VIEN
All passages
N2 · Upper intermediateShort passagePassage #746
2

親おや子こはもっとも身み近ぢかでありながら、ときにもっとも遠とおくなってしまう存そん在ざいかもしれない。私わたしも母ははとは「わかり合あえない」と（注1）悟さとったときに、ある一定いっていの距きょ離りができたことは（注2）否いなめない。だが、そのことで愛あい情じょうがなくなるとか、関かん係けいが冷ひえるとかそういう感かん覚かくは（注3）一切いっさいなかった。むしろ「わかり合あえない」とわかることは相あい手てを理り解かいしようとするための最さい初しょの一歩いっぽなのではないかと思おもう。もし「子こどものことはなんでも自じ分ぶんが一いち番ばんよくわかっている」と思おもっている親おやがいるとしたら、それはとても怖こわいことだと思おもう。

Questions

0/1 answered
  1. 1親子について、筆者はどのように考えているか。

Study this passage

Vocabulary1 words
  • 一定いってい
    • ·to fix; to settle; to standardize; to regularize
    • ·constant; definite; uniform; defined; certain; prescribed
    N2
Other levels41 words
  • 遠いとおいAs it appears here: 遠く
    • ·far; distant; far away; a long way off; in the distance
    • ·distant (past); remote (in time); remote; far-removed (in time)
    • ·distant (relationship or kinship); having little to do (with someone)
    • ·far (from something else in quality, degree, etc.); not similar; way off
    • ·hard (of hearing)
    • ·nearsighted
    N5
  • なるAs it appears here: なって
    • ·to become; to get; to grow; to turn; to reach; to attain
    • ·to result in; to turn out; to end up; to prove (to be)
    • ·to consist of; to be composed of; to be made up of
    • ·to be completed; to be realized; to succeed; to be attained; to be accomplished
    • ·to change (into); to turn (into); to transform
    • ·to come (to do); to begin (to do); to grow (to do)
    • ·to come to; to amount to; to add up to; to make
    • ·to play (the part of); to act as
    • ·to be used for; to be useful for; to serve as
    • ·to be promoted
    • ·to do ...
    N5
  • 私わたし
    • ·I; me
    N5
  • わかるAs it appears here: わかり
    • ·to understand; to comprehend; to grasp; to see; to get; to follow
    • ·to become clear; to be known; to be discovered; to be realized (realised); to be found out; to make sense
    • ·I know!; I think so too!
    N5
  • できるAs it appears here: できた
    • ·to be able to do; to be possible; to be permitted (to do)
    • ·to be good at; to do well; to be proficient (in); to be capable
    • ·to come into existence; to form; to appear; to come up (of a matter); to be born; to make (a friend); to get (a girlfriend, free time, etc.)
    • ·to be made; to be built; to be constructed; to be formed; to be established; to be set up
    • ·to be finished; to be completed; to be done; to be ready
    • ·to grow (of a crop); to be produced
    • ·to be mature and well-balanced; to be of fine character
    • ·to be by nature; to be born ...
    • ·to become (sexually) involved (with); to become intimate (with); to take up (with someone)
    • ·to get pregnant
    N5
  • その
    • ·that; the
    • ·part (as in "part two")
    • ·um ...; er ...; uh ...
    N5
  • わかる
    • ·to understand; to comprehend; to grasp; to see; to get; to follow
    • ·to become clear; to be known; to be discovered; to be realized (realised); to be found out; to make sense
    • ·I know!; I think so too!
    N5
  • するAs it appears here: しよう
    • ·to do; to carry out; to perform
    • ·to cause to become; to make (into); to turn (into)
    • ·to serve as; to act as; to work as
    • ·to wear (clothes, a facial expression, etc.)
    • ·to judge as being; to view as being; to think of as; to treat as; to use as
    • ·to decide on; to choose
    • ·to be sensed (of a smell, noise, etc.)
    • ·to be (in a state, condition, etc.)
    • ·to be worth; to cost
    • ·to pass (of time); to elapse
    • ·to place, or raise, person A to a post or status B
