popular name; common name; nickname; alias
lizard; skink lizard (Scincidae spp.)
unsociable; unfriendly; blunt; surly; curt; cold
at; in; at; when; by; with; and then
nervous; highly strung; sensitive; fussy; worried about petty things
once; before; formerly; never yet; never before; first time
indicates sentence topic; indicates contrast with another option (stated or unstated); adds emphasis
search (esp. in criminal investigations); investigation; inquiry; enquiry
one; 1; best; first; foremost; beginning; start
lesson; section (in an organization); division; counter for lessons and chapters (of a book)
indicates possessive; nominalizes verbs and adjectives; substitutes for "ga" in subordinate phrases; (at sentence-end, falling tone) indicates a confident conclusion; (at sentence-end) indicates emotional emphasis; (at sentence-end, rising tone) indicates question
ability; capability; competence; skill
(police) detective; criminal matter
by means of; due to; because of; according to
arrest rate; clear-up rate; crime-arrest ratio
fall; decline; lowering; deterioration; degradation
at (place, time); in; to (direction, state); toward; for (purpose); because of (reason); for
to suffer; to groan; to be worried
Metropolitan Police Department (esp. Tokyo)
private; non-governmental; non-official; folk; popular
investigator (usu. of criminal cases)
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.
infiltration; sneaking in; going undercover
detective; investigator; sleuth; detective work; secret investigation
as (i.e. in the role of); for (i.e. from the viewpoint of); apart from... (used to change the topic); even (e.g. "not even a single person"); thinking that...; trying to...
use; adoption; acceptance; appointment; employment; engagement
Mr.; Mrs.; Miss; politeness marker
this; last (couple of years, etc.); these; you (as in "you liar")
material (for a story, article, etc.); information; joke; jest; proof; evidence; (magician's) trick
to chase; to run after; to follow (a set order, a trend, etc.); to drive out; to get rid of; to drive (e.g. a herd)
danger; peril; hazard; risk
to pass through; to pass by; to pass (of time); to elapse; to have expired; to have ended; to exceed
to catch; to capture; to catch hold of (someone); to stop (e.g. a stranger in the street); towards (someone); at (someone)
(not) anything; (nothing) at all; and everything else; and all; (not) at all; (not) in the least
to end; to come to an end; to close; to finish
you said; he said; if ... then; do you seriously think that; I already told you; you should know by now that; the said ...
what!; oh; what the heck; what the; damn
truth; reality; proper; right; genuine; authentic
darkness; the dark; bewilderment; despair; hidden place; secrecy
be; is; did; (have) done; please; do
to aim at (with a weapon, etc.); to be after (something or someone); to have an eye on; to aim for; to set up as a goal
always; without exception; necessarily; certainly; without fail; positively
nest; rookery; den; haunt; (spider's) web
to catch and tie up; to apprehend; to entangle; to trap; to brush out (e.g. dust, fur, plaque); to extract
that; it; then; that point (in time); (arch.) there; (arch.) you
indicates sentence subject (occasionally object); indicates possessive (esp. in literary expressions); but; however; regardless of; whether (or not)