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牛鍋

by Mori Ōgai

Around a bubbling beef pot, a man, a woman and a child compete to eat.

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Original language: JapaneseLevel: Intermediate1,894 characters · ≈ 8 minSource: 青空文库

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Sample: three-line reading

Each word has its meaning in this sentence underneath, and each sentence has a full translation. Read the original and glance down only when you need to.

鍋potはtopic marker (as for the pot)ぐつぐつwith a bubbling, simmering sound煮えるto boil; to be cooked by boiling
The pot boils and bubbles.
牛肉の紅the red of the beefはtopic marker男のthe man'sすばしこい箸nimble chopsticksでby means of反されるis turned over
The red of the beef is turned by the man's quick chopsticks.
白くなったhas become white方がthe one (side) that上にon topなるcomes / ends up
The part that has become white comes on top.
斜にon a slant薄くthinly切られたwas cut / slicedざくと云う名の葱はthe leek called zaku白い処がthe white parts段々にgradually黄いろくなってturn yellow and褐色の汁の中へinto the brown broth沈むsink
The leek, thinly cut on a slant and called zaku, has its white parts gradually turn yellow and sink into the brown soup.

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About the book

The passage depicts three people—a man, a woman, and a child—reaching their chopsticks toward a bubbling pot of beef hot pot: the man's chopsticks are quick and deft, the woman barely eats as her gaze stays fixed on him, and the child waits for a chance to pick up a piece of meat. With short, clipped sentences, the text focuses on the back-and-forth of chopsticks and the characters' glances, giving it a quiet, detailed feel.

Cultural notes (selection)

Background a translation can’t carry: social roles, history and allusions. While reading, tap “Note” at the end of a sentence to see them all.

浅草公園 History

In 1873 (Meiji 6), a Grand Council of State proclamation designated the area around Sensō-ji temple as a park, and it subsequently became a bustling entertainment district for ordinary people in Tokyo. In and around the grounds there were many misemono sideshows, animal exhibitions, and theatre sheds. The phrase 動物をいろいろ見せる処 ("a place showing various animals") in the text refers to this kind of ticketed animal exhibit, not a zoo in the modern sense.

About the author

Mori Ōgai (February 17, 1862 – July 8, 1922), born Mori Rintarō, was a Japanese Army Surgeon general officer, translator, novelist and poet, and father of the writer Mari Mori. He obtained his medical license at a young age, introduced translated German literary works to Japanese readers, and is considered a leading figure who modernized Japanese literature; his major work is The Wild Geese (1911–1913).

How the glosses are made

Word glosses and sentence translations are generated in context by AI models (DeepSeek and Zhipu GLM), and every word is checked to have a gloss. AI can make mistakes; you can report problems from the book page.

FAQ

Is this the original text?

Yes. The library holds the opening section of the public-domain original, taken from 青空文库.

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Library books are free to read without an account. Other gloss languages and importing your own texts need an account and credits.

What level is it?

This one is marked “Intermediate”. Every word is glossed, so you can keep reading even with a small vocabulary.

Can I use another gloss language?

English and Chinese glosses are prepared in advance; signed-in readers can generate other languages.

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