#151 - Annoying children.

Hayashi Fumiko

#151　林芙美子「平凡な女」

奥様同士が子供を連れての立話に、
「まア！　お久しうございます。皆様おかわりもなくていらっしゃいますか、一番お末の方、もう、こんなにおなりでございますの？」
「ええもう八ツになりまして、一年生でございますのよ」
「あらまア、そうですか、ほんとに早いもので、宅のがもうあなた尋常四年生でございますものね」
　以前の私が、道の行きずりにこんな話を聞いたならば、子供が八ツになって小学校へ行くのはあたりまえの事で、女同士の話題の狭さにぷりぷり腹をたてていたかも知れない。

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Vocabulary:

• 林芙美子　　はやしふみこ　Hayashi Fumiko (author, 1903-1951)

• 奥様　　　　おくさま　　　(someone’s) wife

• 立話　　　　たちばなし　　talking while standing

• 宅　　　　　たく　　　　　ours (used to refer to one’s own family)

• 尋常　　　　じんじょう　　normal elementary school (尋常小学校)

• 行きずり　　ゆきずり　　　in passing

• 話題　　　　わだい　　　　topic of conversation

• 腹をたてる　はらをたてる　to make oneself angry

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Translation:

Two wives who were with their children were standing talking to each other.

“Oh my, it’s been such a long time. I trust everyone in your family is doing well? And your youngest has gotten so big already.”

“Yes, he’s almost eight years old now, so he’s in his first year of elementary school.”

“Oh, I see, time really flies, right? Ours is already in his fourth year now.”

Perhaps, if in the past I had heard such a conversation walking down the street, I would have thought to myself ‘of course your eight-year-old is in elementary school’, and I would have felt so angry at the mundaneness of the topics of conversation between women.

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Link for the text I used:

林芙美子「平凡な女」