The ใจ connects the clauses and implies a strong causal connection (not sure how to express that any better). Uhh, I found this tofugu article that explains it better than I ever could: Japanese Verb ใจ Form
For the second part Iโm pretty sure they found the doll, not the dress. So that itโs ใชใใซใฏ [โฆ] ใซใใใใใ ใฏใใฃใฆ ใใ ใฎใงใ โ โInside was a dollโ. And ใชใใจ ใตใใณใ ใใใ ใใฌในใฎ is a description of the doll.
Overall my take would roughly be: โAs we fearfully opened (the box), inside was a somewhat old doll wearing a white dress.โ Or something like that (?)
I think something like:
ใใจใใ ใใใ ใฏใชใใงใฏใ-> โIn conversations (we/I) heard afterwardsโ / (or less literally:) โwe later on heard thatโฆโ
ใพใใซ โ previously / earlier ( as in โbefore we lived hereโ )
ใใชใ ใใคใจ ใใ ใชใฎ ใใใชใฎใ โ a girl with the same name Mai (I canโt 100 % break it down, but if I try Iโd go with: โใใใชใฎใโ โ girl ;; โใใชใ ใชใฎ ใใใชใฎใโ โ a girl with the same name ;;; ใใชใ ใใคใจ ใใ ใชใฎ ใใใชใฎใ โ a girl with the same name โMaiโ ;; the ใจ ใใ doesnโt fully translate to English but I believe thatโs roughly it )
ใใใซ ใใใง ใใ ใใใงใ โ apparently lived here (~ใใ is something like โI heard thatโ or โapparentlyโ)
So my suggestions is:
We later on heard that a girl with the same name โMaiโ had apparently lived here before.
(Is that proper English? Well something like that )
(literal) You all, what are you doing? Meal
(natural) What are you all doing? Itโs breakfast time.
Page 52 Sentence 4
ใใใซ ใใใ ใใใใฎใฏ
ใใใซ is modifying ใใใใใใ
โthe voice (over there) that was calling themโ
ใฎ is nominalizing ใใใใใใ so it can be made the subject of the sentence and marked with ใฏ
So literally itโs saying โThe voice calling them was their motherโ
Page 52 Sentence 5
This is another case of Japanese implying a lot without saying it.
ใใใ ใใฌใน ใฎ ใญโฆใ
The speaker trails off here but Iโd say that the full phrase is ใใใใใฌในใฎใซใใใใ, a doll wearing a white dress. So,
โMom! Last night, a doll ghost appeared. Wearing a white dressโฆโ
So, even though she only says โwhite dressโ I think the rest of the phrase is implied.
Page 53 Sentence 3
Japanese often uses ใใ verbs for expressions and senses. It doesnโt necessarily imply an active effort by the โdoerโ of the verb, and can be used for when things spontaneously occur.
ใฟใใใชใใใใใพใใ
ใใ can also be translated as โexpressionโ
โA strange expression was on her faceโ or, even more naturally in English, โA strange expression crossed her faceโ
Page 53 Sentence 5
Iโd say here ใฎ is being used kind of like ใใจ to refer to an incident/matter
ใใฎใ
Yesterday
ใใใชใฎ
That kind of thing
ใใฃใ
happened
ใใใใใฎใ ใใใชใฎ ใใฃใใใใโฆโฆ๏ผ
Oh, I wonder if the thing that happened yesterday (is connected to this doll)โฆ?
Naturally in English I think weโd just structure this differently, โEven my mother, who heard about yesterdayโs incident from me, finally believed meโ
Page 54 Sentence 3
Slight nuance correction: ใใจใซใชใ means โto be decidedโ
โIt was decided that the doll would receive a memorial service at the templeโ
In my opinion, the stage youโre currently at of encountering native material for the first time is the hardest stage of Japanese learning. When I started reading easy manga for the first time, it felt like it would never get easier, or if it did, it would be years and years before I was able to read anything harder. But I kept at it every day, and almost two years later, I can read adult level novels slowly, and childrenโs novels easily, with only 1-2 unknown words per page. I reached this level much faster than I thought I would!! And all I did in the meantime was continue to read every day and study grammar on the side.
Donโt forget that our brains are wired to learn languages. It may take a lot of conscious effort now, but as long as you keep it up, one day youโll find that things are much easier! You may notice that a sentence structure that gave you trouble before you can now comprehend at a glance, or you may read a string of kanji and it instantly makes sense. Thatโs because as long as youโre interacting with the language, your brain is doing all kinds of processing and learning subconsciously, in the background.
One thing I recommend is setting yourself benchmarks so you can look back on your progress. Maybe when you finish reading this book, go back to the very first story and try reading a page or two. You may find that itโs much easier to comprehend!
So all that is to say, I know itโs really tough now, but yes it absolutely can and will get easier!
I confirm that grammar gets a lot easier with time.
The basic patterns pop up ALL THE TIME, so you naturally get a lot of exposure if you keep at it.
I think at first grammar is harder to digest, but eventually youโll have the basics down. And I feel like the more advanced patterns are actually kind of easier to parse? Like itโs more like learning โoh I see, it is said like thatโฆโ eventually, but the structure isnโt that surprising anymore. The start is hard because everything seems jumbled and you struggle to identify whatโs what. But you are doing a great job!
An example of something I at first really had trouble wrapping my head around and that made the start really hard is the pattern @soggyboy explained for page 54 sentence 2, where you have some clause โshoved inโ that describes just one noun (or in this case person) more clearly. (Can be a long clause like here or can be much shorter - like sometimes itโs just one word before the noun) At first that just seemed like a mess (why is there a verb here? what does this object even relate to? how does this even all fit together anymore??) so this kinda messed with my head quite a bit. But that pattern is super common, and eventually it just started clicking and that made parsing sentences much easier.
)