    • ·to transform A to B; to make A into B; to exchange A for B
    • ·to make use of A for B; to view A as B; to handle A as if it were B
    • ·to feel A about B
    • ·verbalizing suffix (applies to nouns noted in this dictionary with the part of speech "vs")
    • ·creates a humble verb (after a noun prefixed with "o" or "go")
    • ·to be just about to; to be just starting to; to try to; to attempt to
    N5
  • する
    • ·to do; to carry out; to perform
    • ·to cause to become; to make (into); to turn (into)
    • ·to serve as; to act as; to work as
    • ·to wear (clothes, a facial expression, etc.)
    • ·to judge as being; to view as being; to think of as; to treat as; to use as
    • ·to decide on; to choose
    • ·to be sensed (of a smell, noise, etc.)
    • ·to be (in a state, condition, etc.)
    • ·to be worth; to cost
    • ·to pass (of time); to elapse
    • ·to place, or raise, person A to a post or status B
    • ·to transform A to B; to make A into B; to exchange A for B
    • ·to make use of A for B; to view A as B; to handle A as if it were B
    • ·to feel A about B
    • ·verbalizing suffix (applies to nouns noted in this dictionary with the part of speech "vs")
    • ·creates a humble verb (after a noun prefixed with "o" or "go")
    • ·to be just about to; to be just starting to; to try to; to attempt to
    N5
  • なん
    • ·what
    • ·how many
    • ·many; a lot of
    • ·several; a few; some
    N5
  • 自分じぶん
    • ·myself; yourself; oneself; himself; herself
    • ·I; me
    • ·you
    N5
  • 一番いちばん
    • ·number one; first; first place
    • ·best; most
    • ·game; round; bout
    • ·as a test; as an experiment; by way of experiment; by way of trial; tentatively
    • ·song (e.g. in noh); piece
    N5
  • よく
    • ·nicely; properly; well; skillfully; skilfully
    • ·frequently; often
    • ·I'm glad that you ...; thank you for ...
    • ·(you have) quite the nerve to; I don't know how you can ...
    N5
  • わかるAs it appears here: わかって
    • ·to understand; to comprehend; to grasp; to see; to get; to follow
    • ·to become clear; to be known; to be discovered; to be realized (realised); to be found out; to make sense
    • ·I know!; I think so too!
    N5
  • いる
    • ·to be (of animate objects); to exist
    • ·to stay
    • ·to be ...-ing
    • ·to have ...-ed; to be ...-ed
    N5
  • するAs it appears here: したら
    • ·to do; to carry out; to perform
    • ·to cause to become; to make (into); to turn (into)
    • ·to serve as; to act as; to work as
    • ·to wear (clothes, a facial expression, etc.)
    • ·to judge as being; to view as being; to think of as; to treat as; to use as
    • ·to decide on; to choose
    • ·to be sensed (of a smell, noise, etc.)
    • ·to be (in a state, condition, etc.)
    • ·to be worth; to cost
    • ·to pass (of time); to elapse
    • ·to place, or raise, person A to a post or status B
    • ·to transform A to B; to make A into B; to exchange A for B
    • ·to make use of A for B; to view A as B; to handle A as if it were B
    • ·to feel A about B
    • ·verbalizing suffix (applies to nouns noted in this dictionary with the part of speech "vs")
    • ·creates a humble verb (after a noun prefixed with "o" or "go")
    • ·to be just about to; to be just starting to; to try to; to attempt to
    N5
  • それ
    • ·that; it
    • ·then; that point (in time); that time
    • ·there
    • ·you
    N5
  • とても
    • ·very; awfully; exceedingly
    • ·(not) at all; by no means; simply (cannot)
