Chapter; section of a book or written work.

ビーバー

biibaa — Beaver; a large semi-aquatic rodent that builds dams.

幅広

habahiro — Wide; broad; having a wide width or range.

尻尾

shippo — Tail; the rear appendage of an animal.

持っ

motte (motsu) — Have; hold; carry; te-form of 持つ.

たいてい

taitei — Usually; generally; in most cases; for the most part.

私

watashi — I; me; first-person pronoun used by speakers.

たち

tachi — Plural suffix for people indicating a group or 'we'.

最も

mottomo — Most; extremely; the highest degree of a quality.

興味

kyoumi — Interest; curiosity in a topic or subject.

持つ

motsu — To hold; to have; to possess or carry something.

ない

nai — Not; does not exist; negative adjective or auxiliary verb.

もの

mono — Thing; object; abstract concept or physical item.

ラビット

rabitto — Rabbit; a small fluffy long-eared mammal.

も

mo — Also; too; even; additive particle indicating inclusion.

そう

sou — That way; so; it seems; expressing agreement or appearance.

生まれつき

umaretsuki — By nature; innately; from birth; naturally inborn trait.

屋

ya — Suffix meaning a person or shop associated with something.

で

de — Particle indicating location of action, means, or cause.

あり

ari — To be; polite or literary form of ある (to exist).

いいえ

iie — No; a polite negative response or disagreement.

とんでも

tondemo — Absurd; not at all; expressing strong denial or surprise.

かなり

kanari — Quite; fairly; considerably; to a notable degree.

満足

manzoku — Satisfaction; contentment; being pleased with a situation.

おり

ori — To be (humble/literary); stem of おる, formal form of いる.

まったく

mattaku — Completely; utterly; absolutely; expressing total degree.

もっ

motte (motsu) — Have; carry; te-form variant of 持つ used in compounds.

当然

touzen — Natural; obvious; of course; as expected or deserved.

不満

fuman — Dissatisfaction; discontent; feeling of being not satisfied.

思っ

omotte (omou) — Think; feel; te-form of 思う indicating thought or feeling.

ただ

tada — Just; only; merely; simply; without anything extra.

一つ

hitotsu — One thing; one item; a single unit or item.

だけ

dake — Only; just; limiting particle indicating sole extent.

しかも

shikamo — Moreover; furthermore; additionally emphasizing previous statement.

について

ni tsuite — About; regarding; concerning a topic or subject matter.

思う

omou — To think; to feel; to consider or believe something.

ほか

hoka — Other; else; besides; something or someone different.

考える

kangaeru — To think; to consider; to ponder a matter carefully.

あまり

amari — Not very; too much; not particularly (with negatives).

たまに

tama ni — Occasionally; once in a while; not very often.

ある

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

何

nani — What; which thing; interrogative pronoun asking identity.

わかり

wakari — Understanding; verb stem of わかる, to understand.

ます

masu — Polite verb ending indicating politeness in present/future tense.

彼

kare — He; him; third-person singular masculine pronoun.

な

na — Sentence-ending particle expressing emotion or soft assertion.

こそ

koso — Precisely; indeed; emphatic particle stressing the word before.

悩ま

nayama (nayamu) — Trouble; worry; to distress or bother someone.

せる

seru — Causative auxiliary verb meaning to make or let someone do.

唯一

yuiitsu — The only one; sole; unique; nothing else but this.

まるで

marude — Just like; as if; used before a simile or analogy.

らしく

rashiku — Seeming like; behaving appropriately as; typical of something.

おかしな

okashina — Strange; funny; odd; peculiar in an amusing or curious way.

小さな

chiisana — Small; tiny; little; describing something of small size.

綿

wata — Cotton; fluff; soft fibrous material used in padding.

塊

katamari — Lump; mass; clump; a solid chunk of material.

すぎ

sugi — Too much; excessively; suffix indicating going beyond a limit.