office work; clerical work; administration; business; affairs
shipping; transport by sea
chattering; talk; idle talk; chatty; talkative; chatterbox
else; in addition; on top of that; furthermore; further; besides
dirty; filthy; disordered; messy; indecent (language, etc.); dirty
sluggishly; slowly; ploddingly; stolidly (standing); impassively
disembarkation; getting off a ship; going ashore
to talk; to chat; to chatter
forbidding mentioning (something to others); imposing silence (on); ordering (someone) to keep quiet; hush money
severe; strict; hard (to do); difficult; intense (e.g. cold); harsh (weather)
to tell; to (try to) persuade; to advise; to warn; to admonish; to reason
to persist in; to carry out; to have one's own way; to push through; to carry through
wharf; bridge; jetty; pier
important task; important role; major part (in a film, play, etc.); leading role; high-scoring combination
generation; lifetime; age
cold-water ablutions (for spiritual purification)
abdomen; stomach; under parts
pure; clean; untouched; innocent
to choose; to select; to pick (out)
to spread salt (to spiritually purify)
(ship or shipbuilding) timber or plank
to be conspicuous; to stand out
the Rat (first sign of the Chinese zodiac); hour of the Rat (around midnight, 11pm to 1am, or 12 midnight to 2am); north; eleventh month of the lunar calendar
past; after; too (much); over- (e.g. eating)
taking a quantity (of time, people, etc.); similar to ...; dependent on ...; reliant on ...; while ...; when ...
Confucianist; Confucian (scholar)
blacksmithing; forging; smithery; blacksmith; smith
lacquerer; lacquer craftsman; lacquer artist
craftsman; artisan; craft; craftsmanship; plot; scheme
craftsman; artisan; workman; carpenter
to be steamed (properly, e.g. rice); to be stuffy; to grow musty; to get close
resembling ...; having the traits or characteristics of ...; -looking; with a ...-like expression; with an air of ...
praise and censure; public criticisms
embargo (on a ship); arrest (of a ship); preventing a ship from passing or leaving a port
breaking off relations (with); severing one's connections (with); breaking with (e.g. one's past); insulation (electrical or thermal); isolation
actual place; actual location; the spot; place where one is currently living
to be possible; to be conceivable; to be likely; to be probable
without cause; without reason
already completely (did, happened, etc.); already entirely
swaying; swinging; rocking; shaking; wavering; flickering
ripple; ring on the water; repercussions; Japanese slit drum; instrument made of iron with slits on top; makes a rippling sound