back number · Japanese · 22 words
Blues
blues (2012) is early back number, and it is the plainest, most immediately usable Japanese on this shelf. Watagashi is a boy at a summer festival failing to hold a girl's hand, so the vocabulary is exactly what a learner needs - 浴衣, 気が利く, 底をつく, 気を引く - while Ending works entirely in bottled-up feeling: しまい込む, 思い込む, 微笑む.
Vocabulary
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 型 | a mould, a set pattern (かた) | 型にはまらない発想が必要だ。We need thinking that doesn't fit the mould. |
| 這いつくばる | to grovel, to crawl on all fours (はいつくばる) | 転んで地面に這いつくばった。I fell and sprawled on the ground. |
| 打ちひしがれる | to be crushed, to be dejected (うちひしがれる) | 彼は悲しみに打ちひしがれていた。He was crushed by grief. |
| さまよう | to wander, to roam | 答えを求めて考えがさまよう。My thoughts wander in search of an answer. |
| 垂れ流す | to let flow unchecked (たれながす) | 情報を垂れ流すだけでは無責任だ。Simply pouring out information is irresponsible. |
| 浴衣 | a yukata, a light cotton kimono (ゆかた) | 花火大会に浴衣で出かけた。I went to the fireworks in a yukata. |
| 横顔 | a profile, a side view of the face (よこがお) | 彼女の横顔をそっと見ていた。I was quietly watching her profile. |
| 焼き付ける | to burn into one's memory (やきつける) | 別れ際の顔を目に焼き付けた。I burned the parting expression into my memory. |
| 底をつく | to run out, to be exhausted (そこをつく) | 貯金が底をついてしまった。My savings have run out. |
| 気を引く | to attract someone's attention (きをひく) | 気を引こうとしてわざと騒いだ。He made noise deliberately to get attention. |
| 口ずさむ | to hum, to sing softly (くちずさむ) | 彼女は歩きながら口ずさんでいた。She was humming as she walked. |
| しまい込む | to put away, to bottle up (しまいこむ) | 手紙を引き出しにしまい込んだ。I put the letter away in a drawer. |
| 思い込む | to convince oneself, to assume (おもいこむ) | 断られると思い込んでいた。I had convinced myself I'd be refused. |
| 見慣れる | to grow used to the sight of (みなれる) | 見慣れた景色が急に新鮮に見えた。A familiar view suddenly looked fresh. |
| 微笑む | to smile softly (ほほえむ) | 彼女は静かに微笑んだ。She smiled quietly. |
| 代わり | a substitute, a replacement (かわり) | 誰も彼の代わりにはなれない。No one can replace him. |
| 見とれる | to be entranced by, to gaze admiringly (みとれる) | 夕焼けに見とれて時間を忘れた。I lost track of time gazing at the sunset. |
| 自慢 | boasting, a source of pride (じまん) | 祖母の自慢は庭の薔薇だ。My grandmother's pride is the roses in her garden. |
| 撫でる | to stroke, to pat (なでる) | 子供の頭を優しく撫でた。I gently patted the child's head. |
| 眺める | to gaze at, to look out over (ながめる) | 縁側から庭を眺めていた。I was gazing at the garden from the veranda. |
| 仏様 | the Buddha (ほとけさま) | 仏様に手を合わせた。I put my hands together before the Buddha. |
| 誕生日 | a birthday (たんじょうび) | 誕生日は家族で食事をした。We had a family meal on my birthday. |
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