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Sample Sentences with as “Ring, Circle, Loop”

(RIN, wa: ring, circle, loop)

私たちは先生の回りにになって集まった。
Watashitachi wa sensei no mawari ni wa ni natte atsumatta.
We formed a circle around the teacher.

私たち (watashitachi: we)
先生 (sensei: teacher)     ahead of + scholar

I wanted this breakdown to be ahead of + life, as in, “someone who is ahead of you in life.” But Halpern equates this use of with “scholar.”

回り (mawari: circle)
(atsu(maru): to assemble)

お父さんは煙草の煙でたくさんを作れる。
Otōsan wa tabako no kemuri de takusan wa o tsukureru.
Dad can blow many smoke rings.

Hmm. I’m not too impressed with Otōsan at this juncture. But I do like the way appears twice here with different yomi. The first time, it’s part of the ateji word tabako. And the second time, it means “smoke” and is pronounced kemuri.

お父さん (otōsan: father)
煙草 (tabako: cigarette)     smoke + grass

More About 煙草

(kemuri: smoke)
(tsuku(ru): to make)

彼らはになって小さい黒いウサギと小さい白い
ウサギの結婚の踊りを踊りました。

Karera wa wa ni natte chiisai kuroi usagi to chiisai shiroi
usagi no kekkon no odori o odorimashita.

They danced in a wedding circle around the little black rabbit and little white rabbit.

I have no idea about the origin of this sentence, which I found on Breen’s site. But I like the rōmaji rendition, because the “wa wa” looks like a typo but isn’t.

彼ら (karera: they)
(chii(sai): small)
(kuro(i): black)
ウサギ (usagi: rabbit)
(shiro(i): white)
結婚 (kekkon: marriage)     to unite + to marry
(odo(ri): a dance; odo(ru): to dance)

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