その少年は自分の名前さえ書くことができなかった。

Sentence Analyzer

English Translation

The boy could not so much as write his own name.

Furigana

その少年(しょうねん)は自分(じぶん)の名前(なまえ)さえ書(か)くことができなかった。

Romanji

Sono shōnen wa jibun no namae sae kaku koto ga dekinakatta.

Words

其の (その)

that (something or someone distant from the speaker, close to the listener; actions of the listener, or ideas expressed or understood by the listener); the; um...; er...; uh...

少年 (しょうねん)

boy; juvenile; young boy; youth; lad

は (は)

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

自分 (じぶん)

myself; yourself; oneself; himself; herself; I; me; you

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

名前 (なまえ)

name; full name; given name; first name

さえ (さえ)

even; if only; if just; as long as; the only thing needed

書く (かく)

to write; to compose; to pen; to draw; to paint

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

出来る (できる)

to be able (in a position) to do; to be up to the task; to be ready; to be completed; to be made; to be built; to be good at; to be permitted (to do); to become intimate; to take up (with somebody); to grow; to be raised; to become pregnant