Oh, ok, I see, sorry! 
Well, making a birthday would ultimately mean having a baby, I guess 
But that’s probably not what the author had in mind anyways…
Despite the danger of repeating what is already obvious to you: I think the metaphor is only about the pride of having made [something] herself so it’s probably not as unnatural as it may sound in translation.
Yeah, I guess that makes sense in a weird sort of way. And, I can see the general pride-of-having-made-something-oneself feeling interpretation, too.
Also, nobody weighed in on this question, (although there was a lot of discussion about the following sentence):
I thought I understood it during the discussion about the following sentence, but now I began to have doubts.
And when I tried to google that bolded phrase…
This is the result 
(the hinative link doesn’t help too much, although it’s something)
Final questions for this chapter:
Small grammar question:
V2 page141
はずかしいだなんて、へんね
I didn’t think you needed an informal copula after an i-adjective, so why is it there?
V2 page 146:
あとにもさきにも、詩というものと縁があったのはこれきりです。
The bolded part is connected by fate, but I can’t figure out what this means. Maybe it’s another case of my brain being overly literal, but what does it mean to be connected by fate to a poem?
2)v2 pg147
Juju says
寒いから、はやく秋とやら、すませてよ.
とやら comes up as meaning ‘to indicate doubt,’ but I’m not really familiar with it. Any insight into how it’s used is welcome.
I’m guessing this sentence means something like “it’s cold, so whatever you meant by “it’s Fall”, get it over with fast.” (On account of Kiki using “it’s Fall” as her weak excuse for taking a break.)
I think this meaning of やら is more like “such things as A and B”. Kotobank defines it also as とか. They have more examples with translations here
Since Kiki’s explanation for stopping was “because it’s autumn”, Jiji’s saying since it’s cold, finish this “autumn [thing] or whatever” quickly.
I think this is 素通り, “passing through without stopping; passing by” and あっさり “easily; readily; quickly; flatly (refuse)”. I’m still not sure what the sentence means, I initially thought it was along the lines of Kiki tried her best to say harsh words, but it easily passed through without stopping (ie, it didn’t register as mean to the other girl) . But there’s nothing in that sentence that would imply “but/however”, なんて is more like “things like”. So maybe it actually means Things like Kiki trying her best to say harsh words easily passed by If that makes any sense? I can’t tell if saying harsh things comes easily to Kiki (but then why “tried her best”) or if it’s the harsh things that are “passing by” the girl
V1: Pages 163 - 177
V2: Pages 148 - 160
BookWalker: ?
We’re reading to the end of Chapter 7 this week.
Please briefly check whether questions have already been answered above before posting them, but otherwise don’t hesitate.
0 voters
For me the ね indicates that she’s not talking about herself.
„I heard that you are a witch… but you really don’t know anything, do you?“
(Also tagging @Aislin)
I mean, afterwards she says that she would be amused if it turned out that the boy wouldn’t bother with finding the sender of the gift 
So maybe a sense of genuine curiosity but also schadenfreude.
I think it’s in the sense of not being connected to a particular poem, but to poetry in general: she hasn’t really felt a connection to poetry apart from this one poem she wrote.
I may be only a third of the way through chapter 6 (going to be up late tonight reading a bit), but I can still provide the four images from the whole of chapter 7:
Really enjoyed this chapter, finished it all up yesterday and today.
片足でくるんとひとまわりしたのです
Just wanted to ask about this sentence…What’s going on with くるん? I assume this is noramlizing くる in someway but honestly it’s very confusing. Like I understand the sentence I’ve just never seen a verb used like this.
Thanks, hope everyone’s enjoying the weekend
くるんと is a と-adverb (which just means it’s an adverb marked with と). There are sometimes two variations of the same adverb. One repeats the same two mora and the other ends in something like んと or っと. For example, you can say にやにや, but you can also say にやっと. Both variations aren’t always in the dictionary, but being aware of this pattern lets you search for the other variant. In this case, that means くるんと is similar to くるくる (going round and round / spinning).
According to this, the only difference between くるんと and くるくる is that you’d use the latter for several turns (implying the former is just for a single turn, but I don’t know if that’s a hard rule). With くるんと in this sentence, you could maybe translate it as “with a turn”. Of course, ひとまわり is also indicating a single turn, but that type of redundancy is common in Japanese.
Yes, I read it this way too (and amusingly, replied to a similar question about this sentence and the one after it,back in April 2018!) So I’m just going to requote myself.
