📖 Study Guide
Learn Japanese through stories.
These stories include Japanese culture,
daily life, travel experiences,
and conversations between people.
1. Read the English text.
2. Read the Japanese text.
3. Use Romaji if needed.
4. Review the vocabulary.
🌸 Story
are walking outside.
さくらとすみれ。
Sakura to Sumire.
The scent of sweet osmanthus.
金木犀の香り。
Kinmokusei no kaori.
where it’s coming from.
I can’t find it. 💦
見つからない💦
Mitsukaranai. 💦
you often notice the scent
before you find the flowers.
姿を見つけるより先に
香りで気づくよね。
sugata o mitsukeru yori saki ni
kaori de kizuku yo ne.
It makes you think,
“Ah, autumn is here.” 😊
「あ、秋だ」って😊
“A, aki da” tte. 😊
you can feel through scent.
There it is.
あそこにあるよ。
Asoko ni aru yo.
So many tiny flowers
are blooming. 🌼
小さい花が、
たくさん咲いてるね🌼
Chiisai hana ga,
takusan saiteru ne. 🌼
fallen on the ground too.
少し落ちてる。
sukoshi ochiteru.
their scent travels so far.
遠くまで香るんだね。
tōku made kaoru n da ne.
💭 Story Note
In Japan,
kinmokusei (sweet osmanthus)
is strongly associated with autumn.
Its flowers are very small,
but the scent can travel surprisingly far.
Because of this,
people may notice the fragrance
before they see the tree itself.
For many people,
that sweet scent feels like
one of the first signs of autumn.
Sometimes,
the season is not something
you notice with your eyes first.
You notice it through scent.
📚 Vocabulary
Here are some words and expressions from this story.
| English | Japanese | Romaji |
|---|---|---|
| sweet osmanthus | 金木犀 | kinmokusei |
| scent / fragrance | 香り | kaori |
| can't find | 見つからない | mitsukaranai |
| to notice | 気づく | kizuku |
| to be blooming | 咲いてる | saiteru |
「気づく」(kizuku)
means “to notice” or “to become aware of something.”
It is often used when
you suddenly become aware of something
that was already there.
For example:
「香りに気づく。」
Kaori ni kizuku.
“To notice a scent.”
「秋が来たことに気づく。」
Aki ga kita koto ni kizuku.
“To notice that autumn has arrived.”
In this story,
Sakura and Sumire notice
the sweet osmanthus through its scent
before they find the flowers.
So 「気づく」 fits the feeling
of discovering something
through a small sign.
🔰 Mix Words and Feel Their Meaning｜ことばを混ぜて、感覚をつかもう
Today’s expression is 「気づく」.
Try mixing it into English:
“I 気づく the sweet osmanthus scent.”
“Sometimes you 気づく autumn through a smell.”
“They 気づく the flowers before they see them.”
The goal is not to make perfect Japanese.
Think about the feeling of 「気づく」.
It describes the moment
when you suddenly become aware
of something that was already there.
In this story,
Sakura and Sumire 気づく
the sweet osmanthus
through its scent
before they find the flowers.
コメント