#31 夏目漱石『明暗』
吉川の細君はこんな調子で能く津田に調戯った。機嫌の好い時は猶更であった。津田も折々は向うを調戯い返した。けれども彼の見た細君の態度には、笑談とも真面目とも片の付かない或物が閃めく事が度々あった。
Vocabulary:
夏目漱石 なつめそうせき Natsume Soseki (author, 1867-1916)
吉川 よしかわ Yoshikawa (surname)
細君 さいくん wife (archaic)
こんな調子で こんなちょうしで in this way
能く よく often
津田 つだ Tsuda (surname)
調戯う からかう to tease (often 揶揄う)
機嫌 きげん mood
好い いい good
猶更 なおさら even more so
折々 おりおり from time to time, occasionally
向う むこう here: the other person/party (usually 向こう)
~返す かえす to (do) … back (follows ren’yokei form of verb)
態度 たいど demeanor, behavior
笑談 じょうだん joke (usually 冗談)
真面目 まじめ serious
片が付く かたがつく to be discernable/distinguishable
或物 あるもの a certain (some)thing (usually 或る)
閃めく ひらめく to flash, to glitter/glimmer (usually 閃く)
度々 たびたび often
Bonus:
This is Natsume Soseki’s last novel. He never finished it due to his death in 1916. You’ll notice that it is a bit more difficult to decipher than other passages I’ve used thus far. Sometimes there is more or less okurigana than you would expect, other times unusual kanji or archaic words are used (細君 is no longer in use, so make this part of your passive vocabulary). But because the standardization of the writing system didn’t take place until 1946, this is completely normal for literature written before WWII, and especially in works from the Meiji and Taisho periods. The more you read, the faster you’ll get used to this kind of language.
Translation:
Yoshikawa’s wife often teased Tsuda in this way. It got even worse when she was in a good mood. Tsuda also teased her back from time to time. But in his eyes, there often were certain brief instances in the wife’s demeanor that made him uncertain whether she was joking or being serious.
Amazon.jp link for the book I used: