Japanese with Manga

Went to see a kindergarden sports day with 運動会

Kanji Explanation: Meeting and joining with 会

Manga panel from orange showing example of Went to see a kindergarden sports day with 運動会.
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Kakeru’s grandmother unexpectedly shows up at the school sports day event.

おばあさん:
「翔(かける)が幼稚園(ようちえん)の時(とき)一度(いちど)だけ運動会(うんどうかい)を見(み)に行(い)った事(こと)あったわね」
“I went to see your sports day just once when you were in kindergarten, didn't I?”
翔(かける):
「うん　東京(とうきょう)まで来(き)てくれたよね」
“Yeah, you came all the way to Tokyo for me.”

Key Points

1運動会(うんどうかい) means “school sports day”
  • 運動(うんどう) is exercise or athletics, and 会(かい) 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(うんどうかい)を見(み)に行(い)った means “went to watch the sports day”
  • 見(み)に行(い)く puts the verb stem 見(み) before に行(い)く to state the purpose of going.
  • 運動会(うんどうかい)を marks what Kakeru’s grandmother went to watch.
3一度(いちど)だけ行(い)った事(こと)あった means “there was just one time I went”
  • 一度(いちど)だけ means “only once”. だけ limits the number of visits.
  • The fuller form of 行(い)った事(こと)あった is 行(い)った事(こと)があった. Casual speech drops が.
  • The past あった recalls an occasion from an earlier period.
4東京(とうきょう)まで来(き)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(き)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

(Time)

時(とき) means time, a moment, or an occasion.

(Sports day)

運動会(うんどうかい) means a school sports day or community athletic meet with races and team events.

(To come)

来(く)る means to come or move toward the speaker or the place being discussed.

See Also

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