High 1 · Reading series
Lesson 44 · My Grandmother's Untranslated Word
Audio track 44
Listen first
Listen once before opening the English passage.
Open the English passage and hover for word help
My grandmother often gives neighbors a small plate of food she has made. She calls it osusowake. When I tried to explain the word to a friend in English, I said, “It means sharing.” Grandmother nodded, but said that answer was too wide.
She showed me a basket of pears from her garden. There were more than our family could eat, so we carried some to the family next door. The neighbor later brought back the empty basket with a note of thanks. Grandmother did not expect a gift in return; she simply liked letting good food travel a little farther.
I wrote a longer explanation for my friend: “It's sharing a portion of something you have with someone nearby.” Even that sentence could not fit every use of the word. But the pears, the basket, and the walk next door gave my friend a scene to imagine.
Sometimes a word travels better with a story than with one perfect translation.
Sentence practice
Play any sentence in Dicvo’s Jenny English voice. Before playing all, choose how many times each sentence plays. A practice pause about as long as the sentence follows each play, including before the next sentence. The complete reading remains above.
Choose a sentence to begin.
-
My grandmother often gives neighbors a small plate of food she has made.
-
She calls it *osusowake*.
-
When I tried to explain the word to a friend in English, I said, “It means sharing.”
-
Grandmother nodded, but said that answer was too wide.
-
She showed me a basket of pears from her garden.
-
There were more than our family could eat, so we carried some to the family next door.
-
The neighbor later brought back the empty basket with a note of thanks.
-
Grandmother did not expect a gift in return; she simply liked letting good food travel a little farther.
-
I wrote a longer explanation for my friend: “It's sharing a portion of something you have with someone nearby.”
-
Even that sentence could not fit every use of the word.
-
But the pears, the basket, and the walk next door gave my friend a scene to imagine.
-
Sometimes a word travels better with a story than with one perfect translation.
Check your understanding
After reading, state the main idea in one sentence and find a line that supports it.
Chinese translation
祖母常把自己做的食物盛在小盘子里送给邻居。她把这叫作 osusowake。我试着用英语向朋友解释这个词，说‘它的意思是分享’。祖母点点头，却说这个解释太宽泛了。
她让我看花园里摘来的一篮梨。我们一家吃不完，就拿一些送去隔壁。邻居后来送回空篮子，还附上一张感谢纸条。祖母并不期待对方回赠礼物，只是喜欢让好东西再传远一点。
我给朋友写了更长的解释：‘把自己拥有的东西分出一部分，送给身边的人。’即使这样，也无法涵盖这个词的每种用法。不过，梨、篮子和走到隔壁的那段路，让朋友有了可以想象的情景。
有时候，比起一个看似完美的译词，一段故事更能帮助别人理解一个词。
Key words and expressions
Key terms have Chinese explanations. Hover over dotted words in the English passage for word help and pronunciation when available.
- neighbor
- 邻居；祖母送食物的人。
- plate
- 盘子；盛放自制食物。
- explain
- 解释；主人公试着向朋友说明词义。
- too wide
- 过于宽泛；只说‘分享’不够具体。
- basket
- 篮子；装着自家种的梨。
- in return
- 作为回报；祖母并不期待礼物。
- portion
- 一部分；从已有的梨中分出。
- nearby
- 附近的；送给隔壁邻居。
- fit every use
- 涵盖所有用法；一句解释难以做到。
- translation
- 翻译；故事有时比单词对译更有效。
Background notes (Chinese)
osusowake 是原故事中的日语词，指把自己所得的一部分分给身边人。阅读页面保留英文原文里的这个词；中文解释结合梨和邻里的具体情景，避免把它简单等同于所有‘分享’。