JSLL #46 - Yuki Onna, part 11

The next bit in the story is a long quote. We'll take her entire monologue in one go, along with its attribution. I'll also explain vocabulary before grammar.

「お前さんは助けてやろう。でも、今夜のことだれにも話しちゃいけないよ。もし話したら、お前さんの命はないよ。わかったね、忘れちゃいけないよ。」女はそう言って小屋を出て吹雪の中へ姿を消しました。

Sentence 1:

お前さんは助けてやろう。

おまえさんはたすけてやろう。

Vocabulary

The new word in this sentence is お前さん. The word お前 used to be a respectful way of addressing someone, but now it means the exact opposite: you consider the addressee a baby. In the form found here, with the polite ～さん suffix (meaning "Mr/Ms"), it's polite.

Kanji

There are no new kanji in this sentence.

Grammar

The verb is a ~てやる form, which as we know from earlier, indicates that the subject of the verb does a favor to someone of a lower social standing. But who is helping who?

We've seen in the past that, if there's no noun phrase marked with the subject particle が , then the topic, marked with the particle は, is also the subject. In this sentence, there's no が, and the topic of the sentence is "you," so you might think that the sentence translates to "You will save me." 

However, in this sentence, the verb is in the volitional form やろう, which translates to either "let's" or "let me." The implied subject is "I," therefore お前さん must be the recipient of the help.

Translation

I will save you.

Sentence 2:

でも、今夜のことだれにも話しちゃいけないよ。

でも、こんやのことだれにもはなしちゃいけないよ。

Vocabulary

• でも means "however." 
• 今夜 means "tonight"
• だれ means "who" on its own, but something different here--see Grammar.
• よ at the end of a sentence is an emphatic particle, often best translated as an exclamation mark.

Kanji

The only new kanji here is 夜, which is an N4 kanji occurring in 26 common words.

Grammar

今夜のこと literally means "the things of tonight." A better translation should be "what happens tonight" or "tonight's events."

だれ ("who") combines with にも. だれも means "anyone, everyone," but combined with a negative verb, it means "nobody, no one." The に in between is because the verb is 話す ("to talk, to tell"), so "nobody, no one" is whom you shouldn't tell.

The verb form 話しちゃいけない is one of several verb endings that mean "shouldn't, must not." 

Translation

However, you must not speak to anyone about tonight's events!

Sentence 3:

もし話したら、お前さんの命はないよ。

もしはなしたら、おまえさんのいのちはないよ。

Vocabulary

• もし means "if"
• 命 means "life"
• ない means "not"

Kanji

命 is an N3 kanji that occurs in 29 common words.

Grammar

This sentence introduces another conditional form: the ～たら ending after a masu-stem. (話す has the masu-form 話します, and we replace ます with たら. (Note how the presence of the word もし "if" doesn't eliminate the need for a conditional form. The differences between the ～ば conditional we learned earlier and the ～たら conditional used here are subtle and outside the scope of this post.

The ending 命はない basically means "there's no life" but (especially combined with the お前さん before it) it more means "you will die."

Translation

If you tell anyone, you'll die!

Sentence 4:

わかったね、忘れちゃいけないよ。

わかったね、わすれちゃいけないよ。

Vocabulary

忘れる means "to forget."

Kanji

忘 is an N3 kanji that occurs in only 4 common words.

Grammar

わかった is the plain form of 分かりました, which means "Understood." This is often said in response to someone telling you what to do, but here, it's "It's understood, no?"

Translation

You understand, don't you? You mustn't forget!

Sentence 5:

女はそう言って小屋を出て吹雪の中へ姿を消しました。

おんなはそういってこやをでてふぶきのなかへすがたをけしました。

Vocabulary

姿を消す is an idiomatic expression that means "to vanish, to disappear." Literally, it means "to delete one's appearance, to erase one's form"

Kanji

姿 is an N1 kanji that occurs in 4 common words.

消 is an N3 kanji that occurs in 34 common words.

Translation

Thus spoke the woman, and she left the hut and vanished into the blizzard.

JSLL #45 - Yuki Onna, part 10

Let's continue the encounter between the two lumberjacks and the mysterious white woman.

Sentence 1:

巳之吉は逃げようとしましたが、体も動かなければ声も出ませんした。

みのきちはにげようとしましたが、からだもうごかなければこえもでませんでした。

Grammar

This sentence introduces one of several ways in which you can create a conditional verb. Unlike English, which has a separate word "if" to make a clause conditional, Japanese has an ~eba ending for verbs, adjectives and nouns. The rules are:

• For a normal verb, take the plain form of the verb, change its -u ending into an -e ending, and add ば. For example, 食べる becomes 食べれば (if one eats), 話す becomes 話せれば (if one talks), and so on.
• For a negative verb, take the plain form the negative verb, which always ends in ない, and change the ない ending into a なければ ending. For example, 食べない becomes 食べなければ (if one doesn't eat). 
• For an i-adjective, take the -い ending and replace it  with ければ. For example, 赤い becomes 赤ければ (if red)
• For a noun or na-adjective, add であれば. 犬であれば (if a dog), きれいあれば (if pretty).

