Come to think of it

Barn Burning is one of my favorite short stories written by Haruki Murakami. The story is available in English and found in a book called The Elephant Vanishes.

In this story, you can find a lot of expressions and phrases that you can use in daily conversations. One example is “to come to think of it”. “Come to think of it” means “Now that I really think about it”. For example, let’s say, you are talking with your sister about a birthday gift for your mother. When you really think about it, you remember what your mother was saying. This is where you can use this phrase. “Hey, listen, come to think of it, mom was saying she wanted a pair of new walking shoes”.

By the way, The Elephant Vanishes is a really good collection of short stories. Perhaps, you may want to read some of the stories first in Japanese, then try their English versions. Remember, reading will help you improve your speaking skills.

NOTE: The original story was first published in July 2019.

そういえば

「Barn Burning (納屋を焼く)」は村上春樹の短編のなかでも特に好きな作品です。英語で読むこともできます。英語版は「The Elephant Vanishes」という短編集に集録されています。

この短編小説には日々の会話で使えそうな表現やフレーズがたくさん出てきます。たとえば、come to think of it。「こうして改めて考えてみると」という意味です。たとえば、あなたは妹とお母さんの誕生日プレゼントについて話しています。そして改めて考えてみたところ、お母さんの言葉を思い出します。そこであなたはこう言います。Hey, listen, come to think of it, mom was saying she wanted a pair of new walking shoes. 「そういえば！お母さん、お散歩用の靴がほしいって言ってたわ」

「The Elephant Vanishes」はとてもすてきな短編集です。最初に日本語で読んで、それから英語で読むといいかもしれません。読む力を鍛えれば、それだけ話す力も鍛えられます。がんばれ！