the other day; lately; recently; meanwhile; in the meantime
indicates possessive; nominalizes verbs and adjectives; substitutes for "ga" in subordinate phrases; indicates a confident conclusion; indicates emotional emphasis; indicates question
story; tale; talk; discussion
at; in; at; when; by; with; so
entrance (on the stage); appearance (in a book, film, etc.); appearance (on the scene); arrival (on the market); emergence
this; last (couple of years, etc.); these; you (as in "you liar")
two persons; two people; pair; couple
if; when; and; as well as; with; together with; used for quoting (thoughts, speech, etc.)
indicates sentence topic; indicates contrast with another option (stated or unstated); adds emphasis
happy; auspicious; propitious; naive
reason; cause; meaning; sense; (good) sense; reason
to give birth; to bear (child); to lay (eggs); to produce; to yield; to give rise to
daughter; girl (i.e. a young, unmarried woman)
indicates the subject of a sentence; indicates possession; but; however; and; used after an introductory remark or explanation; regardless of ...
this way; this direction; here; this (one); I; me
one line; one streak; one item (in an itemized form); one clause; one matter (affair, event, case, incident)
emperor (of Japan); mikado
the Empress, the Empress Dowager and the Grand Empress Dowager; emperor's second consort; empress; palace of the empress; building of a Shinto shrine built on middle ground; demesne of the imperial palace
good; advantage; sake; purpose; consequence; result
at; in; to; toward; to; for; because of
superior; excellent; brilliant; outstanding
wife (esp. one's own wife); court lady; female court attache; (arch.) woman (esp. as a love interest)
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.
(talent) scout; recruiter; scouting; headhunting; Boy Scouts; Girl Scouts
that; it; then; that point (in time); (arch.) there; (arch.) you
Sei Shōnagon (author and poet of the middle Heian period)
The Pillow Book (Heian-period collection of writings by Sei Shōnagon)
it is, isn't it?; I know, right?; innit?
as a matter of fact; by the way; to tell you the truth; to be honest; frankly; actually
house; residence; family; household; lineage; family name
for generations; from generation to generation; generation after generation; through the ages
song; singing; classical Japanese poem (esp. tanka); modern poetry
being well versed (in); being well acquainted (with); being familiar (with); (a boy's) first ejaculation; spermarche; semenarche
but; however; even; however; no matter how; ... or something; either ... or ...
to be; to exist; to have; to be located; to be equipped with; to happen; to come about
the expectation is that ...; the reason is that ...; the fact is that ...; the explanation is that ...; it is that ...
wave; billow; ups and downs; (something) advancing step by step; (something) surging forward inopposably; tendency
to cross over; to cross; to pass through; to exceed; to surpass; to be more (than)