Mother West Wind "Why" Stories — Page 112

Vocabulary

お願い

onegai — Please; a request or favor asked of someone.

ます

masu — Polite verb ending indicating present or future tense.

カエル

kaeru — Frog; a small amphibian found near water.

じいさん

jiisan — Old man; grandfather; elderly male person.

世界中

sekaijuu — Throughout the entire world; all over the world.

に

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

こんな

konna — This kind of; such a thing as this.

奇妙

kimyou — Strange, peculiar, or mysterious; something unusual.

な

na — Adjective-linking particle; connects na-adjectives to nouns.

しっぽ

shippo — Tail of an animal; the rear appendage.

が

ga — Subject marker particle; indicates the grammatical subject.

ある

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

なんて

nante — Such a thing as; expressing surprise or disbelief.

思い

omoi — Thought, feeling, or expectation one holds internally.

も

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

ん

n — Informal contraction of ない or の in speech.

た

ta — Past tense verb ending; indicates completed action.

それ

sore — That; refers to something near the listener.

何

nani — What; used to ask about an unknown thing.

の

no — Possessive or nominalizing particle linking nouns or clauses.

役

yaku — Use, role, or function something serves.

立つ

tatsu — To stand; to be useful or serve a purpose.

か

ka — Question particle; turns a statement into a question.

さっぱり

sappari — Not at all; completely unclear; feeling refreshed.

わかり

wakari — Understanding; stem of wakaru meaning to understand.

ぜひ

zehi — By all means; definitely; please do this thing.

教え

oshie — Teaching; instruction; stem of oshieru to teach.

て

te — Conjunctive particle connecting sequential or related actions.

ください

kudasai — Please give or do; polite request form.

と

to — And; with; quotation particle; conditional particle.

は

wa — Topic marker particle; indicates the sentence topic.

叫び

sakebi — A shout or cry; stem of sakebu to shout.

を

wo — Object marker particle; marks the direct object.

訪ね

tazune — To visit or call on someone at a place.

とき

toki — Time, moment, or occasion when something occurs.

ちゃんと

chanto — Properly, correctly, firmly; doing something right.

目

me — Eye; the organ of sight; vision.

使っ

tsukatte — Using; te-form of tsukau meaning to use.

ば

ba — Conditional particle meaning if or when.

どう

dou — How; in what way; used to ask manner.

そんな

sonna — That kind of; such a thing as that.

なっ

natte — Te-form of naru meaning to become something.

自分

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

で

de — Particle indicating location, means, or reason.

察し

sasshi — Intuition, perception; grasping a situation without words.

つい

tsui — Unintentionally; just now; inadvertently doing something.

はず

hazu — Should be; expected to be; supposed to.

じゃ

ja — Informal contraction of de wa; well then.

ぶっきらぼう

bukkirabou — Blunt, curt, or brusque in speech or manner.

答え

kotae — Answer, response; stem of kotaeru to answer.

使い方

tsukaikata — How to use something; method or way of use.

覚え

oboe — Memory, recollection; stem of oboeru to remember.

ない

nai — Negative ending; does not exist or is not.

人

hito — Person, human being; people in general.

いう

iu — To say, tell, or be called something.

いつ

itsu — When; at what time; used to ask time.

まで

made — Until, up to; indicating a limit or extent.

もの

mono — Thing; object; used to add nuance to statements.

少し

sukoshi — A little, a bit; small amount of something.

決まり悪

kimariwaru — Feeling awkward, embarrassed, or uncomfortable about something.

そう

sou — That's so; it seems; indicating appearance or agreement.

顔

kao — Face; facial expression; one's countenance.

ず

zu — Negative verb ending; without doing; classical negative.

じっと

jitto — Quietly, still, motionlessly; staring without moving.

待ち

machi — Waiting; stem of matsu meaning to wait for.

やがて

yagate — Before long, eventually, soon after a period passes.

二

ni — Two; the number 2.

三度

sando — Three times; occurring on three occasions.

咳払い

sekibarai — Clearing one's throat; a deliberate cough before speaking.

