Let's read Red Shoes part 2! / Japanese Learning Support LLC
Let's read the story The Red Shoes!
Last time we introduced part 1, so this time it's part 2.
Summary of Part 1 → One day, a poor girl named Karen is given a pair of red shoes by a shoemaker. Since these are the only shoes she has left, she wears them to her mother's funeral. After that, Karen goes to live with a wealthy grandmother, and her life changes drastically. One day, Karen wears her red shoes again when she goes to church...
If you want to read Part 1 from the beginning, click here:
https://nihongojikan.jp/blog/20241201-4323/
"Red Shoes" Part 2
The grandmother was surprised,
Granny: "Karen, you can't wear red shoes to church. Wear black shoes."
He said.
Karen: "Yes, Grandma. I understand. I'll wear black shoes next time."
Karen said this, but a while later when her grandmother fell ill and was bedridden, she secretly wore her red shoes to church.
At church, everyone stared at Karen's red shoes.
During the prayer, Karen thought about the red shoes the whole time and hardly sang at all.
A few weeks later, a big party was being held in town.
Of course, an invitation also arrived at Karen's house.
Even though Karen is the only one able to look after her sick grandmother, all she can think about is the party.
And on the day of the party, Karen did wear her red shoes and headed to the party venue.
On the way to the venue, Karen's red-shod feet suddenly started dancing.
Karen: "Oh? Why? I don't want to dance, but I just keep dancing!"
Even if I wanted to stop, my feet wouldn't stop.
What's more, the red shoes are going in the opposite direction to the party venue.
And so, at last, Karen danced into the woods on the outskirts of town.
But the red shoes don't stop there.
Karen went further and further into the forest.
She tried to take her shoes off, but they were stuck to her feet and wouldn't come off.
Unable to take off her red shoes, Karen continued dancing, eventually going on forever, through the forest and across the grasslands.
Karen kept dancing, whether it was raining or snowing.
They walked into the cemetery and then to the church, but Karen didn't stop.
Then an angel appeared from somewhere and said:
Angel: "Oh, what beautiful shoes! They keep dancing because you have no serious mind. If you change your mind, your feet will surely stop dancing."
Karen: "I've been dancing for so long I'm exhausted. Please let me rest!"
Karen said, but the dancing only got more intense.
The red shoes continued dancing, going back into the forest and into the cold river, and on and on they went.
Karen's body was covered in wounds and she was completely exhausted, but she still didn't stop dancing.
Karen: "God, please help me!"
Karen prayed to God.
I then realized that the reason the kind old lady's illness worsened was because I had not taken good care of her.
Karen: "Grandma, I'm so sorry!"
As Karen said this, the area around her suddenly became brighter, and the white angel she had met before appeared.
Before she knew it, Karen was inside the church, and the light began to spread more and more throughout the church.
From somewhere I heard the sound of an organ and singing, and saw the pastor.
Then Karen was enveloped in a bright light and ascended to God with the angel.
How was it?
Since it is an Andersen fairy tale, it has a sad ending.
Now let's learn some of the grammar that came up in the story.
This time, we will introduce the word "~bakari."
The text includes the sentence, "Karen said this, but the dancing only became more intense."
What does this "bakari desu" mean?
Let's take a look together!
●It becomes worse and worse
"~bakari da" is used when you want to say that a bad situation is getting worse and worse.
Sample1 Since her husband passed away, Yamada has been feeling increasingly depressed and I'm worried.
Sample 2 If you don't write kanji, you will forget them.
Sample3 No one cleans this room so it's only getting dirtier.
Sample4 Lately, I've been spending less and less money because of things like moving and friends' weddings.
In this way, it is used when something is becoming more and more.
It usually indicates a bad situation.
It has a similar usage to "On the other hand," so let's look at it together.
"Hokkōda" is the same as "bakarida" in the sense that it will become more and more, but while "bakarida" is used in negative sentences, "hokkōda" can also be used in positive sentences.
〇 If you don't write kanji, you will forget them.
〇 If you don't write kanji, you will forget them.
× Japan's economy is only getting better.
〇 Japan's economy is only getting better.
There are also several other grammatical uses for "bakari."
●That's all I do
Using the sentence structure "~te bakari iru" or "~bakari ~teiru", you can say that only that is ~.
Sample1 My child has been playing games all day and not studying at all lately.
Sample2 Don't just eat meat, eat some vegetables too.
Sample3 Instead of just complaining, you need to try and acknowledge the other person a little.
Sample4 It's no good just dreaming. You have to face reality.
In this way, "~te bakari iru" and "~bakari ~teiru" are also used in negative contexts.
It is often used when complaining about someone or giving them a warning.
● Immediately after doing something
"~ta bakari" can be used to express that something happened right after it was done. It can be used to mean that something happened 1 minute ago or 1 hour ago.
Sample1 I just ate, so I'm still full.
Sample2 I'm afraid to ride in a car driven by you. You only got your license last month, right?
Sample3 I just got back, so I haven't read the letter yet.
Sample4 It seems that Tanaka just got married last year.
In this way, "~ta bakari" can be used to express that something has just happened.
It is similar to "~ta tokoro," but "~ta tokoro" is used to refer to a very short period of time, such as one or two minutes ago.
"~ta bakari" can be used to refer to a year ago or five years ago if the speaker considers it to be a short period of time.
The concert has just begun.
The concert has just begun.
〇 It seems that Tanaka just got married last year.
× It seems that Tanaka-san got married last year.
How was it?
Today, we introduced part 2 of "Akai Kutsu" and the grammar "-bakari."
I hope you enjoyed it.
Now that the December JLPT exam is over, I'm sure many people have calmed down a bit.
There are many fun events coming up, such as Christmas and New Year's, so please be careful not to catch a cold.
Well, see you in the next blog!
