Week 1 ゆびさきと恋々・A Sign of Affection 💕 (Absolute Beginner Book Club)

[josephsl]

Welcome to Week 1 of ゆびさきと恋々・A Sign of Affection

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Week 1	June 7 2025
Start page	3
End page	14
End phrase	見てくる
Next week	Week 2
Home Thread	ゆびさきと恋々

Page numbers may differ between digital and physical copies.

Last panel

Vocabulary

ゆびさきと恋々 Volume 1 Vocabulary List

Please read the guidelines on the first page before adding any words.

Discussion Guidelines

Everybody should feel free to post and ask questions–it’s what makes book clubs fun! But please do not post until you are familiar with Spoiler Courtesy!

Spoiler Courtesy

Please follow these rules to avoid inadvertent ネタバレ. If you’re unsure whether something should have a spoiler tag, err on the side of using one.

1. Any potential spoiler for the current week’s reading need only be covered by a spoiler tag. Predictions and conjecture made by somebody who has not read ahead still falls into this category.
2. Any potential spoilers for external sources need to be covered by a spoiler tag and include a label (outside of the spoiler tag) of what might be spoiled. These include but are not limited to: other book club picks, other books, games, movies, anime, etc. I recommend also tagging the severity of the spoiler (for example, I may still look at minor spoilers for something that I don’t intend to read soon).
3. Any information from later in the book than the current week’s reading (including trigger warnings that haven’t yet manifested) needs to be hidden by spoiler tags and labeled as coming from later sections.

Instructions for Spoiler Tags

Click the cog above the text box and use either the “Hide Details” or “Blur Spoiler” options. The text which says “This text will be hidden” should be replaced with what you are wishing to write. In the case of “Hide Details”, the section in the brackets that is labelled “Summary” can be replaced with whatever you like also (i.e, [details=”Chapter 1, Pg. 1”]).

Hide Details results in the dropdown box like below:

Example

This is an example of the “Hide Details” option.

The “Blur Spoiler” option will simply blur the text it surrounds.

This is an example of the “Blur Spoiler” option.

Posting Advice

• When asking for help, please mention the page number, and check before posting that your question hasn’t already been asked. As the threads get longer, it becomes more convenient to use the Search function, which is located in the upper right corner of the forum. It is the magnifying glass which is near your profile picture! The best way to search is usually to type part of the sentence you are confused about, and select “in this topic”. This will show you all posts within the current thread which has that string of text.
• Be sure to join the conversation! It’s fun, and it’s what keeps these book clubs lively! There’s no such thing as a stupid question! We are all learning here, and if the question has crossed your mind, there’s a very good chance it has crossed somebody else’s also! Asking and answering questions is a great learning opportunity for everyone involved, so never hesitate to do so!

Proper Nouns

Name	Reading	Image	Notes
糸瀬 雪	いとせ ゆき		Main character
波岐 逸臣	なぎ いつおみ		The other main character

Discussion Questions

What surprised you about the reading this week?

Participation

Will you be reading along with us this week?

• I’m reading along
• I have finished this part
• I’m still reading the book but I haven’t reached this part yet
• I’m reading this book after the club has finished
• I’m no longer reading the book

[meme456]

First!!

Page 5

恋はこの雪みたいに
音もなく降ってくるのかな
I wonder if love is like this quietly falling snow (?)

曇天の空から
世界の色を変えながら
From the Cloudy sky (?)
The world’s color is changing…

Page 9

私の世界
My world…

ーまもなく橋元です
We’ll be (arriving) at Hashimoto (station) soon

Page 10

かわいいワンピースがセールで手に入るなんて

How did I get such a cute dress on sale (?)

Note: One piece is a loan word from English, meaning dress in Japanese and Korean

Page 10 cont'd

あ リんちゃん インスタアップしてる ahh! Rin-chan posted on instagram!

かわいいものと, 友達, 大学, SNSいいね -
Cute things, friends, university and social media like♡

Will finish the rest of the pages in the coming days.
Please correct any mistakes I have made, Thanks

[darkR4bbit]

Hello everyone! Two grammar points I found worth sharing from these pages:

page 9

えつ場所聞かれてる？
is he asking me for directions? - or more literally, eh, am I being asked for places?
Was done to ~ by ~, Done without consent, Done to one’s dismay

• 聞く = to ask / to hear
• 聞かれる = to be asked / to be heard
  With the progressive form, 聞かれている = is being asked

page 11

よかった話せる人来てくれた
Thank goodness, someone who can talk came (for me).