    N5
  • なくなる
    • ·to be lost (e.g. luggage); to be missing
    • ·to be used up; to be run out; to be exhausted; to be consumed; to be reduced to zero; to not occur any more
    • ·to disappear (e.g. pain); to be lost (e.g. a dream, confidence)
    N4
  • 関係かんけい
    • ·relation; relationship; connection
    • ·participation; involvement; concern
    • ·influence; effect
    • ·sexual relations; sexual relationship
    • ·related to; connected to
    N4
  • 冷えるひえる
    • ·to grow cold; to get chilly; to cool down
    N4
  • ため
    • ·good; advantage; benefit; welfare
    • ·sake; purpose; objective; aim
    • ·consequence; result; effect
    • ·affecting; regarding; concerning
    N4
  • 最初さいしょ
    • ·beginning; outset; first; onset
    N4
  • 思うおもう
    • ·to think; to consider; to believe; to reckon
    • ·to think (of doing); to plan (to do)
    • ·to judge; to assess; to regard
    • ·to imagine; to suppose; to dream
    • ·to expect; to look forward to
    • ·to feel; to be (in a state of mind); to desire; to want
    • ·to care (deeply) for; to yearn for; to worry about; to love
    • ·to recall; to remember
    N4
  • もし
    • ·if; in case; supposing
    N4
  • 思うおもうAs it appears here: 思って
    • ·to think; to consider; to believe; to reckon
    • ·to think (of doing); to plan (to do)
    • ·to judge; to assess; to regard
    • ·to imagine; to suppose; to dream
    • ·to expect; to look forward to
    • ·to feel; to be (in a state of mind); to desire; to want
    • ·to care (deeply) for; to yearn for; to worry about; to love
    • ·to recall; to remember
    N4
  • 親おや
    • ·parent; parents; mother and father
    • ·dealer; banker
    • ·founder; inventor
    • ·(pet) owner
    • ·key; parent (organization); main
    • ·ancestor; forefather
    N4
  • 怖いこわい
    • ·scary; frightening; eerie; dreadful
    N4
  • もっとも
    • ·most; extremely
    N3
  • とき
    • ·time; hour; moment
    • ·occasion; case
    • ·chance; opportunity; season
    • ·the times; the age; the day
    • ·tense
    N3
  • 存在そんざい
    • ·existence; being; presence
    N3
  • こと
    • ·thing; matter
    • ·incident; occurrence; event; something serious; trouble; crisis
    • ·circumstances; situation; state of affairs
    • ·work; business; affair
    • ·after an inflectable word, creates a noun phrase indicating something the speaker does not feel close to
    • ·nominalizing suffix
    • ·pretending to ...; playing make-believe ...
    • ·alias; also known as; otherwise known as; or
    • ·necessity; need
    • ·you should ...; I advise that you ...; it's important to ...
    N3
  • 愛情あいじょう
    • ·love; affection
    N3
  • 感覚かんかく
    • ·sense; sensation; feeling; intuition
    N3
  • むしろ
    • ·rather; better; instead; if anything
    N3
  • 相手あいて
    • ·companion; partner; company
    • ·other party; addressee; counterparty
    • ·opponent (sports, etc.)
    N3
  • 理解りかい
    • ·understanding; comprehension; appreciation
    • ·sympathy
    N3
  • 身近みぢか
    • ·near oneself; close to one; familiar
    N1
  • 悟るさとるAs it appears here: 悟った
    • ·to sense; to perceive; to notice; to discern; to become aware of
    • ·to understand; to comprehend; to realize
    • ·to attain enlightenment
    N1
  • 距離きょり
    • ·distance; range; interval
    • ·difference (e.g. in opinion); gap; distance
    • ·metric
    N1
  • 一切いっさい
    • ·all; everything; entirety; the whole
    • ·absolutely (not); (not) at all; (none) whatsoever; without exception
    N1
Grammar1 patterns

