There are really a Lot of new Things to learn from this book. I decided to continue with my normal Grammar Study and to wait until I’ve finished Reading the book before I learn the Grammar and vocabulary of it.
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かんがえるのは赤いくつのことだけでぼくしさんのありがたいお話や、うつくしいさんびかもカレンのこころにはとどきませんでした
page 33 sentence 1
かんがえる: to think (about, of); to think over; to ponder; to contemplate; to reflect (on); to meditate (on)
のこと: about
だけで: Just by, Just with
ぼくし: pastor
ありがたい: grateful; thankful; welcome
はなし: talk, speech
うつくしい: lovely; pretty
さんびか: psalm
とどく: reach
The one thing she could think about were the red shoes, the pastor’s welcoming speech and the lovely psalm could not reach Karen’s heart.
Grammar points:
のは・のがVerb nominalizer, The one who…, That which…
きょうかいにいくときは、くろいくつをはくものですよ
page 33 sentence 2
きょうかい: church
とき: time
くろい: black
はく: to wear
ものですよ: supposed to
When it’s time to go to church, one is supposed to wear black shoes
Grammar points:
My best guess is that ものですよ comes from combining these three
ものだSupposed to, Should, That’s the way it is
Da (だ) vs Desu (です)—How People Use them in Real Life
よEmphasis (Sentence ending particle)
おくさまにそうちゅういされました
page 33 sentence 3
おくさま: wife
ちゅうい: warning; telling-off
される: to be done (to someone or something) (Past)
I was warned about it/told off by the wife (shoemaker’s wife?)
Grammar points:
The Agent Marker に
I have not been able to figure out the usage and meaning of そう in this sentence. Could I get some help with this one please @soggyboy?
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けれども、それからもやはりカレンは、赤いくつをはいていくのをやめませんでした
page 34 sentence 1
けれども: however
それから: after that
も: even
やはり: in the end; still
やめる: to stop
However, even after that Karen still did not stop wearing the red shoes.
Grammar points:
もAlso, Too, As well, Even, Either, Neither
おくさまはたいへん年をとっていたので、やがておもい病気になりました
page 34 sentence 2
おくさま: the lady
たいへん: very; terribly
年をとる: to grow old; to age
ので: because
やがて: before long; soon;
おもい: heavy; serious
病気: illness, sickness
なる: to become
Because the lady was very old, soon she became seriously ill.
Grammar points:
のでBecause, So, Since, The reason being
～ていたWas doing ~
かんびょうしていたカレンのもとに、ある日、ダンスパーティーのおしらせがとどきました
page 34 sentence 3
かんびょう: nursing a patient
もと: one’s side
ある日: one day
ダンスパーティ: dance party
おしらせ: inviation
とどく: to reach; to be delivered
One day, while nursing, an invitation to a dance party in the name of Karen was delivered.
Grammar points:
Mimi Kara N2 Grammar: のもとで／に (no moto de / ni)
の下もとでUnder, Under the supervision of, On the basis of
I’m not entirely convinced of the のもとに portion. Opinions and insights are welcomed.
ふと、カレンはおもいました
page 34 sentence 4
ふと: suddenly
Suddenly Karen thought.
あの赤いくつでおどったら、どんなにすばらしいかしら
page 34 sentence 5
あの: those
おどる: to dance
どんなに: how; how much
すばらしい: wonderful; splendid;
かしら: I wonder
I wonder how wonderful it would be, If I would dance with those red shoes.
Grammar points:
それからいそいでおもいなおし、小さなためいきをつきました。
page 34 sentence 6
それから: after that
いそいで: quickly
おもいなおす: to re-think; to think back upon; to change one’s mind
小さな: small, tiny
ためいきをつく: to sigh;
After that she quickly changed her mind, and briefly sighed.
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page 33 sentence 2
Yes, literally here it says ‘When it’s time to go to church, black shoes are the thing!’ but it has an emphatic meaning which is why bunpro is translating it as ‘should.’
page 33 sentence 3
I think it’s this:
‘She was warned thusly/in this way by the wife’
The rich man’s wife who took her in, I think.
page 34 sentence 3
I think もと here means more like location. Note that the grammar point you linked only applies to もと written as 下 but we don’t know if the writer here intended 下 or 元。
カレンのもとに […] とどきました
To Karen’s location was delivered
[ かんびょうしていた ] カレン
The Karen who was nursing (the sick wife)
かんびょうしていたカレンのもとに、ある日、ダンスパーティーのおしらせがとどきました
One day, an invitation to a dance party was delivered to Karen, who was nursing the sick wife.
Since ‘a letter was delivered to under the supervision of Karen’ doesn’t make sense, I think we can assume it’s not that meaning.
