Friday, August 30, 2013

Tazaki Tsukuru p.11-12. A Japanese-English vocabulary of Haruki Murakami's latest novel.


page 11:

逸れる [それる: SORERU]  to stray (turn) from subject, to get lost, to go astray.
励む [はげむ: HAGEMU]  to be zealous, to brace oneself, to endeavour, to endeavor, to strive, to make an effort.
端正 [たんせい: TANSEI]  handsome, noble
艶 [つや: TSUYA]  (1) gloss, glaze, (2) charm, romance, love, youthfulness, (3) color, colour, feeling.
漆黒 [しっこく: SHIKKOKU]  jet black.
持て余す [もてあます: MOTEAMASU]  to be too much for one, to find unmanageable, to be beyond one's control, to not know what to do with
生真面目 [きまじめ: KIMAJIME]  too serious, person who is too serious, honesty, sincerity
苦手 [にがて: NIGATE]  (1) poor (at), weak (in), not very good (at), (2) dislike (of).
巧み [たくみ: TAKUMI]  skill, cleverness.
披露 [ひろう: HIROU]  announcement, show, display, introduction.
辛抱 [しんぼう: SHINBOU]  patience, endurance.
伸びやか [のびやか: NOBIYAKA]  comfortable, carefree.
埋もれる [うもれる: UMORERU]  to be buried, to be covered, to be hidden.
惜しい [おしい: OSHII]  (1) regrettable, disappointing, (2) precious, dear, valuable, (3) too good for, deserving better, (4) almost but not quite.
骨董品 [こっとうひん: KOTTOUHIN]  curio, antique
募金活動 [ぼきんかつどう: BOKINKATSUDOU]  fund-raising activities
がらり  (1) (on-mim) entirely, suddenly, completely, rudely


page 12:

獣医 [じゅうい: JUUI]  veterinarian.
肛門 [こうもん: KOUMON]  anus
実習 [じっしゅう: JISSHUU]  practice, practise, training (esp. practical and hands-on), drill.
産婦人科 [さんふじんか: SANFUJINKA]  maternity and gynaecology department (gynecology), department of obstetrics and gynaecology (gynecology).
医院 [いいん: IIN]  doctor's office (surgery), clinic, dispensary.
容貌 [ようぼう: YOUBOU]  looks, personal appearance, features
十人並み [じゅうにんなみ: JUUNINNAMI]  being average (capacity, looks) (as good as anyone), mediocrity
愛嬌 [あいきょう: AIKYOU]  (1) charm, attractiveness, amiability, winsomeness, (2) courtesy, ingratiating behaviour, (n) (3) entertainment, amusement, fun.
ふっくら  (on-mim) fully, luxuriantly, fluffy, plump, soft and full
頭の回転が速い quick-thinking
文系 [ぶんけい: BUNKEI]  humanities, social sciences, and fine arts, liberal arts.
税理事務所 tax accountant office
独特 [どくとく: DOKUTOKU]  peculiarity, uniqueness, characteristic.
さっぱり  (1) (on-mim) feeling refreshed, feeling relieved, (2) neat, trimmed, (3) plain, simple, (4) completely, entirely, (5) not in the least (in sentence with negative verb), not at all, (n) (6) completely ignorant, not doing at all.
具える [そなえる: SONAERU]  (1) to furnish, to provide for, to equip, to install, (2) to have ready, to prepare for, (3) to possess, to have, to be endowed with, to be armed with
内気 [うちき: UCHIKI]  bashfulness, shyness, reserve, timidity.
とびっきり  extraordinary, superior, choice
聡明 [そうめい: SOUMEI]  wisdom, sagacity
特徴 [とくちょう: TOKUCHOU]  feature, trait, characteristic, pecularity.
なり  (prt) (1) or, whether or not

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Tazaki Tsukuru p.9-10. A Japanese-English vocabulary of Haruki Murakami's latest novel.


page 9:

