Piccolissima — Page 7

English → Japanese Full Text Level 3/10

Leaving the sugar to slip down by her side, she remained lost in melancholy reflections from which she was drawn by a light murmur, such as one hears sometimes in the silence of the night when persons are speaking in a low voice in a distant part of the house.

砂糖を脇へ滑り落とすままにして、彼女は物悲しい物思いに沈んでいたが、そこから引き戻したのは、夜の静寂の中で家の遠い部屋で人々が低い声で話しているときに時折耳にするような、かすかなざわめきであった。

Piccolissima listened with deep attention for some time.

ピッコリッシマはしばらくの間、深く注意を払って耳を傾けた。

Usually she disliked the sound of conversation; it struck harshly on her organs, and seemed a sort of mimic thunder; but these sounds had nothing discordant, nothing disagreeable in them, to her ear.

ふだん彼女は会話の音が嫌いであった。それは彼女の感覚器官に荒々しく響き、一種の模倣した雷鳴のように感じられた。しかしこれらの音には、彼女の耳には何ら不協和なところも、不快なところもなかった。

As Piccolissima had been forced to observe rather than to act, her faculties took a new direction, and a development of which she was unconscious herself took place, and her joy and her surprise were great when she found that, in what had at first appeared to her a confused murmur, she distinguished, as she listened attentively, intelligible words.

ピッコリッシマは行動するよりも観察することを余儀なくされてきたために、その能力は新たな方向へと向かい、彼女自身も気づかないうちに発達が生じていた。そして最初は混乱したざわめきに思えたものの中に、注意深く耳を傾けると聞き取れる言葉を聞き分けることができたとき、彼女の喜びと驚きは大きかった。

"It was hardly worth while," said a small, sharp voice, "it was hardly worth the trouble it cost me to leave my cradle.

「ほとんど意味がなかった」と、小さくて鋭い声が言った。「私が揺りかごを出るのにかかった苦労に、ほとんど値しなかった。

I have come into the world where all is dead around me.

私はこの世界に来たが、周りはすべて死んでいる。

Ah! if I had only known that this world was so cold and dull, I should not have made efforts which almost destroyed me, to break the roof and leave my narrow house."

ああ！もしこの世界がこれほど冷たく単調だと知っていたなら、屋根を破って狭い家を出るために、もう少しで私を滅ぼしかねないほどの努力をしなかったのに。」

"Patience," replied another voice, a little quieter, but much like the other; "I have lived longer than thou, who art only a few seconds old.