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Unplanned break day today for me (although I did grammar and my kanjis ofc), but I definitely will be able to hit 2 pages tomorrow 
(as 31 page was half done to finish the sentence of p.30)
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だめ、おくさまのかんびょうがあるから、いてないわ。
page 35 sentence 1
だめ: no good, cannot; not allowed
ががあ: there is
から: because
いけない: cannot; must not
I can’t. I must not because there’s the nursing lady.
Grammar points:
https://bunpro.jp/grammar_points/がある
https://bunpro.jp/grammar_points/てはいけない
カレンは 赤いくつを、じっとながめました
page 35 sentence 2
じっと: fixedly
ながめる: look at; star at
Karen stared at the red shoes fixedly.
みているうちにこころがむずむずしてきて、おもわずくつを手にとりました
page 35 sentence 3
みる: to see; to look;
うちに: while, during
にこころ: heart
むずむず: to itch; to feel itchy; to feel creepy (Onomatopoeic)
して: [makes a verb from a noun]
おもわず: unconsciously; involuntarily; instinctively; reflexively;
てにとる: to take in one’s hand; to pick up; to obtain
While looking (at them), her heart started to feel itchy and she unconsciously took the red shoes in her hand.
Grammar points:
https://bunpro.jp/grammar_points/うちに
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皆さん こんにちは！
Here is my reading of page 30. It was quicker (an hour) since a sentence was already translated from last page.
1st sentence
”ああ, なんて すてきな くつなんでしょう。 » カレンは 王女さまの 赤い くつに すっかり/ 心を うばわれ, それからは いつも その こと ばかりを かんがえて いました
« Ah, things like these shoes are pretty isn’t it ? » Karen’s heart was completely stolen by the princess’s red shoes, and now could only think of that.
2nd sentence
ある 日, あたらしい くつを かって もらえる ことに なりました
One day, it had been decided that she would be able to purchase a pair of new shoes.
My issue are there, on how to choose the appropriate meaning of words :
かって(買う) : to buy - te form (if kanjis). Or « Once ». Hard to know ? Or « selfishness » could makes sense too
**もらえる (**貰える) : 1. To be able to receive / 2. could you buy me/ give me if written in kana alone (used after -て forme of verb)
I chose “once” and “was able to receive”, but logically, why this form and not others ? Is it all about deducing ? I think this vocab could have went into the table linked.
3rd sentence
くつやに いくと 王女さまのくつと そっくりな , きれいな 赤い くつが あります
Going to the shoe store, (they found) pretty red shoes who are exactly like the princess’s shoes
Grammar issue :
いくと puts some difficulty. I think I got the meaning right, but not sure perfectly what it means.
Funny (or worrying:
For some reason in my reading I did not get the full understanding that karen was not the princess until now understanding it completely with this sentence. I think the subjects can be hard to distinguish sometimes. Or maybe I am just learning a totally new language so it’s normal, who knows.
At least I caught my mistake! Everything was otherwise easy to read except for a small vocabulary uncertainty. いく is to go, but why the と
4th sentence
カレンは まよわず、その くつを えらびました。
Karen chose these shoes without hesitation.
Very proud of myself for catching and understanding the “Verb+ ず(に)” form here without having to bother people.
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p30 3rd sentence
The と links the two sentences and shows a connection showing one thing happened, and then the next thing inevitabily happened, sometimes implying a sense of immediacy.
I think you could perhaps translate this as "Karen went to the shoe shop, and (immediately, inevitabily) there were beautiful, red shoes, exactly the same as the princess’s.
Granted my understanding of this is still rough so someone please correct me if I’m mistaken!
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page 31 sentence 2
勝手 (かって) doesn’t make sense here; when used as an adverb it would be written with に, かってに
So 勝手もらえる is ungrammatical. Even if it was written as 勝手にもらえる it wouldn’t make much sense; もらう is all about receiving something from someone else, as a favor. You can’t selfishly/as one pleases receive something as a favor.
てもらう is also a common construction, with もらう being used as an auxiliary verb. If it’s being used as an auxiliary verb, that means it attaches to another verb. Both 勝手に and 嘗て are adverbs, not verbs, and would be ungrammatical here.
Therefore, the only logical choice is:
N を Verb + てもらえる
くつを買ってもらえる
かう and もらう are already listed in the vocab sheet for this week. もらえる is technically just the potential form (can receive) of もらう, so I didn’t list it twice.
I’ve also broken down this sentence in an earlier post here.
Yes, this is especially hard with Japanese. The subject or ‘topic’ will often be left out, which is not something we do in English. Consider the following sentences:
カレンは、くつやに行きましたか？
はい、行きました。
Natural English translation:
Did Karen go to the shoe store?
Yes, she did.
