Japanese apricot (Prunus mume); Japanese plum; ume; lowest (of a three-tier ranking system)
red and white; colours for festive or auspicious occasions (colors); two teams; two groups; Kōhaku Uta Gassen; annual contest between male and female popular singers on New Year's Eve (sponsored and broadcast by NHK)
already; now; by this time; quick; early; fast
to be scattered around; to lie scattered
to recall; to remember; to recollect
flat; even; level; plain (speech, etc.); simple
in short; in a word; to sum up; to put it simply; to make a long story short; after all
to break; to snap; to be injured; to wear out; to be worn out; to break; to burst
to disappear; to vanish; to go out (of a fire, light, etc.); to die; to fade (of a feeling, impression, etc.); to vanish (e.g. of hope); to go away (e.g. of a smell, itchiness, sleepiness)
breakdown; failure; damage; hurt; objection; protest
anything and everything; all sorts of things; by all means
intention; plan; belief; assumption; estimate; estimation
easy; simple; ready; casual; off-hand; easy-going
serious; earnest; real sword (as opposed to a wooden practice weapon)
to be troubled; to have difficulty; to be bothered; to be inconvenienced; to be badly off; to be hard up
to pull out; to draw out; to omit; to leave out; to do to the end; to carry through; to let out (e.g. air from a tyre)
splendid; fine; praiseworthy; creditable; legal; legitimate
settlement; solution; resolution
company; friendship; association; society; acquaintance
to be able to manage somehow or another
for the present; for the time being; at present; in the meantime
to count on; to expect; to put confidence in; to trust in; to depend on
aeroplane; airplane; aircraft
bus (on a regular route); transit bus; fixed-route bus
where ... is concerned; when it becomes; if it becomes
individualism; egoism; selfishness
kotatsu; table over an electric heater (orig. a charcoal brazier in a floor well) with a hanging quilt that retains heat
other side; opposite side; other party
empty seat; unoccupied seat; vacancy; vacant post
Tōhoku region (northernmost six prefectures of Honshu); Tohoku region
letter; missive; note; mail
facing; opposite; across the street; other side
unexpected (but welcome) visitor; rare guest
substitute; replacement; stand-in; proxy; compensation; exchange
in order to do; for the purpose of doing
space on a page (e.g. in a newspaper); surface of paper; letter; writings
person inside a cartoon body suit; voice actor; insider
to cross over (e.g. mountain); to go across; to get over (e.g. hardship); to pass time (e.g. a winter); to surpass; to be better than; to move house
doing together (as equals); sharing; common (land, etc.); joint (statement, etc.); cooperation; co-operation
little girl; maiden; young lady; (arch.) female between 17 and 20 years old (ritsuryo period)
to throw down; to throw out; to abandon; to resign; to give freely; to give generously