Watching the house while Dad's away with 留守番
Kanji Explanation: Staying and keeping with 留 (Future entry)
Fuuka finds Yotsuba wandering around in her pajamas and indoor slippers. She escorts Yotsuba back home to change. When they get there, Yotsuba finds a note from her father saying he’s gone to the store and for her to watch over the house.
- 風香:
- 「よし！ じゃあお姉ちゃんも一緒に留守番してあげよう」
- “All right! Then I'll watch the house with you.”
- よつば:
- 「ホントか！？」
- “Really?!”
Key Points
1留守番 = staying behind to watch the house
- The word fits a situation where the resident is out and someone remains behind to look after the home.
- 留守 means that the resident is away from home. 番 adds the watch or duty performed during that absence.
2お姉ちゃん refers to Fuuka herself
- When speaking to a younger child, an older girl or woman may use a family term such as お姉ちゃん for herself.
- Fuuka is not talking about a separate older sister. In the translation, this simply becomes “I”.
3留守番してあげよう makes this an offer of help
- 〜てあげる presents the action as something Fuuka will do for Yotsuba’s benefit.
- あげよう is the volitional form of あげる, so the full phrase has the force of ‘I’ll do it for you’.
4も and 一緒に add Fuuka to Yotsuba’s job
- Yotsuba has already been told to watch the house. お姉ちゃんも adds Fuuka as another participant.
- 一緒に makes the shared action explicit, giving ‘with you’ in the translation.
Vocabulary
留守番 (House-sitting)
留守番 means staying behind to watch a home while its residents are away. It can also refer to the person doing that job.
See Also
- Grammar: Doing for someone with 〜てあげる
- Grammar: Volitional with 〜う・〜よう
- Grammar: Marking the topic with は and も
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