Yorushika · Japanese · 24 words
Elma, Part 1
エルマ (2019) is the second half of Yorushika's two-album story, written as a travel diary. Only sorrow works entirely underwater - 気泡, 睡蓮, 水圧, 鼓膜 - and After the Rain is built on a single colour: 群青, 藍, 淡い. The writing is literary but the vocabulary is concrete throughout.
Vocabulary
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 気泡 | a bubble (きほう) | ガラスに小さな気泡が入っている。There are tiny bubbles in the glass. |
| 泥 | mud (どろ) | 靴が泥だらけになった。My shoes got covered in mud. |
| 感触 | a feel, a texture, an impression (かんしょく) | 生地の感触が心地よい。The feel of the fabric is pleasant. |
| 睡蓮 | a water lily (すいれん) | 池に睡蓮が咲いている。Water lilies are blooming in the pond. |
| 水圧 | water pressure (すいあつ) | 深く潜ると水圧が増す。Water pressure increases as you dive deeper. |
| 蜃気楼 | a mirage (しんきろう) | 遠くに蜃気楼が揺れていた。A mirage shimmered in the distance. |
| 薄情 | unfeeling, cold-hearted (はくじょう) | 薄情な人だと思われたくない。I don't want to be thought cold. |
| 建前 | the official line, an outward stance (たてまえ) | 建前ではなく本音が聞きたい。I want your real view, not the official line. |
| 鼓膜 | the eardrum (こまく) | 大きな音で鼓膜が痛んだ。The loud noise hurt my eardrums. |
| 称賛 | praise, acclaim (しょうさん) | その研究は各国で称賛された。The research was acclaimed in many countries. |
| 見惚れる | to be captivated by, to gaze admiringly (みとれる) | 夕焼けに見惚れていた。I was gazing entranced at the sunset. |
| 某日 | a certain day (ぼうじつ) | 五月某日に会合が開かれた。A meeting was held on a certain day in May. |
| 小節 | a bar of music (しょうせつ) | 最初の四小節を繰り返す。Repeat the first four bars. |
| 茜差す | glowing madder red (of the sky) (あかねさす) | 茜差す空が西に広がる。A madder-red sky spreads to the west. |
| 幽霊 | a ghost (ゆうれい) | その旅館には幽霊の噂がある。That inn has a ghost story attached to it. |
| 難解 | abstruse, hard to follow (なんかい) | 難解な文章で読み進められない。The prose is abstruse and I can't get through it. |
| 貶す | to disparage, to run down (けなす) | 人の作品を貶すのはよくない。Running down other people's work isn't right. |
| 惑う | to be bewildered, to waver (まどう) | 選択肢が多すぎて惑ってしまう。There are so many options I'm bewildered. |
| 澄む | to become clear (すむ) | 秋になると空気が澄む。The air clears in autumn. |
| 群青 | ultramarine (ぐんじょう) | 群青の絵の具を厚く塗った。I laid the ultramarine on thickly. |
| 藍 | indigo (あい) | 藍で染めた布を買った。I bought cloth dyed with indigo. |
| 誤魔化す | to fudge, to gloss over (ごまかす) | 笑って誤魔化そうとした。He tried to laugh it off. |
| 覆う | to cover (おおう) | 布で機械を覆っておいた。I covered the machine with a cloth. |
| 淡い | faint, pale, delicate (あわい) | 淡い色のシャツを選んだ。I chose a pale-coloured shirt. |
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