話し

hanashi — Talk, story; stem of hanasu meaning to speak.

始め

hajime — Beginning; start; stem of hajimeru to begin.

むかし

mukashi — Long ago, once upon a time; the old days.

ずっと

zutto — All along, continuously, far more; for a long time.

昔

mukashi — The old days; ancient times; long ago.

世界

sekai — The world; the earth; all of existence.

まだ

mada — Still, not yet; continuing state or lack thereof.

若かっ

wakakatta — Was young; past tense of wakai meaning young.

ころ

koro — Around the time when; approximate point in time.

こと

koto — Thing, fact, event; nominalizer for verb phrases.

素晴らしい

subarashii — Wonderful, magnificent, splendid; something truly admirable.

みんな

minna — Everyone, all; referring to a whole group.

大昔

oomukashi — Ancient times; the very distant past long ago.

起き

oki — Happening; waking up; stem of okiru to occur.

みたい

mitai — Seems like; looks as if; resembles something.

です

desu — Polite copula meaning to be or is.

ね

ne — Sentence-ending particle seeking agreement or confirmation.

口

kuchi — Mouth; the opening used for speaking or eating.

挟み

hasami — Interrupting; cutting in; stem of hasamu to insert.

厳しい

kibishii — Strict, severe, harsh; demanding in nature or attitude.

見つめ

mitsume — Staring at; gazing intently; stem of mitsumeru.

急い

Hurrying; in a rush; te-form of isogu.

謝り

ayamari — Apology; act of apologizing; stem of ayamaru.

しばらく

shibaraku — For a while; for some time; temporarily.

沈黙

chinmoku — Silence; stillness; absence of sound or speech.

後

nochi / ato — After; later; subsequent to a point in time.

再び

futatabi — Again, once more; a second time occurring.

あの

ano — That (over there); refers to something mutually known.

緑

midori — Green; the color green; also used for nature.

森

mori — Forest, woods; a dense growth of trees.

住む

sumu — To live, reside, or dwell in a place.

何代

nandai — How many generations; several generations back in lineage.

前

mae — Before; in front; previous time or position.

ご先祖様

gosenzo-sama — Honorable ancestors; one's forebears in respectful speech.

ビーバー

biibaa — Beaver; a semi-aquatic mammal known for building dams.

さん

san — Honorific title attached to names meaning Mr. or Ms.

大自然

daishizen — Great nature; the vast natural world around us.

お母さん

okaasan — Mother; polite or general term for one's mom.

大家族

daikazoku — Large family; a household with many family members.

中

naka — Inside, among, within; the middle of something.

いちばん

ichiban — The most, number one, best; superlative expression.

勤勉

kinben — Diligent, hardworking, industrious; devoted to one's work.

賢い

kashikoi — Clever, wise, intelligent; having good judgment or ability.

一人

hitori — One person; alone; by oneself.

ちょうど

choudo — Exactly, just right; precisely at a certain point.

今

ima — Now, currently; the present moment in time.

よう

you — Like, as if; in the manner of something.

忙しい

isogashii — Busy, occupied; having much to do currently.

幸せ

shiawase — Happiness, good fortune; feeling content and blessed.

いつも

itsumo — Always, usually, all the time; habitually.

たい

tai — Want to do; expresses desire to perform an action.

から

kara — Because, from, since; indicating reason or starting point.

こそ

koso — Emphatic particle meaning precisely or exactly this.

忙しく

isogashiku — Busily; adverbial form of isogashii meaning busy.

とても

totemo — Very, extremely, quite; intensifying adverb.

倹約家

kenyakuka — Thrifty person; someone careful and frugal with money.

わし

washi — I, me; masculine or elderly first-person pronoun.

知っ

shitte — Knowing; te-form of shiru meaning to know.

いる

iru — To be, to exist; used for animate beings.

たち

tachi — Plural suffix for people or animate beings.

まったく

mattaku — Completely, entirely, utterly; used for strong emphasis.

違っ

chigatte — Being different; te-form of chigau to differ.