I think it is just contrasting Kiki’s best efforts at a snarky comment with the complete lack of effect it has on the other girl.
Ah, so とげのあること is about what Kiki said before, not what she wants to say now.
That was the cause of my confusion at least. And I even did read your 2018 comment, but it didn’t click the first time.
Woof. Now I’ve gone and done it. Lost the whole weekend, friday included. Let’s see, I’ve got… 14 pages to read, and… 4 nights to do it. Yike. Well, that’s alternating between 3 and 4 pages, and some of those pages are awfully short on text.
Well, I refuse to be another casualty. I’m gonna push forward and be right there at Ch. 8 by Friday.
Unfortunately, I don’t think I can say I’ll have gone through all the chapter 8 anki cards by friday. I’d need to up the new card limit by, well, more than I’m comfortable with.
I have a question, spoilers for the end of the chapter:
When Kiki delivers the 万年筆, the boy puts it on the collar of his shirt, similar to the girl’s way of wearing it. Is it supposed to show how well they are matched with each other (and that girl’s hopes about おそろい were fulfilled) or is it common way of wearing pens and it’s just a coincidence?
昨日のページをまた読みたいわ
でもなぜか、あとずさり
色んな問題を言いたいわ
でもなぜか、あとずさり
Well, I suppose I know the reason why. Just been tough keeping up. It’ll take me maybe ten minutes to actually read two pages, and then the reread, question asking, and studying of the anki vocab will take over an hour. For this week, I think I’ll just focus on getting things read and getting through the anki.
Okay, but we’re still active today, so ややこしい文章 time!
On page 149(v2):
「なくもないないとか、ややこしいこということないよ。そんなことなら、見ちゃえば。あのきどったブ−ツのでしょ」
Here’s what I can make of this:
なくもないない
I think whoever is talking (Kiki, I think) is referring to the last sentence spoken, which ends…勉強っていえなくもないんじゃない
ややこしいこと puzzling things
いうことないよ have never said
I put this together as I’ve never said anything as confusing as ‘can’t not not’ Thoughts?
Next:
そんなことなら if it’s that kind of thing
見ちゃえば if I end up looking
Vaguely, I think she’s giving herself permission to look, but I don’t really understand what’s happening here.
おのきどったブ−ツのでしょ
I think maybe she’s referring to the girl as “those fancy-pants boots” (anyway, that’s how I’m translating きどったブ−ツ). I don’t know what she’s trying to say with this, though.
I am liking the second part of the chapter more than the first one. I found the reaction of Kiki to the girl a little odd, specially compared to when とんぼさん stole and broke the broom. That time, she was a bit upset but didn’t say much, whereas with the girl she kept asking why wouldn’t she do it herself again and again. Maybe I didn’t get the tone of the conversation and the girl was being really nasty and she was responding to that. (Actually I think I have already answered my own comment)
Well, the thing is that I found the part of writing the poem again very funny. Specially if you compare the two of them.
Well, since we’re taking a break this week, I suppose I’ve got no excuse not to do my usual rereads, do I. Let’s see, from the first three pages of last week’s reading…
Edit: Pages 4-5:
草の根につまずいてころんでしまいました。- Huh, neat. So 草の根 can be literal or a turn of phrase.
声ばかり追いかけたって、足のほうが間に合いません。- Making sure I’m reading this right, it’s Only her voice chased after it, her legs weren’t able to make it.
Edit: pages 6-7
大丈夫 
Edit: Pages 8-10
Ah, my favorite part. I can’t believe they memorized the whole poem. What a team.
Edit: Pages 11-14
And the conclusion. Everything’s coming up Kiki. Wonder if the author will slip in any more イ-イ names.
I did the exact same thing that you , ahem, didn’t do-- “poem” not being a word I encounter much. The silver lining being:
I don’t think anyone replied to you, so I’ll do my best.
I think the person talking is Jiji here and he’s giving permission for Kiki to read the letter.
なくもないないとか、ややこしいこということないよ。
This one is hard. I think he’s referring to her double negative as well.
なくもないないとか、 Things like (your double negative)
ややこしいこということないよ。 I think he’s trying to get across here that she doesn’t have to say such puzzling things.
そんなことなら、見ちゃえば。あのきどったブーツのでしょ。
And here he’s saying something like, if it’s something like that, just look. And then he’s like “It’s that Boots person that was putting on airs.”
So all in all I think Jiji is basically saying “No need to make it so complicated. You can just look, if it was that haughty girl from before in the boots.”
