霧のむこうのふしぎな町 | Week 10 Discussion 🌬 🏘

Pages 111 - 124

Chapter 5: 魔法の手助け

Start Date: 22nd February
Last Week: Chapter 4.2
Next Week: Chapter 5.2

霧のむこうのふしぎな町 Home Thread

Last sentence of page 124 for eBook readers:
きょうじゅうにもとにもどさないと、一生つぼかさらでいなければならないのよ。」


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2 Likes

Hello everybody! After reading this sentences many times I still don’t get the meaning. Could anybody help me a bit? I can’t provide a page number, but it’s right after the picture of the four stoves

ぼくは、花は季節によって、順番をまもってさくからすきなんですよ。Does すき mean ‘like’ or some other meaning? This is what I sort of understand: As for me, the flowers, accordingly to the season, observing the sequential order, there is an interlude after blooming.

Edit: Actually I don’t understand very well the next sentences either.

ピコットばあさんときたら、居間のまどからはさるすべりが見え、自分の散歩する家の西がわにはつつじがさき、うら庭にはすいせんが黄色のじゅうたんみたいにさいていないと気がすまない。

My main problems with this sentence are:
Is 自分の散歩する modifying the 家の西がわ, or otherwise, how are they related?
What does さき mean here?

Does さいていない mean that they haven’t bloomed? How does that relate to the daffodil that build like a yellow carpet? Or maybe I am wrong with that?

I’m asking a lot. :sweat_smile:Thank you in advance for your help!

2 Likes

First sentence:

As for me, I like flowers because they bloom preserving a sequential order.

Second sentence:

  • yes, it modifies 家の西側
  • 咲き means bloom (in connective form)
  • Aないと(something negative) means “if it doesn’t A, then the negative thing”, which is used as way to say A is necessary. If (all the things before) and the daffodils do not bloom like a yellow carpet in the backyard, she isn’t satisfied.
7 Likes

Thank you very much! It makes so much sense now!

1 Like

I forgot the “according to the season” in my translation :sweat_smile:

2 Likes

I’ve been really enjoying reading this book. I finally feel like it’s getting slightly easier to read, or flowing better for me, although it’s annoying how looking up vocabulary so often takes me out of the fluidity of reading.

A few questions regarding my translations:

Translations

52%

ぼくは慣れてしまったせいか、そんなに感じないんですよ。

Due to being unfortunately used to it, I don’t really get this feeling.

54%

とだけ、小さいな声で言うとすうっとまた、となりのへやへはいってしまった。

Just, when he said it in a small voice, again straightly entered the next room.

*しりごみするなんて、いつものリナらしくもありません。

Doing something like recoiling, there isn’t always a Rina-like ??

3 Likes

I can help you with the last one for now:

Last Sentence

いつものリナ (the usual / everyday Rina) is what is modified by らしく. So with a bit of liberty, we get to: „Being so hesitant, that doesn’t look like your usual self.“

7 Likes
52% / p.111

ぼくは慣れてしまったせいか、そんなに感じないんですよ.
Maybe it’s because I have become completely accustomed to it, but I don’t really feel it that much.
(it = the heat).
I think the しまう in this sentence means completion rather than regret.

54% / p.116

とだけ、小さいな声で言うとすうっとまた、となりのへやへはいってしまった。
And after saying only that, in a quiet voice, he quickly disappeared again into the adjoining room.

9 Likes

I’m confused about the meaning of せいか. Is せい due to? What’s the か doing there?

せいで means “due to” with a negative connotation (as in “because of X, this negative thing happened/outcome occurred”).
せいか softens this strong negative connotation a bit (as in “I think it’s because of this, but I’m not sure”).

Edit: Finally I found a link with a passable explanation:

10 Likes

This is a bit of an odd comment, but I’ve noticed quite a number of times now where somebody has entered a (verbal) noun in the spreadsheet where the text has the っぱなし construction. I just wanted to point out (in case whoever it is sees) that that construction is actually formed using the verb stem :slightly_smiling_face: so what you’re seeing is actually a form of the verb, not a verbal noun version.

3 Likes

A few more questions today :bowing_man:


Page 111: リナは、いちばんすずしいまどのところへいくために、大きなびんや、本の山の障害物を乗りこえながらいった。

What on earth is 大きなびんや?

Edit: just realised it’s びん followed by や, i.e. “mountains of books and bottles and things”. Screw you, Japanese commas :stuck_out_tongue:


Page 112: ねえ、ストーブをたくのもしごとだって、いつかいってたけど、ほんとうなの。

A small thing, but I’m just wondering why the particle も is used after たくの here?


