Went to see a kindergarden sports day with 運動会
Kanji Explanation: Meeting and joining with 会

Kakeru’s grandmother unexpectedly shows up at the school sports day event.
- おばあさん:
- 「翔が幼稚園
( の時( 一度( だけ運動会( を見( に行( った事( あったわね」- “I went to see your sports day just once when you were in kindergarten, didn't I?”
- 翔
( : - 「うん 東京
( まで来( てくれたよね」- “Yeah, you came all the way to Tokyo for me.”
Key Points
1運動会( means “school sports day”
- 運動
( is exercise or athletics, and 会( is a gathering or organized event. - Here the compound names the school’s sports day, with races and other athletic events.
2運動会( を見( に行( った means “went to watch the sports day”
- 見
( に行( く puts the verb stem 見( before に行( く to state the purpose of going. - 運動会
( を marks what Kakeru’s grandmother went to watch.
3一度( だけ行( った事( あった means “there was just one time I went”
- 一度
( だけ means “only once”. だけ limits the number of visits. - The fuller form of 行
( った事( あった is 行( った事( があった. Casual speech drops が. - The past あった recalls an occasion from an earlier period.
4東京( まで来( てくれた means “you came all the way to Tokyo for me”
- まで marks Tokyo as the far endpoint of the trip, giving the sense of “all the way to Tokyo” here.
- 来
( てくれた presents the trip as something Kakeru received and appreciated.
5わね and よね make this a shared memory
- The grandmother’s わね sounds as though she is recalling the occasion and inviting Kakeru to agree.
- Kakeru begins with うん and ends with よね, affirming her memory while asking her to confirm his added detail.
Vocabulary
時 (Time)
時
( means time, a moment, or an occasion.運動会 (Sports day)
運動会
( means a school sports day or community athletic meet with races and team events.来る (To come)
来
( る means to come or move toward the speaker or the place being discussed.
See Also
- Grammar: Previous experience with 〜た+ことがある
- Grammar: Going to for a purpose with 〜に行く
- Grammar: Receiving kindness with 〜てくれる
- Grammar: Limiting with 〜だけ
- Future entry: Seeking agreement with ね
- Kanji: Motion and activation with 動
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