図抜ける [ずぬける: ZUNUKERU]  to tower above, to stand out
優秀 [ゆうしゅう: YUUSHUU]  superiority, excellence.
気を配る [きをくばる: KIWOKUBARU]  to pay attention, to be watchful
[いったん: ITTAN]  (1) (uk) once
些細 [ささい: SASAI]  trivial, slight
譲る [ゆずる: YUZURU]  (1) to turn over, to assign, to hand over, to transmit, to convey, to sell, to dispose of, (2) to yield, to surrender, to concede.
理屈 [りくつ: RIKUTSU]  theory, reason.
規則 [きそく: KISOKU]  rules, regulations, conventions.
生来 [せいらい: SEIRAI]  naturally, by nature (birth), congenitally
負けず嫌い [まけずぎらい: MAKEZUGIRAI]  hating to lose, unyielding, unbending, competitive, sore loser.
不機嫌 [ふきげん: FUKIGEN]  pout, displeasure, ill humor, ill humour, sullenness.
負ける [まける: MAKERU]  (1) to lose, to be defeated, (2) to succumb, to give in, to surrender, to yield, (3) to be inferior to, (4) to break out in a rash due to (e.g. lacquer, shaving, etc.), (v1,vt) (5) to reduce the price, to lower the price, to give a discount on.
っぷり (suf) (col) manner; style; KD
口数が少ない [くちかずがすくない: KUCHIKAZUGASUKUNAI]  (exp) taciturn
短気 [たんき: TANKI]  quick temper, short temper.
[おかしがる: OKASHIGARU]  to be amused (by, at), to wonder at
体格 [たいかく: TAIKAKU]  physique, constitution.
申し分 [もうしぶん: MOUSHIBUN]  objection, shortcomings
肩幅 [かたはば: KATAHABA]  shoulder width (breadth)
額 [ひたい: HITAI]  forehead, brow.
どっしり  (on-mim) bulky and heavy, massive, massy, substantial
絶え間ない [たえまない: TAEMANAI]  incessant, constant, continuous, perpetual, everlasting
地道 [じみち: JIMICHI]  steady, honest, sober, straightforward.
大食漢 [たいしょくかん: TAISHOKUKAN]  great eater, glutton
悪口 [わるぐち: WARUGUCHI]  abuse, insult, slander, evil speaking, bad mouth
滅多 [めった: METTA]  (uk) seldom (neg. verb)
場をまとめる ?
円陣 [えんじん: ENJIN]  forming a circle, circular formation (orig. in battle), huddle, ring
檄を飛ばす [げきをとばす: GEKIWOTOBASU]  to issue a manifesto, to appeal
叫ぶ [さけぶ: SAKEBU]  to shout, to cry.


page 10:

選択肢 [せんたくし: SENTAKUSHI]  choices, alternatives, options.
恵む [めぐむ: MEGUMU]  (1) to bless, to show mercy to, (2) to give (money, etc.).
[まずまず: MAZUMAZU]  tolerable, passable, adequate, so-so
強豪 [きょうごう: KYOUGOU]  veteran, champion.
[しばしば: SHIBASHIBA]  (uk) often, again and again, frequently.
呆気ない [あっけない: AKKENAI]  not enough, too quick (short, long, etc.)
敗北 [はいぼく: HAIBOKU]  (1) defeat, (vs,vi) (2) to be defeated.
喫す [きっす: KISSU]  (1) to eat, to drink, to smoke, (2) to suffer (e.g. defeat), to receive (e.g. a blow)
勝敗 [しょうはい: SHOUHAI]  victory or defeat, issue (of battle), outcome.
雨天順延 [うてんじゅんえん: UTENJUN'EN]  rescheduled in case of rain
[もっともらしい: MOTTOMORASHII]  (1) plausible, believable, (2) solemn, dignified, serious.
口を挟む [くちをはさむ: KUCHIWOHASAMU]  to cut into (a conversation), to interject
溺れる [おぼれる: OBORERU]  (1) (uk) to drown, to nearly drown, to sink below the surface (of water).