Page 113: さくそうと思えば、花をさかすことぐらいできます。

I’m… not sure what this sentence actually means (or what things like ぐらい are doing here), but also - what is さかす? “To make bloom”?


@Tonina already asked about this sentence on page 115, but I have a more specific query (which I think is super simple and dumb, but my brain is mush today):

ピコットばあさんときたら、居間のまどからはさるすべりが見え、。。。

What does きたら mean here? “When it comes to”?

I think this is 焚く - to fuel the stove. Then it’s nominalized with の („the fueling“), and then も is the particle of that noun.

Page 113: Yes, さかす means „to let bloom“, ぐらい describes an extent, here the extent of the ability, „can even do things such as making flowers bloom“.

I think so too, but maybe others have a better understanding?

5 Likes

Sorry, poorly phrased - I understand たくの, but I don’t understand why the particle も would be used with it here, rather than が (or は)?

Cool cool cool, thank you!

1 Like

To express „also“, I think. As in, „this is also my job“, which was not clear to me until then - might have been the case that he just likes a really warm room.

4 Likes

I think in this particular sentence Rina is asking Icchan if it’s true that running the stoves also classifies as work, as he had said at some point. She is clearly dubious about the merits of running four stoves in a small room in the middle of summer! Then he responds that it’s his way of paying to stay there and goes on to explain what the purpose is.

I know Nicole answered this in part, but just in case anyone is still unclear on the whole sentence, Icchan is offended that Rina doesn’t appear to believe what he just told her, and more or less says “I am an inventor, and a bloody good one at that. If I decide that I will make flowers bloom, I can at least do that.”

ときたら

6 Likes

A few more questions:

Translation questions

56%

*バカメに会ったときでさえ、はらをたてるほうがさきで、おうむが人間みたいに話せることにおどろくのは、にのつぎだったの。

58%

女の人は、なんとか順序だてて話そうとしたが、よほどこうふんしているらしかった。
The woman, x some method or another seemed like she was trying to talk, but it it seemed like there was a lot of agitations

今日中にもとに戻さないと、一生つぼかさらでいなければならないのよ。

Originally, when he did not return during the day

He had to throughout his life with a jar or plate??

56% / p.120
*バカメに会ったときでさえ、はらをたてるほうがさきで、おうむが人間みたいに話せることにおどろくのは、にのつぎだったの。
Rina is talking about how things no longer surprise her. Even when I met Bakame, losing my temper happened first, and being surprised that a parrot could talk like a human was secondary.

58% / p124
女の人は、なんとか順序だてて話そうとしたが、よほどこうふんしているらしかった。

The woman tried to speak in some sort of organised way, but she appeared to be very agitated.

今日中にもとに戻さないと、一生つぼかさらでいなければならないのよ。
The woman says that her son has been turned into a pot or plate, which appears to be in Shikka’s shop. If he is not returned to his original state today, he will have to be a pot or plate for the rest of his life.

10 Likes

Thank you so much! Definitely a vital piece of information I was about to miss.

3 Likes

Finally finished this week’s reading and rather pleased at how I inadvertently managed to leave it on a massive cliffhanger :grin:


A few questions from me to round off:

Page 118

「どうも、ピコットばあさんは、小言をいってはよろこんでいるようなふしがある。」

What does ふしがある mean? Is ふし meaning “characteristic” here - as in he’s saying he has that characteristic (of being delighted when she scolds (in spite of himself))?


Page 119

「そのたのしみをとりあげてしまいましょう、リナ。」

I’m a bit confused by the しまいましょう - there are different possible meanings of とりあげる and しまう, so I’m getting lost working out what イっちゃん is actually saying here.

こんな会話ののちに、あせだくになってつかれはてた二人と、まっかな四つのストーブがのこった。けっきょくは、二人とも、ピコットばあさんをきらってるってことだった。

Is the first sentence just “after this conversation, the sweat-soaked and tired two of them, along with the four bright red stoves, remained”? I don’t know why it would say that, but hey… I think I don’t get the whole conclusion of this bit because I don’t understanding what イッちゃん suggests they do above.

So then… “in the end, both of them… it was that they hated ピコットばあさん”???


And finally page 120:

リナは、緑茶がすきだし、せとものを売っている店らしく、きゅうすも湯のみ茶わんも、清水焼とか志野焼とかいろいろあってお茶の時間をたのしみにしていた。

Okay. “Rina likes green tea and, appropriately for a shop that sells ceramics, there are a variety of both teapots and teacups of [different pottery styles], so she looks forward to tea time.” ?

小鬼を見たときは、しばらく口もきけないほどだったけど

I assume this is something like “when I saw the little oni I couldn’t even speak for a moment”, but I don’t understand what 口もきけない means / what verb is going on there.