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
year; counter for years (e.g. of an era), grades (e.g. school); period of an apprentice's contract (usu. ten years)
in front (of); before (e.g. a building); before; earlier; (the) front; frontal part; forward
event; affair; incident; case; plot; trouble
doubt; question; uncertainty; skepticism; scepticism; suspicion
to hold (in one's hand); to take; to possess; to have; to maintain; to keep; to last
also; too; not ... either; (it's not possible) no matter what; although one might wish otherwise
potentiality; likelihood; possibility; availability
Mr.; Mrs.; Miss; politeness marker
if; when; and; with; used for quoting (thoughts, speech, etc.); promoted pawn; indicates a question
to call out (to); to call; to summon (a doctor, etc.); to invite; to designate; to name; to garner (support, etc.)
person; character; one's character; one's personality; able person; talented person
to erase; to delete; to turn off (power); to switch off; to extinguish; to put out
yes; yeah; huh?; what?; not; 's
head (chief, director) of a section or department; head of a (school) club; head of a (school) team
indicates sentence subject (occasionally object); indicates possessive (esp. in literary expressions); but; however; regardless of; whether (or not)
be; is; did; (have) done; please; do
honorific/polite/humble prefix