In this sentence, the conditional 動かなければ is negative created by taking the verb 動く (move), making it negative: 動かない (not move), and then making that negative conditional: 動かなければ (if not move).

What's more, the conditional is used here in a somewhat unusual way:

体も動かなければ声も出ませんした

This construction has the form NOUN1も+[conditional VERB1]+NOUN2も+[normal VERB2]. This construction translates to "Both NOUN1 VERB1 and NOUN2 VERB2" or, if the verbs are both negative as in this sentence, "Neither NOUN1 VERB1 nor NOUN2 VERB2."

Vocabulary

• 逃げる means "to run away, to flee."
• 体 means "body."
• 動くmeans "to move"

Kanji

Each new word introduces a new kanji:

Kanji	N-level	Occurs in how many common words?
逃	N3	12
体	N4	89
動	N4	88

Translation

Minokichi tried to flee, but he neither moved nor uttered a sound.

Sentence 2:

女はその時巳之吉の顔をしげしげ見つめました。

おんなはそのときみのきちのかおをしげしげみつめました。

Grammar

The phrase その時, literally "that time," translates to "At the moment, ... " or "That's when..."

Vocabulary

The new words are the onomatopeia しげしげ ("frequently, often; (staring) fixedly, narrowly, closely, steadily") and the verb 見つめる "to stare at, to gaze at."

Kanji

No new kanji in this sentence.

Translation

That's when the woman stared fixedly at Minokocihi's face.

Sentence 3:

巳之吉は田舎には珍しい美しい顔をもつ若者だったのです。

みのきちはいなかにはめずらしいうつくしいかおをもつわかものだったのです。

Grammar

Somewhat unusually, the sentence has two topics in a row (巳之吉 and 田舎に), and two い-adjectives (珍しい and 美しい). Check the translation for how this translates.

Note also how 持つ is written as もつ, without a kanji. I'm not quite sure why.

Vocabulary

New words in this sentence:

• 田舎 means "the countryside"
• 珍しい means "rare, uncommon, unusual, curious"

Kanji

Kanji	N-level	Occurs in how many common words?
田	N4	18 - this kanji is present in some of Japan's most common surnames, like 田中 (Tanaka), 吉田 (Yoshida), 山田 (Yamada) and 池田 (Ikeda)
舎	N1	8
珍	N2	3

Translation

Minokichi was a young man with a face that was beautiful in a way that was unusual in the countryside, you see.

JSLL #44 - Yuki Onna, part 9

Just one sentence today.

女の顔は美しかったですが、肌は異常に白く目は稲妻のように鋭かったです。

おんなのかおはうつくしかったですが、はだはいじょうにしろくめはいなずまのようにするどかったです。

Grammar

We've seen in the past that i-adjectives can have a -te-form. For example, 赤い (赤い, "red") has a te-form 赤くて (あかくて, "is/was red and..."). In this sentence, we see that i-adjectives have a past form as well. The i-adjective 美しい (うつくしい) is written in its past tense 美しかった(うつくしかった), and similarly 鋭い (するどい)  gets a past tense 鋭かった (するどかった). To speakers of Indo-European languages, the idea that an adjective can have past tense is unheard of, but in Japanese it's perfectly normal.

Another new thing is the use of 白く, where in the previous story, we would expect 白くて to be used. 白く is a more formal version of 白くて.

Vocabulary

Plenty of new words in this sentence:

• 肌 means "skin"
• 異常 means "abnormal, unusual, uncommon"
• 稲妻 means "lightning, flash of lightning, bolt of lightning"
• 鋭い means "sharp, pointed"

Kanji

Every new word contains one or more new kanji:

Kanji	N-level	Occurs in how many common words?
肌	N2	3 (“skin”, “underwear” 肌着 and “flesh color”　肌色)
異	N1	27
常	N3	34
稲	N1	5
妻	N3	8
鋭	N2	5

Translation

The woman's face was beautiful, but her skin was unusually white and her eyes were sharp like lightning bolts.

JSLL #43 - Yuki Onna, part 8

The woman in the white kimono left us in suspence. What will she do?

Sentence 1:

その女が茂作の顔へ白い息を吹きかけると、茂作の顔も手もどんどん白くなっていきました。

そのおんながもさくのかおへしろいいきをふきかけると、もさくのかおもてもどんどんしろくなっていきました。

Grammar

The new construction in this sentence is at the end: a ～く adverb followed by なっていく. We learned before that ～ていく after a verb referring to movement refers to the movement going away from the speaker, or just away in general. But if the verb is なる like here, it translates to "growing ever more X" where X is the adverb that ends in く.

