Chapter 4 of A Japanese Nightingale is here in full — 456 sentences across 92 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of A Japanese Nightingale is here in full — 456 sentences across 92 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"I have lost--I am losing you," he said, suddenly, with a burst of anguish. "I cannot make you out these last few weeks. What has come over you? I miss your laughing and your singing. You are always sad now; your eyes--ah, I cannot bear it."
Chapter 4 of A Japanese Nightingale is here in full — 456 sentences across 92 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/91 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
extreme mental distress
From this reading “"I have lost--I am losing you," he said, suddenly, with a burst of anguish.”
have
From this reading “You are always sad now; your eyes--ah, I cannot bear it."”
come open suddenly and violently, as if from internal pressure
From this reading “"I have lost--I am losing you," he said, suddenly, with a burst of anguish.”
showing or feeling mirth or pleasure or happiness
From this reading “I miss your laughing and your singing.”
-ing form of “lose” — fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense
From this reading “"I have lost--I am losing you," he said, suddenly, with a burst of anguish.”
experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappiness
From this reading “You are always sad now; your eyes--ah, I cannot bear it."”
the act of singing vocal music
From this reading “I miss your laughing and your singing.”
plural of “week” — any period of seven consecutive days
From this reading “"I cannot make you out these last few weeks.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “"I cannot make you out these last few weeks.”
communicate the intended meaning or impression
In this reading “What has come over you?”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading "I have lost--I am losing you," he said, suddenly, with a burst of anguish.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You are always sad now; your eyes--ah, I cannot bear it."
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading You are always sad now; your eyes--ah, I cannot bear it."
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading "I have lost--I am losing you," he said, suddenly, with a burst of anguish.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I miss your laughing and your singing.
extreme mental distress
From this reading "I have lost--I am losing you," he said, suddenly, with a burst of anguish.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading You are always sad now; your eyes--ah, I cannot bear it."
have
From this reading You are always sad now; your eyes--ah, I cannot bear it."
come open suddenly and violently, as if from internal pressure
From this reading "I have lost--I am losing you," he said, suddenly, with a burst of anguish.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I cannot make you out these last few weeks.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading What has come over you?
opinion or judgment
From this reading You are always sad now; your eyes--ah, I cannot bear it."
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading "I cannot make you out these last few weeks.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading What has come over you?
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "I have lost--I am losing you," he said, suddenly, with a burst of anguish.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "I have lost--I am losing you," he said, suddenly, with a burst of anguish.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I have lost--I am losing you," he said, suddenly, with a burst of anguish.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading You are always sad now; your eyes--ah, I cannot bear it."
immediately past
From this reading "I cannot make you out these last few weeks.
showing or feeling mirth or pleasure or happiness
From this reading I miss your laughing and your singing.
-ing form of “lose” — fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense
From this reading "I have lost--I am losing you," he said, suddenly, with a burst of anguish.
no longer in your possession or control; unable to be found or recovered
From this reading "I have lost--I am losing you," he said, suddenly, with a burst of anguish.
engage in
From this reading "I cannot make you out these last few weeks.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading I miss your laughing and your singing.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading You are always sad now; your eyes--ah, I cannot bear it."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "I have lost--I am losing you," he said, suddenly, with a burst of anguish.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading "I cannot make you out these last few weeks.
above and across; more than
From this reading What has come over you?
experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappiness
From this reading You are always sad now; your eyes--ah, I cannot bear it."
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "I have lost--I am losing you," he said, suddenly, with a burst of anguish.
the act of singing vocal music
From this reading I miss your laughing and your singing.
happening unexpectedly
From this reading "I have lost--I am losing you," he said, suddenly, with a burst of anguish.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading "I cannot make you out these last few weeks.
plural of “week” — any period of seven consecutive days
From this reading "I cannot make you out these last few weeks.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What has come over you?
in the company of; together with
From this reading "I have lost--I am losing you," he said, suddenly, with a burst of anguish.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "I have lost--I am losing you," he said, suddenly, with a burst of anguish.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading I miss your laughing and your singing.
Chapter 4 of A Japanese Nightingale by Onoto Watanna holds 456 sentences, grouped into 92 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 4 holds 456 sentences of A Japanese Nightingale, unabridged, divided into 92 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of A Japanese Nightingale by Onoto Watanna exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 456 sentences, grouped into 92 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 92 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 92 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 4 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading A Japanese Nightingale by Onoto Watanna on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2258 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #63181 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #63181, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 188 minutes of reading across 452 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Japanese Nightingale section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of A Japanese Nightingale to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in A Japanese Nightingale, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