来る to come
～てくれるTo do something for someone (usually you)

[Samraku]

minor spoilers for pg. 12-14

Does anyone know what 手話 signs the characters are using here?

More generally, is the author using greyed out text to indicate the character is signing, or to indicate the FMC’s shaky lip reading (or at least, she says it’s shaky as I understood it, but maybe she’s just being modest)?

Is “I have finished this part” for once we’ve read it if we’re reading along, or is it only for people who have already read the book before the club started?

[TheNerdyNova]

Pages 12-14

I think she was signing ありがとう(ございます)

I don’t think she signed anything else? But I’m not quite sure

Yes, I’m pretty sure in all cases the grey text is her lip reading. Later in the story, they do translate the sign language. I took screenshots of some examples, see below. (I blurred them because they’re weeks ahead in reading, but they are only pictures of Yuki and she is just signing generic non-spoilery things)

@Samraku

Is “I have finished this part” for once we’ve read it if we’re reading along

Someone else please feel free to correct me, but I believe if you’re reading the weeks passage within the week time frame that’s “I’m reading along.” When you finish the weeks reading you don’t have to go back and change your poll answer. But if you really liked the story and read ahead a week or something, I think that’s when you can use “I have finished this part.” But I also don’t think it matters thaat much

[Samraku]

pg. 14

@TheNerdyNova

I think she was signing ありがとう(ございます)

Nice find! That does look right

@TheNerdyNova

I don’t think she signed anything else? But I’m not quite sure

Ah, so the hand gestures in panels 3, 4, and 5 of page 14 are just gestures, not actual JSL?

[meme456]

Page 11

なんとか今は…
what…now(??)

外国人？
A foreigner?

えっ場所間かれてる！？
Ehh!! He is asking for directions(??)

Could someone help me with this?? I’m assuming she is talking about directions of some sort since the guy is pointing to something like a map

Page 12

There he is, our handsome male lead!!

Page 13

…よかった話せる人来てくれた
…luckily a person who can communicate/talk came

銀髪
Silver hair…

この人どこかで見たことが
Where did I see this person before?

そうだリんちゃんと同じサークルの人…

Right! (He’s) in the same club as Rin-chan

すごい 盛り上がってる
Amazing, they’re getting really into it(??)

場所わかった…
I know the place …(?? Maybe… it’s I want to know the place???)

助けてもらっちやったな
You’ve helped/saved me

Page 16

あ[す][み][ま][せ]
Ah! E.X.C.U.S.E M.E (??)

手話じゃなくて
Right!?! (He) doesn’t know sign language

口の動きよめる?
Can you read lips?

読めない？
Can’t read?

近いつ
Too close(??)

そういうことか…
Ohh I see!! A little

さっきの人 日本語 ペラペラ
That guy just now, his Japanese was fluent

そうだったんだ
Is that so..

めずらしい生き物みたいに見てくる
He’s looking at me like a rare animal

Finished week’s one reading!!
I’m not one to like romance mangas/novels but so far I’m enjoying it and the language is okay, there is a few words/grammar points that I’m not sure about but I got the gist of most of it or I think so…we will see

Ps. please do correct me. I hope I’m not too off the mark

[ChristopherFritz]

@meme456

Page 10

かわいいワンピースがセールで手に入るなんて

How did I get such a cute dress on sale (?)

Grammar Breakdown

The verb in this sentence is 手に入る (to obtain).

The particle で can convey by what means the verb is done. In this case, it is セールで, meaning that it can be gotten on sale.

One thing to watch for when translating is the tense. “How did I get” suggests past tense.

Japanese doesn’t have tense the same way English does (past, present, future), but instead has completion. Is the action completed (“past tense”) or not completed (“present” or “future tense”). Here, 手に入る is not a completed action, so it is not something that happened (not past tense).

Bringing these parts togehter, it’s saying that (the subject) can be obtained on sale.

At an absolute beginner level, it’s safe to think that が always marks the subject. This is the thing that is doing an action (in a verb-ending sentence), or being described (in an adjective-ending sentence), or being categorized/defined (in a noun-ending sentence). In this case, the subject is a かわいいワンピース.

Now we have, “A cute dress is on sale.”

