父は１４歳のときに同じ質問をしたことがあった。

Sentence Analyzer

English Translation

His father had asked the question the year he was fourteen.

Furigana

父(ちち)は１４歳(さい)のときに同(おな)じ質問(しつもん)をしたことがあった。

Romanji

Chichi wa ichi yon sai no tokini onaji shitsumon o shita koto ga atta.

Words

父 (ちち、とと、ちゃん、てて、かぞ、かそ、しし、あて)

father

は (は)

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

一 (いち)

one; best; first; foremost; beginning; start; bottom string (on a shamisen, etc.)

四 (し、よん、よ)

four

歳 (さい)

-years-old; ability; gift; talent; aptitude; genius

の (の)

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

時に (ときに)

by the way; incidentally; sometimes; occasionally

同じ (おなじ、おんなじ)

same; identical; equal; uniform; equivalent; similar; common (origin); changeless; alike; (usu. part of a 'nara' conditional) anyway; anyhow; in either case

質問 (しつもん)

question; inquiry; enquiry

を (を)

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.

為る (する)

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

事 (こと、こん)

thing; matter; incident; occurrence; event; something serious; trouble; crisis; circumstances; situation; state of affairs; work; business; affair; after an inflectable word, creates a noun phrase indicating something the speaker does not feel close to; nominalizing suffix; pretending to ...; playing make-believe ...; alias; aka; nickname; alternative name; also known as

が (が)

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

有る (ある)

to be (usu. of inanimate objects); to exist; to live; to have; to be located; to be equipped with; to happen; to come about