「私はＫと竝んで足を運ばせながら、彼の口を出る次の言葉を腹の中で暗に待ち受けました。或は待ち伏せと云つた方がまだ適當かも知れません。其時の私はたとひＫを騙し打ちにしても構はない位に思つてゐたのです。然し私にも教育相當の良心はありますから、もし誰か私の傍へ來て、御前は卑怯だと一言私語いて呉れるものがあつたなら、私は其瞬間に、はつと我に立ち歸つたかも知れません。もしＫが其人であつたなら、私は恐らく彼の前に赤面したでせう。たゞＫは私を窘めるには餘りに正直でした。餘りに單純でした。餘りに人格が善良だつたのです。目のくらんだ私は、其所に敬意を拂ふ事を忘れて、却つて其所に付け込んだのです。其所を利用して彼を打ち倒さうとしたのです。
translation
“As I made K walk along, I silently waited in my heart for the next words that came out of his mouth. I thought it wouldn't matter if I deceived K. However, I also have a conscience that is equivalent to an education, so if someone came to my side and told me that I was a coward, I would just say a word. Had I been able to hold on, I might have come to my senses at that moment. K was too honest to criticize me, too naive, and too good-natured. On the contrary, they took advantage of it and tried to use it to overthrow him.
kanji (pronunciations & definitions)
| 私: I (わたし), me, I (あたくし), I (あたし), I (アタシ) | Ｋ: K (ケイ), K (ケー), k, k, kilo- | 足: foot (あし), paw, arm (of an octopus, squid, etc.), leg, gait | 運: fortune (うん), luck, chance |
| 口: mouth (くち), opening, hole, gap, orifice | 出: coming out (で), going out, outflow, efflux, rising (of the Sun or the Moon) | 次: next (つぎ), following, subsequent, stage, station | 言葉: language (けとば), language (ことば), dialect, dialect, word |
| 中: inside (なか), interior, among, within, middle | 暗: darkness (あん) | 受: vedana (sensation) (じゅ) | 或: a certain … (ある), some … |
| 知: wisdom (ち), jnana (higher knowledge) | 打: dozen (ダース), hitting a ball (with a bat, golf club, etc.) (だ), batting, stroke | 構: structure (かまえ), construction, appearance, posture (e.g. in martial arts), pose | 位: throne (くらい), crown, (nobleman’s) seat, government position, court rank |
| 教育: education (きょういく), schooling, training, instruction, teaching | 教育相: Minister of Education (きょういくしょう) | 良心: conscience (りょうしん) | 誰: who (た), who (たれ), who (だあれ), who (だれ) |
| 御前: you (おまい), you (おまえ), presence (of a god, nobleman, etc.), presence (of a god, nobleman, etc.), presence (of a nobleman, the emperor, etc.) (ごぜ) | 卑怯: cowardly (ひきょう), craven, unfair, mean, sneaky | 一言: single word (いちげん), single word (いちごん), single word (ひとこと), a few words, a few words | 私語: whispering (しご), whisper, secret talk, murmur, whispering (ささやきごと) |
| 呉: go (ご), soy beans soaked and mashed to a creamy paste (ingredient of tofu and soy milk), Wu (region in China, south of the lower Yangtze), Wu (kingdom in China during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms era; 902-937 CE), Southern Wu | 瞬間: moment (しゅんかん), second, instant | 我: I (あ), I (あれ), I (わ), I (わぬ), I (われ) | 恐: frightening (こわ), terrifying, yours sincerely (かしく), yours sincerely (かしこ), respectfully yours |
| 赤面: blushing (せきめん), getting red in the face, embarrassment, red face (あかっつら), red face (あかつら) | 餘: other (よ), another, remaining, leftover, over | 正直: honest (しょうじき), frank, candid, straightforward, honestly | 人格: personality (じんかく), character, individuality, personhood |
| 目: eye (め), eyeball, eyesight, sight, vision | 其所: there (place relatively near listener) (そこ), there (place just mentioned), that place, then (of some incident just spoken of), that (of point just raised) | 敬意: respect (けいい), honour, honor | 事: thing (こと), thing (こん), matter, matter, incident |
| 利用: use (りよう), utilization, utilisation, application | 倒: reverse (さかしま), inversion, upside down, unreasonable, absurd |