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ookina kega de ha nakatta rasiku, kanozyo ha sukosi yasunde kara aruite kaetta.

大おおきな　けが　で　は　なかった　らしく、　彼女かのじょ　は　少すこし　休やすんで　から　歩あるいて　帰かえった。ookina kega de ha nakatta rasiku, kanozyo ha sukosi yasunde kara aruite kaetta.
Apparently it wasn’t a serious injury, and she walked home after resting a little.
FromLesson 38inHardcore Japanese

Questions & Answers about ookina kega de ha nakatta rasiku, kanozyo ha sukosi yasunde kara aruite kaetta.

Why is it 大きな けが and not 大きい けが?

Both 大きい and 大きな can mean big, but they are not used in exactly the same way.

  • 大きい is a regular い-adjective.
  • 大きな can only be used directly before a noun.

In many cases, both are possible:

  • 大きい犬
  • 大きな犬

But with some nouns, 大きな can sound more natural or more set-phrase-like. In 大きな けが, it often feels a little more natural than 大きい けが.

Also, 大きな can sometimes feel slightly more descriptive or literary.

So here, 大きな けが simply means a serious / major injury.

What exactly does けが mean here?

けが means injury or physical hurt.

So:

  • 大きな けが = a serious injury
  • けがをする = to get injured

In this sentence, けが is the thing being described as not serious.

How should I break down ではなかったらしく?

A good breakdown is:

  • で = part of the copula structure used with nouns
  • は = topic/contrast particle, here part of ではない
  • なかった = past negative of ない
  • らしく = the connective form of らしい

So:

  • けがではない = is not an injury / is not injured depending on context
  • 大きなけがではない = is not a serious injury
  • 大きなけがではなかった = was not a serious injury
  • 大きなけがではなかったらしい = it seems it was not a serious injury
  • 大きなけがではなかったらしく、... = apparently it was not a serious injury, and...

In this sentence, らしく links that idea to what follows.

Why is there a は in ではなかった?

Here, ではない is a very common negative pattern used with nouns and な-adjectives.

For nouns:

  • 学生だ = is a student
  • 学生ではない = is not a student

For this sentence:

  • 大きなけがだ is not the natural full form here, but the idea is based on the same noun/copula pattern
  • 大きなけがではなかった = it was not a serious injury

So the は is not a separate topic marker you need to translate by itself. It is part of the standard negative expression ではない.

You may also see the casual version:

  • じゃない
  • じゃなかった

So ではなかった and じゃなかった are related.

What does らしい mean here?

Here らしい means it seems, apparently, or I heard that.

It is often used when the speaker is not stating something as a direct, certain fact, but based on:

  • what they heard
  • what they can infer from evidence
  • what seems to be the case

So:

  • 大きなけがではなかったらしい
    = Apparently it wasn’t a serious injury.
    = It seems it wasn’t a serious injury.

This gives the sentence a slight sense of indirect information or inference.

Why is it らしく instead of らしい?

Because the sentence continues.

  • らしい is the normal ending form.
  • らしく is the connective/adverbial form used before another clause.

Compare:

  • 大きなけがではなかったらしい。
    Apparently it wasn’t a serious injury.

  • 大きなけがではなかったらしく、彼女は...
    Apparently it wasn’t a serious injury, and she...

So らしく is being used to connect the first idea to the next action.

Does らしく mean the same thing as そうで or ようで?

Not exactly.

They can all express seeming, but they are used differently.

  • らしい: based on hearsay or a fairly objective inference
    雨らしい = Apparently it will rain

  • そうだ: often based on appearance or hearsay, depending on the type
    おいしそうだ = It looks delicious
    雨が降るそうだ = I hear it will rain

  • ようだ: a more explanatory or analogy-like it seems / it appears / it’s like
    彼は疲れているようだ = He seems tired

In this sentence, らしい works well because the speaker seems to be judging from information or circumstances that it was not a major injury.

Who is the subject of ではなかった? Is it 彼女?

Yes, most likely.

Japanese often omits the subject when it is understood from context. In this sentence, the natural reading is:

  • It seems her injury was not serious, and she rested a little and then walked home.

So the unstated subject of the first clause is understood to refer to her or her injury.

You could think of it as:

  • 彼女のけがは大きなけがではなかったらしく...

But Japanese often leaves that unstated.

Why is 少し used here? Does it mean a little or for a short time?

Here 少し means a little or for a short while.

  • 少し休む = to rest a little
  • 少し待つ = to wait a little

So 彼女は少し休んでから means:

  • after resting a little
  • after taking a short rest
What does 休んでから mean exactly?

Vてから means after doing V.

So:

  • 休んで = te-form of 休む (to rest)
  • から = after

Together:

  • 休んでから = after resting

This pattern shows sequence:

  1. she rested a little
  2. after that, she walked home

Other examples:

  • 食べてから寝る = go to bed after eating
  • 家に帰ってから勉強する = study after going home
Why is it 歩いて帰った? Does that mean walked and returned?

In natural English, it means went home on foot or walked home.

Japanese often uses the て-form to connect actions, but here it also expresses manner:

  • 歩いて帰る = to go home by walking
  • 電車で帰る = to go home by train
  • 車で帰る = to go home by car

So it is not really two separate main actions like she walked, and then she returned. It is more like:

  • she returned home walking
  • more naturally: she walked home
Why is 帰った in the past tense?

Because the sentence is narrating past events.

The sequence is:

  • it apparently was not a serious injury
  • she rested a little
  • then she walked home

So 帰った is simply the past form of 帰る (to return / go home).

Is 帰る best translated as return or go home?

In dictionaries, 帰る is often given as return. But in many everyday sentences, especially with home, the most natural translation is go home.

So:

  • 歩いて帰った = walked home
  • not usually returned by walking

English prefers go home here.

Is the comma after らしく important?

It helps show the pause between the two parts of the sentence:

  • Apparently it wasn’t a serious injury,
  • and she rested a little before walking home.

Japanese commas are often more flexible than English commas, but here it makes the sentence easier to read and shows that the first clause leads into the next one.

Could this sentence be said in a more casual way?

Yes. A more casual version might be something like:

  • 大きなけがじゃなかったらしく、彼女は少し休んでから歩いて帰った。

The main difference is:

  • ではなかった = more neutral/formal
  • じゃなかった = more casual

The overall meaning stays the same.

Is 大きな けが literally big injury, or should I understand it as serious injury?

You should understand it as serious injury or major injury.

Japanese often uses size words in ways that English would not translate literally:

  • 大きな問題 = a big problem
  • 大きな事故 = a major accident
  • 大きなけが = a serious injury

So while big injury is the literal idea, serious injury is the natural English meaning.

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