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Tazaki Tsukuru p.7-8. A Japanese-English vocabulary of Haruki Murakami's latest novel.


page 7:


話し込む [はなしこむ: HANASHIKOMU]  to be deep in talk.
設ける [もうける: MOUKERU]  to create, to establish.
成り行き [なりゆき: NARIYUKI]  (1) outcome, development, course of events, progress, result, (2) (abbr) market order, order without limit.
選択肢 [せんたくし: SENTAKUSHI]  choices, alternatives, options.
通常 [つうじょう: TSUUJOU]  common, general, normal, usual.
付いて行ける [ついていける: TSUITEIKERU]  to follow, to keep in pace with, to understand
不登校 [ふとうこう: FUTOUKOU]  truancy, school non-attendance
児童 [じどう: JIDOU]  children, juvenile.
人となり [ひととなり: HITOTONARI]  (1) hereditary disposition, temperament, nature, (2) (arch) body build
抱える [かかえる: KAKAERU]  (1) to hold or carry under or in the arms, (2) to have (esp. problems, debts, etc.), (3) to employ, to engage, to hire.
打ち明ける [うちあける: UCHIAKERU]  to be frank, to speak one's mind, to open one's heart.
調和 [ちょうわ: CHOUWA]  harmony.
[たまたま: TAMATAMA]  casually, unexpectedly, accidentally, by chance.
[もたらす: MOTARASU]  (uk) to bring, to take, to bring about.
融合 [ゆうごう: YUUGOU]  agglutination, adhesion, fusion, unite.
揃える [そろえる: SOROERU]  (1) to collect, to gather, to get together, to complete (a collection), (2) to arrange, to put in order, to prepare, to get ready, (3) to make uniform, to make even, to match.
周到 [しゅうとう: SHUUTOU]  scrupulous, meticulous, careful.
[おおよそ: OOYOSO]  (uk) about, roughly, as a rule, approximately
はみ出す [はみだす: HAMIDASU]  to protrude, to stick out, to hang out, to jut out, to bulge out, to overflow, to be forced out, to be crowded out, to be pushed out, to exceed, to go over, to go beyond


page 8:

傘雲 [かさぐも: KASAGUMO]  cap cloud (cloud shaped like an Asian bamboo hat that forms at the peak of a tall mountain)
団塊世代 [だんかいせだい: DANKAISEDAI]  the babyboomers, the baby boom generation
出費 [しゅっぴ: SHUPPI]  expenses, disbursements.
惜しむ [おしむ: OSHIMU]  (1) to be frugal, to be sparing, (2) to value, to hold dear, (3) to regret (e.g. a loss), to feel sorry (for), (4) to be unwilling, to be reluctant.
平穏 [へいおん: HEION]  tranquil, calm, restful, peaceful, quiet.
[おおむね: OOMUNE]  (1) (uk) in general, generally, mostly, roughly, largely, mainly, on the whole, by and large, (n) (2) gist, point, main idea
受験 [じゅけん: JUKEN]  taking an examination (esp. school and university entrance).
校 【こう】 (suff) -school; proof; SP
総じて [そうじて: SOUJITE]  in general, generally
[ささやか: SASAYAKA]  meagre, meager, modest.
姓 [せい: SEI]  (1) surname, family name, (2) hereditary title (used in ancient Japan to denote rank and political standing)
無縁 [むえん: MUEN]  (1) unrelated, irrelevant, indifferent, (adj-no,n) (2) without relations (esp. of a deceased person), having no surviving relatives.
疎外感 [そがいかん: SOGAIKAN]  feeling of alienation
少なからず [すくなからず: SUKUNAKARAZU]  considerably, not a little, in no small numbers.
真剣 [しんけん: SHINKEN]  (1) seriousness, earnestness

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

a Japanese-English vocabulary of Haruki Murakami's latest novel. Tazaki Tsukuru p.5-6.


