Japanese with Manga

Smiles that might stop with 笑いかける

Vocabulary Explanation: Words ending in 掛ける

Ninako and Ren sit side by side. Ninako holds a piece of daifuku to her mouth and gazes at Ren with wide eyes, while Ren leans over and looks away.
ストロボ・エッジ » Volume 7 » Page 43

On a group outing, Ninako’s friends leave her alone with Ren, the boy she still loves. They split a mame daifuku, and when Ren smiles at her, she almost blurts out that she likes him. She wonders what would happen if he found out she still has feelings for him.

仁菜子(になこ):
「もうこうしていられなくなるのかな」
“Would we never be able to be together like this again?”
「こんなふうに笑(わら)いかけてくれなくなるのかな」
“Would he stop smiling at me like this?”

Key Points

1笑(わら)いかける, smiling at someone
  • 笑(わら)う can mean to laugh or to smile. Adding かける aims it at a person, so 笑(わら)いかける means to smile at someone.
  • It describes a warm, friendly smile directed at someone, not laughing at them.
2〜てくれなくなる, stopping a kindness
  • 〜てくれる shows Ren smiles for Ninako’s benefit. Its negative 〜てくれない plus なる means he would stop doing it.
  • The first line follows the same pattern: いられる (able to be) becomes いられなくなる, no longer able to be like this.
3Wondering with のかな
  • かな turns the thought into a question to herself, “I wonder if”. の before it ties the worry to the situation she just imagined, where Ren learns her feelings.
4こうして and こんなふうに
  • こうして means “like this”, the two of them sitting together. こんなふうに means “in this way” and points to the smile he just gave her.
  • もう with a negative means “no longer” or “not anymore”.

Vocabulary

(Already)

もう means something has already happened, or with a negative, “no longer”. Before a number, it means “more”. Said alone, it shows frustration.

(Like this)

こうして means “like this” or “in this way”, pointing to the current situation or a way of doing something.

(To be)

いる is to exist or be somewhere, for people and animals. After a て-form verb, it shows an ongoing action or a continuing state.

(To become)

なる is to change into a different state or become something. It also means something turns out a certain way. It is also written 成(な)る.

(Like this)

こんな describes something like the thing in front of the speaker or the thing just mentioned.

(Way)

ふう means a way or manner of doing something. It often follows こんな, そんな, or どんな, as in こんなふうに, “like this”.

(To smile at)

笑(わら)いかける is to smile at someone. It describes a warm, friendly smile aimed at a person, not laughing at them.

(To give)

くれる is for someone to give something to the speaker or the speaker’s side. After a て-form verb, it means someone does something for the speaker.

See Also

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