JSLL #50 - Yuki Onna, part 15

 Blissful married life? We'll see about that.

Sentence 1:

ある晩、お雪は、いつものように子供たちを寝かせた後で、針仕事を始めました。

あるばん、おゆきは、いつものようにこどもたちをねがせたあとで、はりしごとをはじめました。

Vocabulary

• 晩 means "evening"
• 寝かせる means "to put to sleep"
• 後で means "after"
• 針仕事 means "needlework, sewing"

Kanji

Kanji	N-level	Occurs in how many common words?
晩	N3	13
寝	N3	27
後	N5	65
針	N2	5

Grammar

後で can be placed directly after a verb clause, in which case it means "After verbing," or after noun + の, in which case it means "After the noun."

Translation

One evening, Oyuki, after putting the children to bed like always, began her needlework.

Sentence 2:

巳之吉はぼんやりお雪の顔を見つめていると、昔、船頭小屋で見た白い着物の女のことを思い出しました。

みのきちはぼんやりおゆきのかおをみちめていると、むかし、せんどうごやでみたしろいきもののおんなのことをおもいだしました。

Vocabulary

• ぼんやり is an adverb that means "vaguely, faintly"
• 思い出す means "to remember"

Grammar

It's important to remember that の means the inverse of "of." So 着物の女 does not mean "the kimono of the woman" or "the woman's kimono"; rather, it means "the woman of the kimono."

Translation

When Minokichi glanced fainrly at Oyuki's face, he remembered the matter of the woman with the white kimono he had seen long ago in the ferryman's hut.