page 5:

然して [さして: SASHITE]  (uk) (with negative sentence) not much
当てもなく [あてもなく: ATEMONAKU]  at random, aimlessly
清潔 [せいけつ: SEIKETSU]  (1) clean, hygienic, sanitary, (2) pure, virtuous, immaculate.
空腹 [くうふく: KUUFUKU]  hunger.
林檎 [りんご: RINGO]  (1) (uk) apple
囓る [かじる: KAJIRU]  (1) to chew, to bite (at), to gnaw, to nibble, to munch, to crunch, to have a smattering of,
端 [はし: HASHI]  (1) end (e.g. of street), tip, point, edge, margin, (2) beginning, start, first, (3) odds and ends, scrap, odd bit, least.
手掛かり [てがかり: TEGAKARI]  (1) clue, key, trail, scent, track, contact, (2) handhold, on hand.
つるり  (on-mim) smoothly, with a slipping or sliding motion
斜面 [しゃめん: SHAMEN]  slope, slanting surface, bevel.
引き寄せる [ひきよせる: HIKIYOSERU]  to draw or pull something towards oneself (e.g. chair)
親密 [しんみつ: SHINMITSU]  intimacy, friendship.
交際 [こうさい: KOUSAI]  company, friendship, association, society, acquaintance.
口をきく [くちをきく: KUCHIWOKIKU]  (1) to speak, to utter, (2) to mediate
きっぱり  (on-mim) clearly, plainly, decisively, distinctly, flatly.
妥協 [だきょう: DAKYOU]  compromise, giving in.
余地 [よち: YOCHI]  place, room, margin, scope.
唐突 [とうとつ: TOUTOTSU]  abrupt, sudden.


page 6:

[あくまで: AKUMADE]  (uk) to the end, to the bitter end, to the last, stubbornly, persistently, to the utmost.
理屈の上: in theory, in the abstract.
誇張 [こちょう: KOCHOU]  exaggeration.
切迫 [せっぱく: SEPPAKU]  pressure, urgency, tension, imminence, acuteness.
疎外 [そがい: SOGAI]  estrangement, neglect, alienation, casting out.
孤独 [こどく: KODOKU]  isolation, loneliness, solitude.
ウインチ  [ UINCHI] winch
きりきり  (1) (on-mim) chafing, grinding (e.g. teeth), (2) (on-mim) binding tightly, pulling tight (e.g. a bow), (3) (on-mim) rotating quickly, (4) (on-mim) hurting sharply, (5) (on-mim) briskly, quickly, promptly, at once, right away.
絞り上げる [しぼりあげる: SHIBORIAGERU]  (1) to squeeze (to the utmost), to wring, (2) to strain one's voice, (3) to scold .
張り詰める [はりつめる: HARITSUMERU]  to strain, to stretch, to string up, to make tense, to cover over, to freeze over.
判読 [はんどく: HANDOKU]  decipherment, interpretation, making out
困難 [こんなん: KONNAN]  difficulty, distress.
疾風 [しっぷう: SHIPPUU]  gale, strong wind, swift wind, fresh breeze
切れ切れ [きれぎれ: KIREGIRE]  (1) pieces, scraps, (2) disconnected.
課題 [かだい: KADAI]  (1) subject, theme, issue, matter, (2) homework, assignment, (3) task, challenge, problem, question.
所定 [しょてい: SHOTEI]  fixed, prescribed, certain, given.
自発的 [じはつてき: JIHATSUTEKI]  spontaneous, voluntary.
継続 [けいぞく: KEIZOKU]  continuation.
奉仕活動 [ほうしかつどう: HOUSHIKATSUDOU]  voluntary activity, voluntary service, labor of love
知多半島 [ちたはんとう: CHITAHANTOU]  Chita Peninsula
額を寄せ合う 【ひたいをよせあう】 (exp,v5u) (See 額を集める・ひたいをあつめる) to put heads together; to gather (for discussion); to go into a huddle; ED

Monday, August 12, 2013

a Japanese-English vocabulary of Haruki Murakami's latest novel. Tazaki Tsukuru p.1-4.


