わたしたちはみな、人生において成功を収めようとするが、成功するのは、きわめて数少ない人たちである。

we; us

topic marker particle; indicates contrast with another option (stated or unstated); adds emphasis

all; everyone; everybody; everything

(human) life (i.e. conception to death)

in; on; at (place); as for; regarding

success; hit

indicates direct object of action; indicates subject of causative expression; indicates an area traversed; indicates time (period) over which action takes place; indicates point of departure or separation of action; indicates object of desire, like, hate, etc.

to dedicate; to make an offering; to pay (fees); to supply; to store; to finish; to bring to a close; to restore (something to its place); to achieve (e.g. a result)

if; when; and; with; particle used for quoting (with speech, thoughts, etc.); quoting particle; promoted pawn; indicates question (sentence end)

to do; to cause to become; to make (into); to turn (into); to serve as; to act as; to work as; to wear (clothes, a facial expression, etc.); to judge as being; to view as being; to think of as; to treat as; to use as; to decide on; to choose; to be sensed (of a smell, noise, etc.); to be (in a state, condition, etc.); to be worth; to cost; to pass (of time); to elapse; verbalizing suffix (applies to nouns noted in this dictionary with the part of speech "vs"); creates a humble verb (after a noun prefixed with "o" or "go"); to be just about to; to be just starting to; to try to; to attempt to

indicates sentence subject (occasionally object); indicates possessive (esp. in literary expressions); but; however; still; and

indicates possessive; nominalizes verbs and adjectives; substitutes for "ga" in subordinate phrases; (at sentence-end, falling tone) indicates a confident conclusion; (at sentence-end) indicates emotional emphasis; (at sentence-end, rising tone) indicates question

exceedingly; extremely; decisively

few in number

people

be; is; indicates past or completed action; indicates light imperative

a certain ...; some ...