master of ceremonies; MC; intermission between songs in which the performers speak to the audience; machining center; marginal cost
declining birth rate; decline in the number of children; sub-replacement fertility
about; on; regarding; per; for every
indicates sentence topic; indicates contrast with another option (stated or unstated); adds emphasis
how; in what way; how about
honorific/polite/humble prefix
thinking; thought; idea; notion; intention; plan
country; state; region; national government; central government; home (i.e. hometown, home country); province (of Japan)
child-rearing assistance; support for young parents; child-care allowance
et cetera; etc.; or something; the likes of; for example; for instance
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.
to start; to begin; to start up (a business, society, etc.); to open (e.g. a store); to start ...; to begin to ...
reason; cause; meaning; sense; (good) sense; reason
but; however; (and) yet; nevertheless; still; for all that
as expected; sure enough; after all (is said and done); in the end; too; also
nursery school; day care center; day nursery
indicates possessive; nominalizes verbs and adjectives; substitutes for "ga" in subordinate phrases; indicates a confident conclusion; indicates emotional emphasis; indicates question
hard; tough; hardware; hard disk (drive)
preference; priority; precedence; right of way
if; when; and; as well as; with; together with; used for quoting (thoughts, speech, etc.)
that; it; then; that point (in time); (arch.) there; (arch.) you
what kind of; what sort of; what
that; the; part (as in "part two"); um ...; er ...
in front (of); before (e.g. a building); before; earlier; (the) front; frontal part; forward
at; in; to; toward; to; for; because of
indicates word or phrase being defined; used for quoting (thoughts, speech, etc.); with; (not) as much as; (not) so much as; the fact that
to think (about, of); to think over; to consider; to bear in mind; to think (that); to believe; to intend (to do)
because; as; since; because of that; therefore; accordingly
indicates the subject of a sentence; indicates possession; but; however; and; used after an introductory remark or explanation; regardless of ...
few; little; small (amount); low; scarce; insufficient
rather than; more ... than ...
parent; parents; dealer; banker; founder; inventor; (pet) owner
that is to say; that is; in short; in brief; clogging; obstruction; shrinkage
change to ...; becoming ...; making into ...; -ization; -ification
this; last (couple of years, etc.); these; you (as in "you liar")
at; in; at; when; by; with; so
to advance (spatially); to go forward; to precede; to go ahead (of); to make progress; to move ahead (e.g. of work); to intensify
to give birth; to bear (child); to lay (eggs); to produce; to yield; to give rise to
although; despite; whereas; while; if only; I wish
readiness; (mental) preparedness; resolution; determination; resignation (to one's fate)
qualifications; requirements; capabilities
to be (of animate objects); to exist; to stay; to be ...-ing; to have ...-ed; to be ...-ed
to think; to consider; to think (of doing); to plan (to do); to judge; to assess; to imagine
mind; heart; spirit; the meaning of a phrase (riddle, etc.)