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.
Characters:
Japanese
English
photo
่ฑๅญใใ
Hanako-san
Discussion Guidelines
Spoiler Courtesy
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
Welcome to week 9! We wonโt be splitting up chapters anymore, so that may make following along a bit easier. This week weโre reading one 15-page chapter, so the reading assignment is also a bit shorter than last weekโs.
I feel a bit guilty for my silence for the past weeks, but I have simply been very busy. I enjoyed the last couple of stories a lot though, so I kind of read through them in one sitting, haha. Hopefully this one is just as enjoyable.
I think this was my favorite story so far! Or, at least, itโs the one I understood the best. I actually recognized more grammar points than vocabulary this time. I think Iโve finally adjusted to the spacing of the text so I can understand the sentence structure a little better. I still had to look up a ton of words, but there were some sections I didnโt need to at all. Because of that, this one was more enjoyable for me.
As always when they are HINTING at stuff midway through a story, I thoroughly doubt my Japanese ability Like I always seem to stumble when they foreshadow anything and am like โhuh, I think I donโt get this, dang, my Japanese sucksโ to then later realize that was when they started hinting at something making some stylistic choices that just went over my head at that time
Yes, a surprising problem with learning a new language is suddenly doubting yourself all the time. This can also be a problem with comedy, because comedy will often have unexpected things happening. The eternal โis that what it said, or can I just not speak Japanese and have no idea what Iโm doingโ struggleโฆ
ใฒใจใ person
ใใชใ from ใใ๏ผ
ใใใใช ใใใใ ใใใใงใ
To choose a quiet time and
ใใใซใใฃใฆ ?
ใใ ใใใplease
Iโm a little confused. One of the first phrases I learned in Japan was ใใใใ, along with ใใใใใใ. In that example, the attachment of ใใ doesnโt really change the root meaning โdeliciousโ. How is it that the attachment of ใใ to ใใใ turns a word meaning cute into a word meaning pathetic (ใใใ โ ใใใใใ).
This is an understandable point of confusion! I actually did the same thing the first few times I saw ใใใใใ, thinking it was a modification of ใใใใ, but itโs actually a completely different word. Hereโs the jisho entry. As you can see itโs a na-adjective ( ใใใใใใช ) and it also uses different kanji.
ใใใ is one of the โgiving/receiving verbsโ which are ใใใใใใใใand ใใใ
The difference has to do with the โdirectionโ of the giving/receiving. I wonโt go too into detail on this because itโs covered in a lot of grammar resources and would benefit from study outside the book club.
"ใใใ"ใ ใใใใฆ ใใใโฆโฆใ
In this case, it means that she, the speaker, will teach something to you, the listener.
The โreceiverโ of the sentence is implied, but would be marked with ใซ
Giver ใ Receiver ใซ something ใ ใใใใฆใใใ
If ใใใ is confusing at first, thatโs fine. Definitely study these verbs separately and it may take a while for their usage to โclick.โ
Page 89 Sentence 2
Youโre almost there.
This whole sentence is a noun phrase. You can tell because of the short form verb being next to a noun, ใใใถๅฅณใฎๅญ
[ ใใคใ ใใใ ในใซใผใใ ใฏใใฆ ใใฆใใใใใใใ ใใใ ใใฟใ ใใใใฆ ใใใถ ] ใใใชใฎใ ใงใใ
So the whole sentence is describing what kind of girl she is.
ใใใถ ใใใชใฎใ ใงใใ
The playing girl
Then, to connect it with the first half, Iโd say the ใใใใฆ ใใใถ part is using the ใฆ form to imply connection, like โwhen she goes to play, her hair is smooth and sheโs wearing a skirtโ
The girl whoโs always wearing a red skirt, with smooth swinging hair as sheโs playing.
Page 90 Sentence 2
Remember that the speaker is still the unnamed ใใใ
ใงใใใฉใใใใใใฏใชใใใ ใซ ใใใใใฏใ
But how can someone meet Hanako?
ใใใใ ใใจใใงใใพใใ
( I ) can teach (you).
Page 90 Sentence 3
Yep, ใใใ is literally like โform/figureโ but if youโre looking for the more natural translation, itโs like "Hanako doesnโt appear when the bathroom is crowdedโ
ใใใซใใฃใฆ
ใใฃใฆ is ่กใ here, and this form means โto go and xโ
[Masu verb stem] ใซ ่กใ
ไผใใซ่กใ
To go and meet
่ชญใฟใซ่กใ
To go and read
ๆญฉใใซ่กใ
To go and walk
ใใ ใใ
ใฆใใ ใใ is a way of giving a polite command. โPlease go and x.โ Sheโs giving us instructions on how to meet Hanako, hence the polite command.
The last part of this, ใฆใฏใใใพใใ is a grammar point thatโs usually taught as a set phrase.
I mentioned this type of grammar construction in a previous thread; where Japanese has a lot of constructions that are like โif you do such and such, thatโs no good.โ This is a variation of the same construction.
ใฏใชใใใใฎ ใใใพใพใ ใใใฆใฏ
Listening to Hanako-sanโs selfishness
ใใใพใใใ
is no good/wonโt do.
Becomes:
You shouldnโt listen to Hanako-sanโs selfishness.
Page 96 Sentence 2
Note that it ends with ใใ ใงใ, indicating a reason: because. In the previous sentence, we said you shouldnโt listen to Hanako when it gets dark out. Now weโre saying why you shouldnโt listen to Hanako.
ใใชใใ
You
ใใใกใซ ใใใใชใ ใชใฃใฆ ใใพใ
ใใใ - to return
ใใใใชใ - to not return
ใชใ to become
ใใพใ regretfully
It will regretfully become that you cannot return home.
Natural: You wonโt be able to go home. (Youโll be trapped by Hanako)
ใใใใใชใ is one structure meaning โmightโ
Welcome to Week 9 of 10ๅใงใใใใใใใฏใชใ ใป 10 minute Scary Stories 
Resources and vocabulary
Discussion Guidelines
Participation
Like I always seem to stumble when they foreshadow anything and am like โhuh, I think I donโt get this, dang, my Japanese sucksโ to then later realize that was when they started hinting at something making some stylistic choices that just went over my head at that time 