The phone rings and Yotsuba tells dad to go and pick it up, and then says:
よつばのことはいい
This looks like “Yotsuba’s thing is good”, but that can’t be right. Is she saying that she is good? Is she expecting something and this could be it? I have no idea!
Page 52Second panel
Dad’s on the phone and says: 来週かなりあけられるけど
I guess the verb here is 開ける, but which of its many meanings?!
Page 53First panel
いやサプライズとかいらんし
いや - no
サプライズ - surprise
とか - and the like
いらん- don’t want/need
し - listing reasons
“No, it’s [just that we] don’t need surprises”
I’m sure this can’t be right. And ideas?
Page 53Second panel
よつば見といてくれるのは助かるけど
見 - to see
といて - to do in advance
くれる - to do for someone
の - nominaliser
は - topic particle
助かる - to be helped
けど - but
I’m not exactly sure what will be helpful here. To see Yotsuba in advance as a favour?
Page 56
おたまがない - there are no eggs?
Page 574th panel
でもうどんたべたいひもパンたべたいひもあるからなー
でも - but
うどんたべたい - want to eat udon
ひ - days
も - also
パンたべたい - want to eat bread
ひ - days
も - also
ある - there are
から - because
なー sentence ending particle
“Because there are days when I want to eat udon, and days when I want to eat bread”
Phew, no question here!
Page 67
Poor Yotsuba is wandering around the house at night and says: あちこちにおばけいる
あちこちに - everywhere
おばけ - monsters/ghosts
いる - there are
No question here either, just thought it interesting that ghosts get an honorific を!
She’s saying that it’s more important that dad answer the phone than continue to scratch her back. “Don’t worry about me, I’m fine” sort of thing.
Definition 9, I’d say.
Why can’t it be right? Basically he’s happy to see her, just not too pleased that she’s dropping in practically unannounced.
見る is also “keep an eye on”. It help him if she were around to keep an eye on Yotsuba.
No, it’s おたま, the first definition. He was holding the ladle when he went to answer the phone, and now he doesn’t have it, because he left it in the tin of pencils by the phone when Yotsuba showed up to resume the back-scratching.
There’s a few things that do, yeah. お店, ご飯, おばけ, et cetera.
Wow, thank you so much @Belthazar! It’s like I’m a kid at school and done a morning’s work and showed it to the teacher! Only the teacher is super kind and really helpful! Thank you so much! Much appreciated!
じゃあ - well then
おぼえてないから - if [I] don’t remember
ほんとうに - really
いってきてた - is this 行って来てた?“went” (and came back)?
…
よつば - I
どこ - where
いってた - went
の - explanation particle perhaps??
かなー - I wonder
Well, if I don’t remember, I was really gone… I wonder where I went?
That’s fairly spot on. Since her father just told her when you go into a dream, you don’t remember it after you wake up, Yotsuba is saying since she doesn’t remember, she must have really gone (into a dream). Then she wonders where she went (in the dream).
That one confused me until I saw her father corrected her: 「はかどる」
In the English, she says something like “baked tooth” and her father understands she means “breakthrough”. Which, same confusion on my part: how did he know???
She says “bake-tooth”, which I honestly think is more like “breakthrough” than はぐもる is like はかどる. I mean, I guess there’s a か-line character, and an ~お character, and a dakuten, but… by that reasoning, something like ひでみと is similar enough to ひとびと to be recognisable.
Thank you so much ChristopherFritz, Belthazar, and Kazzeon! Every time I come here and study with you guys I make a new baked tooth! Much appreciated! Thank you!
This is so funny. Reminded me of the youkai テケテケ, which a student did a short presentation and cosplay for a school event. First time I’ve seen the onomatopoeia.
Okay, I’m okay up to here I think. Here’s what I think would be the kanji version:
ばーちゃん来たら折り紙してもらう - when granny comes, she can do origami for me
ばーちゃん折り紙で何でも作るから - because she (can) make anything in origami
色んな色で - in various colours
赤い羊とか青い馬とか - a red sheep for example, a blue horse and so on
黄緑色の箱とか - a pea-green box for example