「辛抱しなさい」と、少し静かだがよく似た別の声が答えた。「私はあなたより長く生きている。あなたはほんの数秒しか生きていないのだから。

Vocabulary

砂糖: satō — Sugar, a sweet crystalline substance used in cooking.
を: wo — Object marker particle indicating direct object.
脇: waki — Side, flank, or area beside something.
へ: e — Directional particle meaning toward or to.
滑り落とす: suberi otosu — To let something slip and fall down.
まま: mama — As is, leaving something in its current state.
に: ni — Particle indicating location, time, or indirect object.
して: shite — Te-form of suru; doing or connecting actions.
彼女: kanojo — She, her, or girlfriend in Japanese.
は: wa — Topic marker particle highlighting the sentence topic.
物悲しい: monoganaashii — Deeply melancholy, tinged with gentle sadness.
物思い: monoomoi — Deep, pensive thought or brooding contemplation.
沈ん: shizun — Sunk or immersed (stem form of shizumu).
で: de — Particle indicating means, location of action, or cause.
い: i — Stem of iru; existing or being (animate).
た: ta — Past tense auxiliary indicating completed action.
が: ga — Subject marker particle or conjunctive meaning but.
そこ: soko — There, that place nearby or previously mentioned.
から: kara — From, because of; indicates origin or cause.
引き戻し: hikimoodoshi — Pulling back, drawing back to a previous state.
の: no — Possessive or nominalizing particle linking nouns.
夜: yoru — Night, the dark hours after sunset.
静寂: seijaku — Silence, stillness, a state of deep quiet.
中: naka — Inside, within, or in the middle of.
家: ie — House, home, a dwelling place.
遠い: tooi — Far, distant, remote in space or time.
部屋: heya — Room, an enclosed space within a building.
人々: hitobito — People, various persons, a group of individuals.
低い: hikui — Low, soft in volume or short in height.
声: koe — Voice, the sound produced when speaking or singing.
話し: hanashi — Talk, conversation, or speaking (stem form).
て: te — Te-form conjunction connecting sequential or concurrent actions.
いる: iru — To exist or be (for animate beings); ongoing action.
とき: toki — Time, moment, or occasion when something occurs.
時折: tokiori — Sometimes, occasionally, from time to time.
耳: mimi — Ear, the organ used for hearing sounds.
する: suru — To do, to perform an action or activity.
よう: yō — Seeming like, appearing as if, resembling something.
な: na — Adjectival suffix or prohibition marker (don't).
かすか: kasuka — Faint, slight, barely perceptible sound or light.
ざわめき: zawameki — Murmur, rustle, indistinct noise from a crowd.
あっ: a' — Exclamation of sudden realization or surprise.
しばらく: shibaraku — For a while, for some time, briefly.
間: aida / ma — Interval, space between, or period of time.
深く: fukaku — Deeply, profoundly, to a great degree.
注意: chūi — Attention, caution, careful heed to something.
払っ: haratt- — Paid (attention); stem of harau meaning to pay.
傾け: katamuke — Tilted, inclined; also to lend (one's ear).
ふだん: fudan — Usually, ordinarily, on a typical day.
会話: kaiwa — Conversation, dialogue between two or more people.
音: oto — Sound, noise, an audible vibration.
嫌い: kirai — Dislike, hate; feeling aversion toward something.
それ: sore — That, a pronoun referring to something nearby.
感覚: kankaku — Sense, feeling, perception through the body.
器官: kikan — Organ, a body part serving a specific function.
荒々しく: araara shiku — Roughly, wildly, in a violent or turbulent manner.
響き: hibiki — Resonance, echo, the lingering sound of something.
一種: isshu — A kind of, a type of, a sort.
模倣: mohō — Imitation, mimicry, copying another's actions or style.
し: shi — Conjunctive form of suru; and, moreover, also.
雷鳴: raimei — Thunder, the loud rumbling sound of lightning.
感じ: kanji — Feeling, sensation, impression from experience.
られ: rare — Passive or potential auxiliary; to be felt/done.
しかし: shikashi — However, but; a conjunction introducing contrast.
これら: korera — These (plural), referring to multiple nearby things.
何ら: nanra — Any, whatsoever; used in negative sentences.
不協和: fukyōwa — Dissonance, discord, lack of harmony or agreement.
ところ: tokoro — Place, point, aspect, or circumstance.
も: mo — Also, even, too; inclusive additive particle.
不快: fukai — Unpleasant, uncomfortable, causing displeasure or discomfort.
なかっ: nakatt- — Was not; negative past form of nai.
行動: kōdō — Action, behavior, conduct, or movement.
より: yori — Than, from; comparative or origin particle.
観察: kansatsu — Observation, careful watching and examination.
こと: koto — Thing, fact, nominalizer turning verbs into nouns.