Example sentences are translated by AI.

  • ではないかN2

    Rhetorically seeks agreement or expresses a realization — 'isn't it? / right? / surely.'

    むしろ「わかり合えない」とわかることは相手を理解しようとするための最初の一歩なのではないかと思う。

    Rather, I think that realizing that we cannot fully understand each other may be the first step toward trying to understand the other person.

Other levels12 patterns
  • むしろN3

    Adverb overturning an expectation to present the following as the more fitting statement; "rather / if anything".

    むしろ「わかり合えない」とわかることは相手を理解しようとするための最初の一歩なのではないかと思う。

    Rather, I think that realizing that we cannot fully understand each other may be the first step toward trying to understand the other person.

  • ためにN3

    marks a purpose ('in order to') or a cause ('because of / owing to').

    むしろ「わかり合えない」とわかることは相手を理解しようとするための最初の一歩なのではないかと思う。

    Rather, I think that realizing that we cannot fully understand each other may be the first step toward trying to understand the other person.

  • とすれば・としたら・とするとN3

    'If / supposing that…' — sets up a hypothesis and states what would follow from it.

    もし「子どものことはなんでも自分が一番よくわかっている」と思っている親がいるとしたら、それはとても怖いことだと思う。

    If there are parents who believe, “I understand everything about my child better than anyone else,” I think that is a very frightening thing.

  • ながらN4

    Attaches to a verb stem to show two actions by the same subject happening at once — 'while (doing) / as'.

    親子はもっとも身近でありながら、ときにもっとも遠くなってしまう存在かもしれない。

    Parents and children may be the people closest to one another, yet at times they may also become the most distant.

  • ときN42 times in this passage

    Marks the time at which something happens — "when X, Y."

    親子はもっとも身近でありながら、ときにもっとも遠くなってしまう存在かもしれない。

    Parents and children may be the people closest to one another, yet at times they may also become the most distant.

  • 〜てしまう / 〜ちゃうN4

    Verb te-form plus しまう, marking an action as fully completed or done regrettably/by accident — 'end up ...ing' / 'finish ...ing'; ちゃう/じゃう is the casual contraction.

    親子はもっとも身近でありながら、ときにもっとも遠くなってしまう存在かもしれない。

    Parents and children may be the people closest to one another, yet at times they may also become the most distant.

  • かもしれないN4

    Expresses possibility or conjecture — 'might', 'maybe', 'perhaps'.

    親子はもっとも身近でありながら、ときにもっとも遠くなってしまう存在かもしれない。

    Parents and children may be the people closest to one another, yet at times they may also become the most distant.

  • とか～とかN42 times in this passage

    Lists a few representative, non-exhaustive examples — 'things like X and Y', 'X, Y, and so on'.

    だが、そのことで愛情がなくなるとか、関係が冷えるとかそういう感覚は一切なかった。

    But I never felt that this caused our affection to disappear or our relationship to grow cold.

  • と思う（とおもう）N43 times in this passage

    Quotative plus 'think', stating the speaker's opinion or guess — 'I think that'.

    むしろ「わかり合えない」とわかることは相手を理解しようとするための最初の一歩なのではないかと思う。

    Rather, I think that realizing that we cannot fully understand each other may be the first step toward trying to understand the other person.

  • の中で[A]が一番（のなかで[A]がいちばん）N5

    Singles out the top member of a group — 'of all …, X is the most / best'.

    もし「子どものことはなんでも自分が一番よくわかっている」と思っている親がいるとしたら、それはとても怖いことだと思う。

    If there are parents who believe, “I understand everything about my child better than anyone else,” I think that is a very frightening thing.

  • 〜ているN52 times in this passage

    Describes an action in progress or the state that remains after an action happened — “is doing” or “is in the state of having done”.

    もし「子どものことはなんでも自分が一番よくわかっている」と思っている親がいるとしたら、それはとても怖いことだと思う。

    If there are parents who believe, “I understand everything about my child better than anyone else,” I think that is a very frightening thing.

  • とてもN5

    Degree adverb intensifying an adjective or adverb — "very / extremely."

    もし「子どものことはなんでも自分が一番よくわかっている」と思っている親がいるとしたら、それはとても怖いことだと思う。

    If there are parents who believe, “I understand everything about my child better than anyone else,” I think that is a very frightening thing.

Share:

Comments

Another passageAll passages