The Mouse Bride

2 Nezumi no Yomeiri with Running Gloss

6 Grammar Endnotes
9 Nezumi no Yomeiri in Japanese Only

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The Mouse Bride

For the numbers to the left, see Grammar Notes for explanation

1,2

3,4,5

7
8

10
11,12

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mukashi mukashi A long time ago

aru tokoro ni Some place
nezumi Mouse
o tousan Father
nezumi no otousan The father mouse
okaasan Mother
sunde imashita There lived...
futari The two (Mice)
hitori One person
musume Daughter
hitori musume One and only daughter
musume no chu-ko A daughter named
Chu-ko
taihen Very
kawaigatteimashita Loved; was
given tender loving care [ kawaigaru]
kono This
totemo Very
bijin Beautiful woman
to And
itsumo Always
jiman Pride; boast(ing)
itsumo jiman bakari Always bragging
(about daughter)

toshigoro Of (marriageable) age

ni natta Became [ ~ni naru]

node Therefore
dokoka Somewhere
oyome Bride
oyome ni yaru Give ones daughter in marriage
koto Situation; matter
aru hi One day
soudan Consult; talk it over

totemo bijin A very beautiful woman

kidate no ii Good natured; kindhearted
ko child
sekai de In the world
ichiban #1; the best; -est
erai Great; famous
ichiban erai hito Greatest person (in the
world)
to With
kekkon Marriage
saseyou Lets marry her off

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13
14

15

16

17

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san sei Agreement; approval

sansei shite iimashita Agreeing,
she said...
mochiron Of course
~tomo Certainly; of course
mochiron desu tomo Of course! To
be sure!
sekai de ichiban erai hito The
worlds greatest man
hoshii Want; desire
to kekkon shite hoshii Want
(daughter) to get married to (greatest man)
wa [feminine ending]
demo But
tte Marks quotations
dare Who
dare deshou Who could it be?

sukoshi A little
kangaete Thinking [ kangaeru]
sukoshi kangaete kara After thinking a
little
iimashita Said

sore wa As for that

yahari Not surprisingly; as expected
taiyou san The sun [Mr. Sun]
darou I suppose

futari The couple

taiyou no tokoro The suns place; Where
the sun is
e To; the direction of
dekakete ikimashita Left; went

taiyou ni au to Upon meeting the sun...

fuufu Husband and wife
iimashita Said

sekai de ichiban erai taiyou san Oh Sun, who is the greatest in the world...
douzo Please (take our daughter)
oyome Bride
oyome ni moratte kudasai
Please take (daughter) as a bride
bikkuri Surprised
watashi I
tte Marks quote

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19
20

21

tondemonai Absurd; preposterous

watashi wa As for me
kumo san Clouds [Mr. Cloud]
kanawanai Cannot match; be no match for
kumosan niwa kanawanai Im
no match for the clouds.
detekureba If comes out
sukkari completely
kakurete shimau Completely hidden
kara Because [after explanation]

soko de Then
fuufu Husband and wife
kumosan no tokoro The Clouds place;

Where the cloud is

e To
dekakete ikimashita Left; went
douzo Please

musume o oyome ni

moratte kudasai Please take (our) daughter as a bride

bikkuri Surprised

bikkuri shite iimashita Sur-

prised, he said

tte Marks quote

kaze Wind
kaze ni wa kanawanai No match for
the wind
fukeba If blows [ kaze ga fuku Wind blows]
fuki tobasarete shimau Blow
completely away

kara Because [after explanation]

kaze san Wind [Mr. Wind]

kaze san no tokoro The Winds place;
Where the wind is
dekakete ikimashita Left; went

douka Please [a little more pleading than ]

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The Mouse Bride

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watashi I
sekai de In the world
ichiban erai the greatest [=best]
tte Marks quotation

tondemonai Absurd; preposterous
kabe san Wall [Mr. Wall]

niwa kanawanai No match against
ikura fuitemo However much (I) blow

biku to moshinai Does not budge an

inch; unmoveable

sokode Then

fuufu Husband and wife

kabesan no tokoro Where the wall is
~e ikimashita Went to

sekai de ichiban erai kabe

san The worlds greatest, Wall
douka Please [a little more pleading than ]
musume o yome ni

moratte kudasai Please take (our) daughter as a bride

bikkuri Surprised

bikkuri shite iimashita Surprised, he said

watashi wa nezumi
san ni wa kanawanai Im no match for the Mouse
ana Hole
akeru To open
watashi ni ana o akete shimau
(Mouse) Opens holes in me.

kao Face

mi awasete Look at each other

kou like this

kou iimashita Said the following

23
24

na-n da What?!

no ka [finally realizing the truth]

soshite And then

nezumi chu-ko san The mouse
Chuko

tonari mura The next village

chu-kichi Chukichi
to kekkon suru Get married to

koto ni narimashita The matter

(marriage) happened
www.TheJapanShop.com The Mouse Bride oshimai The End

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The Mouse Bride

Grammatical Endnotes
1)

This is a very typical opening for Japanese fairy tales similar to Once upon a time...
[mukashilong time ago] the repetition makes this a very long time ago

[aru tokoro niin a certain place]

2)

Papa MouseA common construction for describing someone: The father who is a mouse
kuma no pu-san Winnie the Pooh;
tonari no yamada Our neighbors, the Ya-

madas; akage no an Anne of Green Gables

3)

Counter for people:

hitori One person, futari Two peoplethree people on uses nin: san nin,

yo nin (notice yo not yon)

hitori musumeOne (and Only) daughter
4)

5)

ko is a common ending in names for women

taihen usually means very as in this case. When used alone as in it means
trouble or Im doing something difficult

6)

~bakari only; nothing but

Together with , the reinforces the idea that the parents constantly are bragging about their
daughter

7)

8)

9)

toshigoro ni natta become of (marriageable) age

koto ni suru It was decided to do...

The

shows who the father consulted () with ()

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The Mouse Bride

Grammatical Endnotes
10)

11)

dashi Used when giving a list of reasons (shes beautiful and well-mannered)

ichiban which literally means #1 is often used as an adjective to mean the best or -est: The greatest
man

12)

13)

14)

= (make, have done, let...) + (Imperative): Lets cause her to get married.

tomo An ending stressing agreement

~shite hoshi Want to

2) wa A feminine ending

1)

15)

16)

17)

18)

19)

20)

tte Acts as a question marker. Who is The Greatest Man

yahari Must be; As expected [The father mouse thinks it is understood the Sun must be the
greatest, but uses darou to show he isnt 100% sure.]

tte As above, it acts as a question marker, but with a question mark, it shows disbelief by the speaker

kanawanai No match [The shows who (the Cloud) the speaker (the Sun) is no match for]

- > If comes out

(after the form) shows completion and sometimes regret.

kara Because
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21)

22)

23)

tobasareru To be caused to fly (away)

No matter how (much I blow)

Really

24)

The emphasizes their surprise

is an abbreviation of and is used to indicate an explanation or show emphasis

The makes the sentence into something of a rhetorical question

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