147
discovered that kowai is used only in the sense of ‘fatigued,’ its ordinary meaning ‘afraid’ being invariably rendered by okkanai.
Wakaru, not only means ‘to divide’ and ‘to understand,’ but also, and more generally, ‘to be able’ ‘to be sufficient’ ‘to be suitable.’ Thus: Kore de mo wakaru, ‘this is enough.’ Mijikakute mo wakaru, ‘though it is short it will do.’ Omokute hitori de wakerangi, ‘it is too heavy, I can’t carry it by myself.’
Dekiru and deru seem to have in some sort interchanged meanings, deru being used almost exclusively in the sense of ‘to be finished’; mo hambun deta kara, tôkô goro deru, ‘it is half done already, so it will be finished about the 10th.’ Dekiru on the other hand is never used in the sense of ‘to finish’ ‘to be able,’ but in that only of ‘going’ or ‘coming’ (the meaning by the way of the characters with which it is written .) Thus: Tadaima dekita, ‘He has just gone out; Asu deki béi, ‘He will probably come to-morrow.’
Ippuku, ‘one puff,’ is used for one cup-ful (ippai). The invitation ‘Come in and have a cup of tea,’ if given at the door or near the house of the speaker is usually couched in the words Yotte ippusu yokambéish’, while a guest is pressed to take more tea with ‘ima ippuku.’
Some important differences are to be noticed in the use of the pronouns. Watakushi and sessha are used by persons of some pretension to education, when speaking to a superior, but the word in everyday use by all classes is ore. For this, or rather for its incorrect form ora, the country-folks have a plural orada, while the townspeople and samurai use the regular plural orera.
Ware, which in Tôkiô as well as in the written language indicates the first person, is the ordinary word for ‘you’ in addressing inferiors.
Kisama, in Tôkiô usually expressive of extreme contempt, is used politely and familiarly among equals, and has the plural kisama-gata. It is also commonly employed