In the English version, the second sentence would include a pronoun (she), because it’s ungrammatical to not have a subject. In Japanese, there’s no need to include the subject, since it’s understood we’re still talking about Karen.
カレンは、くつやに行きましたか？
はい、行きました。
Literal English translation:
Did Karen go to the shoe shop?
Yes, went.
Now, if we were talking about two different people, the は particle might be used to introduce a new subject/topic.
カレンは、くつやに行きましたか？
いいえ、王女さまはくつやに行きました。
Did Karen go to the shoe shop?
No, the princess went to the shoe shop.
Awesome job! This is one of those ‘one and done’ grammar points; you learn it once, and you will easily understand it in context afterwards.
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To wrap up the week, I think I’ll move away from the sentence-by-sentence approach. It feels a bit too much, and I don’t want to take away from others’ opportunity to decipher things themselves. It’s been fun while it lasted! I’ll definitely keep coming back to continue learning and engaging with all the ongoing conversations.
ちょっとはいてみるだけなら、かまわないわよね。
page 36 sentence 1
ちょっと: just a minute; briefly
みる: to try …; to have a go at …; to give … a try
だけ: only
なら: Were it, If, If it’s the case, As for (Conditional)
かまう: to be an issue; (non-past negative)
It should not be an issue If only I try wearing them only for just a minute no?
カレンは赤いくつに足を入れました。
page 36 sentence 2
いれる: to put in
Karen put her feet in the red shoes.
そのとたん、もうカレンのこころはべつのものになってしまいました。
page 36 sentence 3
もう: already
べつ: different
なる: to become
At that moment, Karen’s heart had already become something different.
びよう気のおくさまをおいて、ダンスパーティーに出かけてしまったのです。
page 36 sentence 4
おく: to leave behind
Leaving the nursing old lady behind, she went out to the dance party.
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You are going so fast! It’s impressive. Any tips, especially since you are not that far away level wise from me ? Reading tips
Thanks for such a good breakdown!
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Hi, I’m completely new here. How do I access the book? Also, should I be trying to read full sentences if I’m only level 3?
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I have a physical copy for this book. Didn’t think there’d be a book club for it
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Welcome! This book includes furigana and is beginner-friendly, so you can jump right in at any level. You’ll need to purchase a copy to read it
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There are still some Things that I don’t understand.
Page 35 Sentence 1
Is だめ the Same kind of word Like Ah!, Oh!
Page 35 Sentence 2
What is the difference between “stare/Look at” and adding “fixedly” to it? English is Not my native language.
Page 35 Sentence 3
I don’t understand how to put the words together. Is she looking into her heart? Is she eager or is her heart eager?
Page 36 Sentence 1
みるだけなら Is the dictionary Form みる to See?
わよね
Page 36 Sentence 3
なって しまいました
Page 36 Sentence 4
しまったのです
Welcome! The book club has a home post which has all the information about scheduling, and has links to the different versions of the book you can buy. Then we discuss the reading/ask questions in the weekly threads (you’re in the week 4 thread at the moment)
As for whether you should be trying to read, that depends on your grammar level, not your wanikani level. If you haven’t studied any grammar at all, you should learn some of the basics before trying to read.
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Honestly, I wouldn’t categorize it that way. You can infer the output (the translations), but not necessarily the input (the time and effort involved). This week, I’ve been able to consistently dedicate 30 minutes to an hour per day, and that’s about it. I also have a habit of reading in foreign languages for leisure. I’m not sure about your situation, but for me, it doesn’t feel like an insurmountable chore.
One method I use (though it’s sometimes hit or miss) is transcribing sentences directly from the book into Google Translate and using the read-aloud function. This has been helpful when sharing translations here and for parsing sentence structures. As a last resort, if I’m stuck, I turn to ChatGPT or similar tools. My guess is that the book club templates were created before these tools became widely available, which is why they’re not mentioned.
As @soggyboy pointed out elsewhere, I don’t think WaniKani levels are particularly relevant for this book. The presence of furigana and the specific kanji used make kanji knowledge less of a factor, whereas familiarity with grammar plays a much bigger role.
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I’d refer you to my sentence breakdown for those two pages in case it helps with the translations you’re finding challenging in this batch.
Besides that,
Page 35 Sentence 1
Is だめ the Same kind of word Like Ah!, Oh!
As a standalone expression, I think it would be more like “No!” or “Stop!”
Page 35 Sentence 3
I don’t understand how to put the words together. Is she looking into her heart? Is she eager or is her heart eager?
In こころがむずむずしてきて the が particle, indicades that “heart”/こころ is the subject in the expression.
I translated it as her heart started to feel itchy
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page 35
じっと is onomatopoeia for ‘to stare’
‘to stare fixedly’ just adds emphasis to the action of staring, like staring at someone with a lot of concentration, for a long time.
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