I'm a big fan of Japanese literature. One of my favorites is Haruki Murakami. I'm currently reading his latest novel (色彩を持たない田崎つくると、彼の巡礼の年) in Japanese. Its English title is “Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage”.

I started making a basic word list based on Jim Breen's superb free online dictionary (http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwjdic.cgi?9T). I only listed the words that I didn't know. I will try to add at least one page per week (depends on my busy job).

Note: I'm reading the tankoubon (hardcover) edition published by Bungei Shunju:
単行本: 376 pages
Publisher: 文藝春秋 (April 12, 2013)
ISBN-10: 4163821104
ISBN-13: 978-4163821108
Release Date: April 12, 2013



Chapter 1, page 3

絶つ [たつ: TATSU]  to sever, to cut off, to suppress, to abstain (from).
筋の通った [すじのとおった: SUJINOTOOTTA]  rational, logical, coherent.
隔てる [へだてる: HEDATERU]  (1) to separate (by distance, time, etc.), to isolate, to partition, to divide, (2) to interpose, to have between, (3) to alienate, to estrange.
敷居 [しきい: SHIKII]  threshold.
[またぐ: MATAGU]  (1) to step over, to step across, to stride over, to stride across, to cross, (2) to stretch over, to span, to bridge, to saddle.
生卵 [なまたまご: NAMATAMAGO]  raw egg
純粋 [じゅんすい: JUNSUI]  purpae, true, genuine, unmixed.
強烈 [きょうれつ: KYOURETSU]  strong, intense, severe.
見合う [みあう: MIAU]  (1) to exchange glances, (2) to correspond, to counterbalance
[むしろ: MUSHIRO]  rather, better, instead.
副次的 [ふくじてき: FUKUJITEKI]  secondary

page 4

魅惑的 [みわくてき: MIWAKUTEKI]  charming, fascinating, enchanting, bewitching, beguiling, captivating, alluring
見なす [みなす: MINASU]  to consider as, to regard (as equivalent), to deem (as), to equate.
切掛 [きっかけ: KIKKAKE]  (uk) chance, start, cue, excuse, motive, impetus, occasion.
にせよ  (exp) granted that, even if, even though
憧憬 [どうけい: DOUKEI]  longing, aspiration
包み込む [つつみこむ: TSUTSUMIKOMU]  to wrap up
胃袋 [いぶくろ: IBUKURO]  (1) stomach, breadbasket, inner man, (2) dietary needs.
淀む [よどむ: YODOMU]  to stagnate, to be stagnant, to settle, to deposit, to be sedimented, to be precipitated, to hesitate, to be sluggish, to stammer, to stumble, to falter
空洞 [くうどう: KUUDOU]  cave, hollow, cavity.
街灯 [がいとう: GAITOU]  street light.
しがみ付く [しがみつく: SHIGAMITSUKU]  (uk) to cling
凭れる [もたれる: MOTARERU]  (1) (uk) to lean against
欠落 [けつらく: KETSURAKU]  missing, lacking
巡らす [めぐらす: MEGURASU]  to enclose (with), to surround (with), to encircle, to think over, to work out
渊 [ふち: FUCHI]  (1) deep pool, deep water, abyss, (2) depths (e.g. of despair, etc.), grip (e.g. of death)
芯 [しん: SHIN]  (1) wick, marrow, staple (for stapler), (pencil) lead, stuffing, pith, (2) core, heart, centre, center.
渦巻く [うずまく: UZUMAKU]  to whirl, to eddy, to swirl, to curl (smoke)
虚無 [きょむ: KYOMU]  nihility, nothingness.
鼓膜 [こまく: KOMAKU]  eardrum, tympanic membrane.
圧迫 [あっぱく: APPAKU]  pressure, coercion, oppression.