Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave — Page 1

Vocabulary

の

no — Possessive/linking particle indicating belonging or relation.

生涯

shōgai — One's entire life; lifetime from birth to death.

物語

monogatari — Story, narrative, or tale of events.

アメリカ

Amerika — America; the United States of America.

奴隷

dorei — Slave; a person held in bondage or servitude.

本人

honnin — The person themselves; the individual in question.

による

ni yoru — By means of; written or created by someone.

著述

chojutsu — Written work; act of writing and composing a text.

反奴隷制

han-doresei — Anti-slavery; opposition to the institution of slavery.

事務所

jimusho — Office; a place where administrative work is conducted.

番地

banchi — Street address number; house or lot number.

にて

nite — At; formal particle indicating location of an action.

出版

shuppan — Publishing; the act of issuing a printed work.

年

nen — Year; counter for calendar years.

連邦議会

renpō gikai — Federal Congress; the national legislative body of USA.

法

hō — Law; a legal statute or act passed by legislature.

に

ni — Particle indicating direction, location, or target.

従い

shitagai — In accordance with; following or obeying a rule.

によって

ni yotte — By; indicating agent or means of an action.

州

shū — State or province; a regional administrative division.

地方

chihō — Region, district; a local or provincial area.

裁判所

saibansho — Court of law; a place where legal cases are heard.

書記官

shokikan — Clerk; an official who maintains court records.

登録

tōroku — Registration; officially recording something in a register.

済み

zumi — Already completed; suffix indicating something is done.

原本

genpon — Original document; the authentic first copy of a text.

ファイル

fairu — File; a collection of documents stored together.

から

kara — From; particle indicating starting point or source.

注記

chūki — Note or annotation; a supplementary written remark.

この

kono — This; demonstrative adjective referring to something nearby.

電子

denshi — Electronic; relating to digital or electronic technology.

書籍

shoseki — Book; a printed or published written work.

は

wa — Topic marker particle indicating the subject of discussion.

誕生日

tanjōbi — Birthday; the anniversary of a person's birth.

を

wo — Object marker particle indicating the direct object.

称える

tataeru — To honor, praise, or celebrate someone's achievements.

ため

tame — For the purpose of; in order to achieve something.

たび

tabi — Each time; whenever a certain occasion occurs.

公開

kōkai — Public release; making something available to the public.

される

sareru — Passive form; to be done or performed by another.

もの

mono — Thing; object or something with a certain nature.

です

desu — Polite copula; is/are, indicating a state of being.

月

tsuki / gatsu — Month; also means the moon in Japanese.

日

hi / nichi — Day; counter for days of the month.

生まれ

umare — Born; indicates the place or time of one's birth.

公式

kōshiki — Official; formal and recognized by an authority.

祝日

shukujitsu — Public holiday; a nationally recognized day of celebration.

として

to shite — As; in the capacity or role of something.

祝わ

iwawa — Stem of 'iwau'; to celebrate or commemorate an occasion.

れる

reru — Passive/potential auxiliary verb suffix attached to verbs.

目次

mokuji — Table of contents; list of chapters or sections.

序文

jobun — Preface or foreword; introductory text before main content.

氏

shi — Mr./Ms.; formal honorific suffix for a person's name.

手紙

tegami — Letter; a written message sent to another person.

第

dai — Ordinal prefix meaning 'number' or 'the Nth'.

一

ichi — One; the first number used in counting.

章

shō — Chapter; a main division of a book or text.

二

ni — Two; the second number in counting.

三

san — Three; the third number in counting.

四

shi / yon — Four; the fourth number in counting.

五

go — Five; the fifth number in counting.

六

roku — Six; the sixth number in counting.

七

shichi / nana — Seven; the seventh number in counting.

八

hachi — Eight; the eighth number in counting.

九

ku / kyū — Nine; the ninth number in counting.

十

jū — Ten; the tenth number in counting.

十一

jūichi — Eleven; the number following ten in sequence.

付録

furoku — Appendix or supplement; additional material at book's end.

パロディ

parodī — Parody; a humorous imitation of another work.

私

watashi — I; first-person singular pronoun in Japanese.

で

de — Particle indicating location of action or means used.

開か

hiraka — Stem of 'hiraku'; to open or hold an event.

れた

reta — Passive past tense suffix; was done by another.

反

han — Anti-; prefix meaning opposition or against something.

集会

shūkai — Meeting or assembly; a gathering of people for discussion.

出席

shusseki — Attendance; being present at a meeting or event.

し

shi — Conjunctive form of 'suru'; connects clauses or actions.

そこ

soko — There; that place previously mentioned or understood.

幸運

kōun — Good fortune; luck or a fortunate circumstance.

にも

ni mo — Also at; particle combination adding emphasis to location.

以下

ika — The following; below this point or less than.

著者

chosha — Author; the person who wrote a particular work.

