なぜ?どうして?Finished!

Page 121

That is brilliant! Thank you so much @Saruko!

とおり(に) (通り(に)) is defined in the Intermed. dict. as “(in) the same way as; (in) the way; as”.

Their example

Noun + の通り(に)
計画の通り(に) the same way as the plan

I think 長い refers to 広場.

I think you could leave out たてに and it would still make sense. Just 広場は とても 長く would mean “the plaza is very long”, but when たてに is added in, I think it becomes “the plaza is very long in (it’s) length (front-to-back)”.

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Hey, I read your other thread

Will people mind if I use the bookclubs without a subscription?

Are you kidding me? That’s all I’ve been doing the past couple of years!

I actually subscribed for about 3 years and before that was using WK when it first started in beta form. But since then, I’ve stuck around to enjoy the book clubs, two of which were moderated by YOU! So how can you even think of such a thing!

Everyone goes at his/her own pace. I’m slow, too, and that’s why I’m still at a beginner level after all these years. But you know we’re all going to get there. Maybe not at the same time but WE’RE ALL GOING TO GET THERE!

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Thanks all, busy long couple of days at work, very helpful to be able to come here to help with catching up on the book.

@marcusp surely Tofugu should be giving you a free subscription in honour of your services to the book clubs!!

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Thanks a lot @trout! I was a bit confused by たて and (とても )長く both being used as it seemed kind of redundant but your explanation helped me a lot (again!).

Regarding つくされます and うめつくされました: I haven’t come across this kind of conjugation in my grammar studies yet, can someone confirm if it is about passive forms (p. 218 onwards in Tae Kim’s guide)?

@marcusp:

quite long and not related to the actual contents of the book, so...

Just wanted to add here that I love how you break down every sentence so neatly. I actually do that too but I’m just taking notes in my book and not here in the thread (I’m too lazy orz). So whenever I haven’t had the time to try to translate the day’s page and see that you posted your notes, I’m alway really happy (especially as a beginner in this club), as I can easily go along your notes while reading each sentence (and still look up certain points I have trouble understanding) and then try a translation by myself to check it with yours afterwards. By reading your notes, I think it also makes it a lot easier for someone else to understand why you translated a sentence a certain way (compared to other people who just post their translations without any notes).

So with your posts (including your questions) you’ve helped me out a lot already! I’ve learned so much and I just recently joined and started reading. So thank you! I’d be happy if you stayed here in the forums (especially the book clubs :wink: ) and keep on contributing!

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Yep, it’s passive voice. “The plaza is covered (with flowers) by the people”.

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Thank you everyone! It’s a bright sunny day outside, we start a new chapter tonight, and there are only twenty pages left of this book! Amazing! You are all fantastic and I really appreciate your support! Thank you!

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p122

長ーい 一まいの ぬので できた ふくが ある!

There are clothes made from a loooong, single sheet of cloth!

日本では 七五三の おいわいや お正月など、とくべつな ときに、よく きものを きます。

In Japan, on special occasions such as the 7-5-3 festival and New Year’s, (we) often wear kimonos.

きものは 日本の でんとうてきな ふくで、その うつくしさは せかいでも 人気です。

Kimonos are traditional Japanese clothes and their beauty is popular in the (rest of) world also .

このような、その 国でしか 見られないような ふくを 「みんぞくいしょう」と いいます。

Clothes like this that can only be seen in countries similarly are called “National Costumes”.

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Thanks trout! An easier page for vocab today, I thought I was going to get away with looking nothing up until hitting みんぞくいしょう. The last sentence is tricky but your translation has helped me get my head around it. As ever しか is difficult! Here’s my breakdown:

Page 122

このような - “this” + “similar to” = things like this

その 国で - in that country

しか 見られない - しか with negative verb - “not seen anywhere but”

ような - like, similar to

ふく - clothes

==> その 国でしか 見られない

  • not seen anywhere but in that country

==>その 国でしか 見られないような ふくを

  • Clothes only seen in that particular country + を

「みんぞくいしょう」- national costume

と いいます - are called

Things like this, clothes that are unique to that country, are called national costumes.

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Yea, your translation sounds better I had a hard time trying to figure out what to do with ような. Oh well….

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Some people in Japan still wear kimono basically all the time. You go out on the streets pretty much anywhere in Kyoto, and many places in Tokyo, and I guarantee you’ll see at least one kimono.

Side note, I’ve held off posting this until now (because I realised that previous links I’ve posted have contained spoilers for the… “story”), but:

It’s got images of what the displays look like. Here’s the Japanese one from 2016:

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I read that sumo wrestlers wear kimonos in public but only the high rank wrestlers are allowed. The low rank wrestlers are suppose to wear yukata. Have you ever heard of this?

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No, but I don’t really follow sumo.

And I was mostly talking about women, I think. :stuck_out_tongue:

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Yeah, there’s a certain demographic of grandma that primarily wears kimonos.

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And what’s the overlap between that demographic and high-rank sumo wrestlers?

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I guess it would depend on if sumo wrestlers keep that rank after they retire and become grandmas. Yes, I think we would need to find that out.

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Page 123

せかいには いろいろな みんぞくいしょうが ありますが, 中でも インドや スリランカなどの 女の人が きる サリー よく 知られています

せかいには - in the world + は
いろいろな - various
みんぞくいしょう - national costumes
が あります - there are
が, - but
中でも - especially
インドや - India and
スリランカなど - Sri Lanka etc
の - ‘s
女の人が - women + が
きる - to wear
サリー - sari
よく - well
知られています - known

There are various national costumes in the world, but the saris worn by Indian and Sri Lankan women are especially well known.

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Are you losing track of page breaks? Only, that’s on 124. You went a sentence too far yesterday as well.

To answer your question, though… literary tendency to not use て-form?

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Page 123 caption

あざやかな 色の さりーを まとう インドの 女の人。

Indian women wearing brightly coloured saris.

Just when I thought I knew enough Japanese words meaning “to wear”!

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纏う seems to mean wearing something you wrap around yourself.

A comment on this page concurs.

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