Finally, なんて at the end of the sentence adds a bit of emotion to it. Rather than simply “A cute dress can be gotten on sale” it’s more like, “Wow, a cute dress can be gotten on sale” or “Such a cute dress can be gotten on sale.”

@meme456

Page 10 cont’d

For the 「いいね 」 specifically, this is how Facebook, and I presume Instagram, translates the “Like” feature.

@Samraku

Is “I have finished this part” for once we’ve read it if we’re reading along, or is it only for people who have already read the book before the club started?

It’s pretty much as TheNerdyNova wrote, but I’ll include one additional bit: later in the club, this will help to get a feel for the pace. As such, I recommend only selecting “finished this part” if you have already read the section before the club starts it.

@meme456

Page 11

Could someone help me with this?? I’m assuming she is talking about directions of some sort since the guy is pointing to something like a map

You have it right.

聞かれてる is a colloquial contraction of 聞かれている, which means “being asked”.

Borrowing from a prior post...

@darkR4bbit

えつ場所聞かれてる？
is he asking me for directions? - or more literally, eh, am I being asked for places?
Was done to ~ by ~, Done without consent, Done to one’s dismay

• 聞く = to ask / to hear
• 聞かれる = to be asked / to be heard
  With the progressive form, 聞かれている = is being asked

@meme456

Page 13

場所わかった…
I know the place …(?? Maybe… it’s I want to know the place???)

For this one...

…take note that わかった is a completed action (like “past tense” in English), and there is a question mark at the end. She’s wondering if the foreigner got the location (that he was presumably asking about).

@meme456

Page 16

あ[す][み][ま][せ]
Ah! E.X.C.U.S.E M.E (??)

手話じゃなくて
Right!?! (He) doesn’t know sign language

I'd change the order as...

「あ」 Oh

「手話じゃなくて」 Rather than sign language…

「す」「み」「ま」「せ」“P” “a” “r” “d” “o” “n” " " “m”

@meme456

Page 16

近い
Too close(??)

Rather than...

…“too close”, this is simple “close” referring to him being close to her.

“Too close” would be 近いすぎる.

For example (using the competed or “past tense” form):

Another one:

@meme456

I’m not one to like romance mangas/novels but so far I’m enjoying it

Be careful. That’s where I was in the beginning. A few years later, I’m several high school and college romcoms in (+1 with this book club).

[josephsl]

minor spoilers for pg. 12-14

@Samraku

More generally, is the author using greyed out text to indicate the character is signing, or to indicate the FMC’s shaky lip reading (or at least, she says it’s shaky as I understood it, but maybe she’s just being modest)?

The lighter text is the FMC’s interpretation of what was said through her lip reading. She’s pretty good at this but later on (very minor spoilers) we’ll see this isn’t always 100% accurate. When she stumbles it’s usually clear in context that she misread but we can point it out in the vocab guide too. The sign language itself is never directly annotated but explained when needed through accompanying thoughts, lip reading, texting, context, etc.

[meme456]

Ohh thank you!! This was very helpful, there is still alot I need to work on, I hope I get better as I read through this manga,

[hrudey]

Just ‘read’ through the section, albeit without looking anything up so there’s a lot of guessing from context. I’ll go through it again today taking time to look things up after I’ve made my guess about what the context is indicating, and after that second read-through I’ll start reading the spoilers to see just how abysmally I have understood it. (Non-story spoiler: if I don’t understand it on my own, that’s fine, the goal is progress and I understood more than I would have before already so yay!)

[soggyboy]

@meme456

I’m not one to like romance mangas/novels but so far I’m enjoying it

I’m not a romance reader either, but I watched the anime for this already and really enjoyed it. It’s a nice story with an adult cast, and the disability/language learning aspect is really interesting and (imo) done well.

[meme456]

@ChristopherFritz

Be careful. That’s where I was in the beginning. A few years later, I’m several high school and college romcoms in (+1 with this book club).

Ohh I don’t know if that would happen for me, I have been trying for years and romance just doesn’t catch my attention much I guess… If it does so be it but not going to count on it

[meme456]

Ohh there is an anime for this manga!?! I don’t actively seek romance anything

maybe I’m just an anti-romantic🤷‍♀️

Glad you enjoyed it, maybe I will too, hopefully I will stick with this book club

[TheNerdyNova]

Yeah, I don’t think anything on page 14 are signs, just gestures like you said. Itsomi doesn’t know any sign language

Now that I look at it again though, page 12 the flat hand in front of her chin, and page 13, her shaking her head before signing “thank you”, I wonder if those are signs? Man guys, now we have to learn JSL too!!