ある

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

と

to — And; with; quotation particle linking words or clauses.

知り合う

shiriau — To get acquainted with; to come to know someone.

こと

koto — Thing; nominalizer turning verbs into abstract noun phrases.

が

ga — Subject marker particle identifying the grammatical subject.

でき

deki — Stem of 'dekiru'; to be able to do something.

た

ta — Past tense auxiliary; indicates a completed action.

彼

kare — He; third-person singular masculine pronoun.

その

sono — That; demonstrative adjective referring to something mentioned.

ほぼ

hobo — Almost, nearly; approximating a complete amount.

すべて

subete — All, everything; the entirety of a group or set.

参加者

sankasha — Participant; a person who takes part in an event.

にとって

ni totte — For; from the perspective or standpoint of someone.

見知らぬ

mishiranu — Unknown, unfamiliar; a stranger not previously known.

人物

jinbutsu — Person, individual; a figure of some significance or note.

あった

atta — Past tense of 'aru'; was, existed in the past.

しかし

shikashi — However, but; conjunction indicating contrast or contradiction.

南部

nanbu — Southern region; the southern part of a country.

束縛

sokubaku — Bondage, constraint; being physically or socially restrained.

という

to iu — Called, known as; used to name or describe something.

牢獄

rōgoku — Prison, dungeon; a place of confinement or captivity.

最近

saikin — Recently; in the near past or not long ago.

脱出

dasshutsu — Escape; breaking free from confinement or a dangerous situation.

廃止

haishi — Abolition; the act of officially ending a practice.

論者

ronsha — Advocate, theorist; someone who argues for a position.

たち

tachi — Plural suffix for people; makes pronouns or nouns plural.

原則

gensoku — Principle; a fundamental rule or standard of belief.

手段

shudan — Means, method; a way of achieving a goal.

確かめよう

tashikameyō — Let's confirm; volitional form of 'to verify something'.

好奇心

kōkishin — Curiosity; strong desire to learn or know something.

駆ら

kura — Stem of 'kareru'; driven or spurred by a feeling.

いた

ita — Past tense of 'iru'; was existing or doing something.

頃

koro — Around that time; approximate time period or era.

人々

hitobito — People; plural form referring to many individuals.

について

ni tsuite — About, concerning; regarding a particular topic or person.

やや

yaya — Somewhat, slightly; a small degree of something.

漠然と

bakuzen to — Vaguely, dimly; in an unclear or indefinite manner.

した

shita — Past tense of 'suru'; did, performed an action.

話

hanashi — Story, talk; a spoken or written account of events.

聞いて

kiite — Te-form of 'kiku'; having heard or listening to something.

だが

daga — However, but; conjunction showing contrast in formal speech.

当時

tōji — At that time; during the period being discussed.

居住

kyojū — Residence; living or dwelling in a particular place.

して

shite — Te-form of 'suru'; doing, connecting sequential actions.

かかわら

kakawara — Stem of 'kakawarazu'; despite, regardless of a situation.

ず

zu — Negative auxiliary; without doing or not doing something.

前述

zenjutsu — Aforementioned; previously stated or described above.

する

suru — To do; the basic verb meaning to perform an action.

よう

yō — Seems like; manner or way; used for resemblance/instructions.

促さ

unagasa — Stem of 'unagasu'; urged or prompted toward an action.

な

na — Sentence-ending particle expressing emotion or prohibition.

まことに

makoto ni — Truly, indeed; used to express sincere emphasis.

出来事

dekigoto — Event, happening; an occurrence or incident that took place.

手枷

tegase — Handcuffs, manacles; restraints placed on someone's hands.

はめ

hame — Stem of 'hameru'; to fit on or put restraints on.

られた

rareta — Passive past suffix; was subjected to an action.

数

sū / kazu — Number, several; an unspecified quantity of something.

百万

hyakuman — One million; a large numerical quantity.

同胞

dōhō — Compatriots, brethren; fellow members of a shared group.

彼ら

karera — They; third-person plural pronoun referring to a group.

いまだ

imada — Still, yet; continuing to be in a current state.

恐る

osoru — To fear; to be afraid of something dreadful.

べき

beki — Should, ought to; expressing moral obligation or necessity.

隷従

reijū — Servitude, subjugation; being enslaved or completely subservient.

解放

kaihō — Liberation, emancipation; freeing someone from bondage or oppression.

切望

setsubō — Earnest desire, longing; deeply wishing for something urgently.

いる

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

だ

da — Plain copula; informal form of 'desu' meaning is/are.

黒人

kokujin — Black person; referring to people of African descent.

大義

taigi — Great cause; a noble or righteous purpose worth fighting for.

そして

soshite — And then, and also; conjunction connecting related statements.

普遍的

fuhennteki — Universal; applicable to or affecting all people everywhere.

自由

jiyū — Freedom, liberty; the state of being free from oppression.