魔女

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 魔女 is a noun read まじょ, meaning a witch, a female character associated with magic in a story.
• Basic usage: Use 魔女が住んでいる for a witch living somewhere and 魔女の役を演じる for performing the role of a witch.
  • 森の奥には親切な魔女が住んでいるという物語です。 describes a story about a kind witch living deep in the forest; 妹は学芸会で魔女の役を演じました。 describes a younger sister playing a witch in a school performance.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• 魔女が住んでいる
  • が marks the witch as the character who lives in the forest.
• 魔女の役
  • の identifies the kind of role being performed.
• という物語
  • という packages the preceding clause as the content of the story.