Vocabulary

There are four new words in this sentence:

• The noun 顔 (かお), which means "face."
• The noun 息 (いき), which means "breath."
• The verb 吹きかける (ふきかける), which means "to blow (on), to breathe (on), to spray (on)."
• The adverb どんどん, an onomatopeia which means "rapidly, quickly, steadily."

Kanji

Kanji	N-level	Occurs in how many common words?
顔	N3	22
息	N3	21

Translation

When that woman breathed a white breath into Mosaku's face, both Mosaku's face and his hands quickly turned whiter and whiter.

Sentence 2:

巳之吉は驚いて声を出そうとしました。

みのきちはおどろいてこえをだそうとしました。

Grammar

This sentence ends in a volitional 出そう followed by と and then a form of する. We've seen previously that a volitional + と translates to "in an attempt to X." But when the verb after と is する, then the whole thing means "to attempt to X," "to try to X."

We've previously learned that a te-form followed by みる also means "to try to X." But the meaning of these two constructions is different. 食べてみる, for example, means that a person eats something in order to see what it's like. It's like "try" in the English sentence: "Try the pizza, you're gonna love it." It means "try" in the sense of "try out" or "try and see." By contrast, 食べようとする means that you make an attempt to eat (say, if you're sick and have no appetite). You may not succeed in your attempt.

Vocabulary

驚く(おどろく), of which 驚いて is the te-form, means "to be surprised, shocked, amazed."

声を出す is an idiom meaning "to speak, to say, to vocalize." The verb 出す on its own means things like "to get out, to take out, to reveal, to show," whereas 声, the object of the verb, means "voice."

Kanji

Kanji	N-level	Occurs in how many common words?
声	N3	22
驚	N1	7

Translation

Minokichi was amazed and tried to speak.

Sentence 3:

すると、女は今度は巳之吉の方へ来ました。

すると、おんなはこんどはみのきちのほうへきました。

Grammar

The only unusual thing about this sentence is that it has two items in succession that both have the は topic marker, first 女 and then 今度.

Vocabulary

今度 means "this time, now, next time."

Kanji

Both kanji in the new word are new:

Kanji	N-level	Occurs in how many common words?
今	N5	36
度	N4	73

The word 今 is pronounced いま and means "now." 度 is frequently used as a suffix meaning "time(s)" in the sense of "once," "twice," "three times." One of the first phrases to memorize when learning Japanese in a class setting is もう一度ください, which is Japanese for "one more time please." Essential if you want to understand what your sensei is saying.

Translation

And then, the woman came toward Minokichi next.

JSLL #42 - Yuki Onna, part 7

 Let's tackle some more sentences.

Sentence 1:

小屋の戸が開けっ放しになっていて雪が小屋の中に舞い込んでいたのです。

こやのとがあけっぱなしになっていてゆきがこやのなかにまいこんでいたのです。

Grammar

The sentence connects a te-clause with a second clause ending in a past tense + のです.

The te-clause is a form a なる preceded by に, which we know to mean "to become" whatever precedes the に.

In the second clause, adding のです or んです to the end of a plain-verb clause gives the clause an explanatory feel, a bit like adding "you see" to the end of English equivalent. In this case, this sentence explains the previous sentence (which said that Minokichi had woken up).

Both the te-form なっていて and the plain verb in the second clause 舞い込んでいた are in the progressive form ending in ～ている, suggesting that something is either in progress right now, or completed.

Vocabulary

• 戸 means "door."
• 開けっ放し is a na-adjective or noun meaning "leaving open, leaving ajar." In the previous story, we encountered the verb 開ける meaning "to open" (transitive verb).
• 舞い込む is a verb that means "to come fluttering in."

Kanji

Here are the new kanji introduced in this sentence:

Kanji	N-level	Occurs in how many common words?
戸	N2	26
放	N3	32
舞	N3	18
込	N3	69

Translation

The translation of the sentence is:

The door to the hut had been left open, and snow was fluttering into the hut, you see.

Sentence 2:

巳之吉はとっさに茂作の方を見ました。

みのきちはとっさにもさくのほうをみました。

Grammar

There's no new grammar in this simple sentence. It's a single clause.

Vocabulary

とっさに means "at once, immediately, suddenly."

Kanji

There are no new kanji in this sentence.

Translation

Minokichi immediately looked in Mosaku's direction.

Sentence 3:

そこには真っ白い着物を着た女がいました。

そこにはまっしろいきものをきたおんながいました。

Grammar

Nothing new here

Vocabulary

真っ白い means "pure white." Compare 真っ黒い, which means "pitch black."

Kanji

The kanji 真 is an N4 kanji occurring in 50 common words.

Translation

There, there was a woman dressed in a pure white kimono.

Cultural note

It's important to realize that the color white is commonly associated with mourning and funerals in Japan. More specifically, a white kimono is placed with the deceased.