Jisho is a popular online Japanese-English dictionary.
ichi.moe is a tool for parsing out sentences. You can type/paste in a whole sentence and it will try and break the sentence down into its individual parts.
Deepl will translate a sentence from Japanese to English. Itโs obviously not going to be right all the time, so if you want to check your translation itโs normally better to ask in the thread.
Please follow these rules to avoid inadvertent ใใฟใใฌ. If youโre unsure whether something should have a spoiler tag, err on the side of using one.
Any potential spoiler for the current weekโs 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.
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 donโt intend to read soon).
Any information from later in the book than the current weekโs reading (including trigger warnings that havenโt 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 โHide Detailsโ or โBlur Spoilerโ options. The text which says โThis text will be hiddenโ should be replaced with what you are wishing to write. In the case of โHide Detailsโ, the section in the brackets that is labelled โSummaryโ can be replaced with whatever you like also (i.e, [details=โChapter 1, Pg. 1โ]).
Hide Details results in the dropdown box like below:
Example
This is an example of the โHide Detailsโ option.
The โBlur Spoilerโ option will simply blur the text it surrounds.
This is an example of the โBlur Spoilerโ option.
When asking for help, please mention the page number, and check before posting that your question hasnโt 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 โin this topicโ. This will show you all posts within the current thread which has that string of text.
Be sure to join the conversation! Itโs fun, and itโs what keeps these book clubs lively! Thereโs no such thing as a stupid question! We are all learning here, and if the question has crossed your mind, thereโs a very good chance it has crossed somebody elseโs also! Asking and answering questions is a great learning opportunity for everyone involved, so never hesitate to do so!
Participation
Will you be reading along with us this week?
Iโm reading along
Iโm still reading but I havenโt reached this part yet
Iโve already read this part but Iโm here for the discussion
Iโm haunting this book club after itโs finished
ใใฐใใ for a while
ใใใจใHaving done
ๆจใฎใใ ใใtree branch
ใใใใใจ fidgety (onomatopoeia)
ใใใใใฃใฆ to hang
ไธ below
ใฏใใใฌใ to run past
ใใใจใใพใใ tried to
After a while, the hag tried to run under the trees branches that were hanging down thickly.
i got a bit bored this week with the story, so i decided to take the approach of reading through and just getting the feel of it. i didnโt always understand the onomatopoeias but i wrote down a few words iโd like to retain likeโฆ โroofโ
Question: is there any difference between ใใใใใใ and ใใใใจใใ ?
ใใใช such; that sort of; that kind of; like that
ใใจ thing
ใใ o know; to be aware (of);
ใชใ still; yet
ใใใใ bang; clang (onomatopeia)
Unaware of it (such thing), the witch continued running (still ran).
ใใใฆ Finally
ใใพใใ deep in the mountains
ใตใใ deep; dense
ใใซ valley
่ฆไธใใ to overlook; to command a view of; to look down on
ใใ cliff
ใตใ rim; brim; edge; brink
ใใ to come
Finally, she arrived at the edge of a cliff overlooking a deep valley, deep in the mountains.
ใชใใ to throw
ใกใใใฉ exactly, just
ใใซใใ bottom of the valley
ใจใฉใ to reach
ใใใ to think; to expect
ใใ around, (approximate) time
Right as she thought the bucket (thrown by the witch) reached the very bottom of the valley โฆ
Ok, I checked some monolingual sources for you. It seems like ๆฏใๆฎบใ is more like โto hold oneโs breathโ so that youโre silent. Whereas ๆฏใๆญขใใ is more like, your breath has stopped because you have been surprised.
ใใใใใใ (ๆฏใๆฎบใ) seems to have the sense of holding still to the point of stopping even your breath, such as when you are focused on something or in suspense.
ไธใใ to lower
ใใใใ (not) properly (with a negative verb)
ใใใใใ to examine, to inspect
ใณใ ใผใ whoosh
ใชใใ to throw
Without lowering the bucket or properly inspecting inside, she hurled it (with a whoosh).
Iโd welcome clarification regarding the use of ใจ in ไธใใใจ.
The sentence started in the previous page so I think that contributed to missing a piece that helps construct the sentence better.
ใใใฆ and then
ใใชใ back
ใใ bucket
And then, lowering the bucket from (her) back. And, without properly inspecting the inside, she threw/hurled it (with a whoosh).
I think in this case, acts as a conjunction and means โandโ.
Thanks for that input! Iโm embarrassed to have left off ใใใฆใใใชใใฎ from my translation.
Further discussion of ใจ
Iโm not sure about this. My understanding is that ใจ only works as the conjunction โandโ with nouns (and probably noun phrases), not verbs or clauses. To say โ[verb] and [verb]โ, we would use the verbโs ใฆ form.
I could be wrong, though; do you have any reference that teaches using ใจ in this way?
After researching more, I think the ใจ at issue in this sentence indicates โas soon asโ.
From Tofugu:
Similarly, ใจ can be used for successive actions where one activity immediately follows another, like โAs soon as X happens, Y happens.โ For example:
In this case, what ใจ does remains the same ใผ it shows that each activity happened in such quick succession that they occured together. It suggests those actions are tightly packed, with one happening immediately after the other.
That would seem to make sense in this context:
And then, immediately upon lowering the bucket from (her) back, without properly inspecting the inside, she threw/hurled it (with a whoosh).
This translation would be loose and misleading, though, because it should be the โnot inspectingโ and the โloweringโ that are done together, while the throwing is separate. So maybe โandโ is still the best translation after all, just with a specific sense to it, rather than a simple conjunction:
And then, upon lowering the bucket from (her) back and not properly inspecting the inside (with a sense of those things being done in quick succession), she hurled it (with a whoosh).
I finished the story! I donโt have much time this week sadly to share any translations, but I appreciate everyone sharing their own! Itโs really helping to solidify my own learning.
I just wanted to discuss the ending a bit -Itโs a really good way to learn about Japan! I initially was disapointed to read she gave up searching and then there was no final confrontation, but then through this story I learnt that irises and mugwroot helped ward off evil! Iโm glad Gosaku got out okay!
Also, I am unsure if anyone has skimmed towards the end of the book, but on pages 200-201 (On my bookwalker edition at least) it gives advice on how to write a book report! I may try and do this a bit later to get some writing practise in.
ใใพใ cleverly; successfully
ใซใใ to run away
ใใพใฃใ [indicates completion (to finish โฆ)]
ใใใ to understand
ใจ when
ใพใฃใ flushed (of face)
ใชใ to turn out
ใใใto get angry
ใใจ after
ใใ to chase
ใใ to come
When the witch understood that Gosaku had successfully escaped, she got angry, her face turned red and came chasing after him (Gosaku).
I gotta thank the vocabulary sheet. I had a hard time figuring out ใใ on my own.
As Gosaku ran away at full speed, he came upon a grassy field overgrown with irises and mugworts.
I have a question about the meaning of ใใกใใใใ. I struggled to find its definition when looking up the bookโs version, ใใก็ฎใใ, in both ichi.moe and Jisho. Should I generally stick to using the hiragana form when reading this book?
On a broader note, for those with more experience: I want to use this first book as a way to encounter grammar points naturally in context. For my second reading experience, Iโd like something that complements my WaniKani kanji learning. Which book club would you recommend for thatโspecifically one that focuses on texts where words are written with their standard kanji forms?
Welcome to Week 3 of 10ๅใงใใใใใใใฏใชใ ใป 10 minute Scary Stories 
Resources and vocabulary
Discussion Guidelines
Participation