[EpicPuppy613]

Hi everyone! This is my first time participating in an active book club so please bear with me here

Anyway, here are my translations:

p.3

恋はこの雪みたいにおともなくふってくるのかな
Love is like snowfall, It falls soundlessly.

This was was a bit iffy for me, I have no clue what the のかな means.
(On second thought and a quick google, it seems to mean something like “I wonder” so it probably turns the entire sentence into a “what if” kind of thing?)

どんてんのそらからせかいのいろをかえながら
During cloudy skies, the world’s color changes.

p.7

私の世界
My world

まもなくはしもとです
(lit) Soon is Hashimoto.

Based on the train context and the english translation right below it, it’s probably something more like “Arriving at Hashimoto soon.”

p.8

かわいいワンピースがセールでてにはいるなんて
“I want to get that cute dress that’s on sale.”
was my initial translation before looking up なんて, which makes it seems more like a
“I could never imagine getting that cute dress on sale.”

かわいいものと
Cute things

No clue where this fits in the flow of things, seems like she’s just thinking about cute things in general?

あ
りんちゃんインスタアップしてる
Ah, Rin-chan posted

友達
大学
エスエヌエス
These seem like disjointed descriptions of Rin-chan and how she’s a friend in college on this social networking app.

いいね
As discussed earlier, probably some sort of like on social media.

p.9

なんとか今は
What is this

外国人？
A foreigner?

えつ場所聞かれてる
Something about trying to hear about a place? It’s a potential form which I’m not too familiar with and てる, which seems like its a conjunction of 〜ている. (Currently doing)

p.11

よっかた
はなせるひときてくれた
I’m glad, someone who can talk came

銀髪
Silver hair

この人
This person

どこかで見たことが
Where did I see this person before
(Unsure, this was the best I could piece together)

そうだ凛ちゃんと同じサークルの人
That’s right, he’s in the same friend group/circle as Rin-chan

すごい盛り上がってる
Amazing how he rose up [to help me?] like that

場所わかった
From where?

Based on the context below, it could be something like “I didn’t know where [the foreigner wanted to go]?”

助けてもらっちゃったな
From some googling, seems like ちゃった is a short form of てしまいました and the な makes it to be something like “I can’t have any regrets being helped”

p.14

あ手話じゃなくて
(Thought) Ah, he doesn’t know sign language

口の動き読める
Read my mouth move.

(Probably something like “read my lips”)

読めない
You can’t read [them]?

ちかいっ
(Thought) He’s close

そういうことか
Seems like an expression, “I see now”

さっきの人
The person just now

日本語 パラパラ
Spoke japanese fluently

そうだったんだ
(Thought) Was that so?

めずらしい
生き物みたいに見てくる
This is rare,
I see something like a living thing.

(Probably something about how he’s trying to sign to her?)
Living thing in this case probably refers to sign language/gestures?

I definitely struggled with a few of the sentences, but overall not that much harder than the L15 I was reading previously.

[eojen]

pg 3

Just saw your edit but I did some digging too. Seems like you’re right about the “I wonder”, agreed about it adding a “what if?” to the whole sentence. So she’s not making a statement about love from her own experiencing, but speculating on what it maybe it feels like. Or kind of assuming that is what it’s supposed to feel like

pg 8

The dress sentence definitely had me scratching my head! I like your reading of it.

かわいいものと
I think this her thinking about cute (かわいい) thing/s (もの) and…(と) and then gets distracted by Instagram. Maybe I’m wrong but my reading is “Cute thing (cute thing - thing being the dress).. ah! Rin-chan posted”

[eojen]

I hope this doesn’t sound rude, but we were supposed to read through page 14 this week I thought? This is my first book club here, so I’m just wondering what the full posting etiquette is, cause I’d love to discuss those other pages but I also don’t want to be taking up too much space in the first week thread with stuff about future readings.

[meme456]

This is my first book club too, so you might have to ask others but from my understanding, you should be reading 14 pages throughout this week, in a pace that you’re comfortable with. Since I had time I finished reading all of it already, if you need to discuss future pages you should make the post a spoiler

[eojen]

That makes sense! I did just realize the entire book discussion will be on this one page, so it will be full of spoilers throughout our time reading the entire thing.