余儀なく: yoginaku — Unavoidably, compelled to, left with no choice.
さ: sa — Nominalizing suffix or sentence-final softening particle.
れ: re — Passive auxiliary stem; being acted upon.
き: ki — Stem of kuru (come) or classical past marker.
ため: tame — For the sake of, because of, purpose.
その: sono — That (attributive), referring to a nearby noun.
能力: nōryoku — Ability, capacity, skill or talent.
新た: arata — New, fresh, renewed in a different direction.
方向: hōkō — Direction, course, the way something heads.
と: to — And, with, quotation marker, or result particle.
向かい: mukai — Facing toward, heading in a direction.
自身: jishin — Oneself, one's own self, personally.
気づか: kizuka — Notice, become aware of something (negative stem).
ない: nai — Not, negative form; does not exist.
うち: uchi — While, within, among, or one's own home.
発達: hattatsu — Development, growth, advancement of skills or ability.
生じ: shōji — Arose, occurred, came into being (stem form).
そして: soshite — And then, and so; a conjunctive expression.
最初: saisho — First, the very beginning of something.
混乱: konran — Confusion, disorder, chaotic state of mind.
思え: omoe — Seem, appear to be (potential/imperative stem).
もの: mono — Thing, object, or nominalizing expressive particle.
注意深く: chūibukaku — Carefully, attentively, with great caution.
傾ける: katamukeru — To tilt, incline, or lend (one's ear).
聞き取れる: kikitoreru — Can catch and understand spoken words clearly.
言葉: kotoba — Words, language, speech, or vocabulary.
聞き分ける: kikiwakeru — To distinguish, discern sounds or spoken words.
でき: deki — Can do, is possible (stem of dekiru).
喜び: yorokobi — Joy, delight, happiness from a pleasing event.
驚き: odoroki — Surprise, astonishment, shock at something unexpected.
大きかっ: ōkikatt- — Was big, great (past stem of ōkii).
ほとんど: hotondo — Almost, nearly, mostly, for the most part.
意味: imi — Meaning, significance, sense of a word.
小さく: chiisaku — Smallly, softly; adverbial form of chiisai.
鋭い: surudoi — Sharp, keen, piercing in sensation or wit.
言っ: itt- — Said, spoke (past stem of iu/yuu).
私: watashi — I, me, the first-person singular pronoun.
揺りかご: yurikago — Cradle, a rocking bed for infants.
出る: deru — To exit, leave, come out of somewhere.
かかっ: kakatt- — Took (time/effort), hung on (past stem of kakaru).
苦労: kurō — Hardship, trouble, effort endured with difficulty.
値し: atai shi — Worth, deserving of, meriting the effort.
この: kono — This (attributive), referring to a nearby noun.
世界: sekai — World, the entire earth or a realm.
来: ki — Came, arrived (stem/past of kuru).
周り: mawari — Surroundings, the area around something or someone.
すべて: subete — Everything, all, the whole of something.
死ん: shin- — Died (conjunctive stem of shinu, to die).
ああ: ā — Ah, oh; exclamation of emotion or realization.
もし: moshi — If, supposing that; introduces a hypothetical condition.
これほど: korehodo — This much, to this extent, so very much.
冷たく: tsumetaku — Coldly, in a cold or indifferent manner.
単調: tanchō — Monotonous, dull, lacking variation or interest.
だ: da — Informal copula meaning is or are.
知っ: shitt- — Knew, knew about (past stem of shiru).
なら: nara — If, in that case; conditional conjunctive.
屋根: yane — Roof, the top covering of a building.
破っ: yabut- — Broke through, tore (past stem of yaburu).
狭い: semai — Narrow, cramped, limited in space.
もう少し: mō sukoshi — A little more, slightly more than currently.
滅ぼし: horoboshi — Destroyed, ruined (stem of horobosu, to destroy).
かね: kane — Cannot bring oneself to; reluctant potential negative.
ほど: hodo — To the extent of, about, approximately.
努力: doryoku — Effort, hard work, striving toward a goal.
辛抱: shinbō — Patience, endurance, bearing difficulty with perseverance.
なさい: nasai — Please do (polite imperative form of suru).
少し: sukoshi — A little, a small amount, slightly.
静か: shizuka — Quiet, calm, peaceful and without noise.
よく: yoku — Well, often, frequently; adverb of yoi (good).
似: ni — Resembles, is similar to (stem of niru).
別: betsu — Different, separate, another, distinct from this.
答え: kotae — Answer, reply, response to a question.
あなた: anata — You, second-person singular pronoun (polite).
長く: nagaku — Long, for a long time (adverbial form).
生き: iki — Live, be alive (stem of ikiru).
ほんの: hon no — Just, merely, only a very small amount.
数秒: sūbyō — A few seconds, several seconds of time.
しか: shika — Only, nothing but; used with negative verbs.

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