to be (of animate objects); to exist; to stay; to be ...-ing; to have been ...-ing
thing; matter; incident; occurrence; circumstances; situation; work
at (place, time); in; to (direction, state); toward; for (purpose); because of (reason); for
to notice; to recognize; to recognise; to become aware of; to perceive; to realize
broadcasting; broadcast; program; announcement
discourtesy; impoliteness; excuse me; goodbye; to leave; to be rude
thousand years; very long period; forever
honorific/polite/humble prefix
suffix for familiar person
indicates sentence subject (occasionally object); indicates possessive (esp. in literary expressions); but; however; regardless of; whether (or not)
sudden; abrupt; urgent; pressing; steep; sharp; rapid
illness; disease; bad habit; weakness; fault
at; in; at; when; by; with; and then
you said; he said; if ... then; do you seriously think that; I already told you; you should know by now that; the said ...
from (e.g. time, place, numerical quantity); since; from (originator); by; because; since; out of (constituent, part)
cold (to the touch); chilly; icy; (emotionally) cold; coldhearted; unfeeling
to become; to get; to result in; to turn out; to consist of; to be composed of; to be completed
inner palace (in Edo Castle); palace's ladies chambers; shogun's harem
to die; to pass away; to lose spirit; to lose vigor; to cease; to stop
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
childhood friend; friend from infancy; old playmate
dying; death; dead; useless; damned
secret; clandestine; covert; spy (for a daimyo, shogun, etc.); secret agent
class (of students); group (of people); party; lot; bunch; crime family; organized-crime syndicate
to come alive; to get going; to start to move
if; when; and; with; used for quoting (thoughts, speech, etc.); promoted pawn; indicates a question
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 chastise; to punish; to discipline
to shut oneself in (e.g. one's room); to be confined in; to be filled with (emotion, enthusiasm, etc.); to fill the room (of a gas, smell, etc.); to be heavy with (e.g. smoke); to be muffled (e.g. voice); to hold (a castle, fortress, etc.)
agreement; affirmative; aye; yes; OK
life; life force; lifetime; lifespan; most important thing; foundation
to come along; to come around; to turn up; to arrive at the present; to get where one is; to have been doing something (for a period of time)
inner part; inside; interior; depths (e.g. of a forest); back (of a house, drawer, etc.); bottom (e.g. of one's heart)
maid; female servant; hostess (in a ryokan); waitress (in a traditional restaurant); (arch.) court lady
pluralizing suffix (esp. for people and animals; formerly honorific)
what; you-know-what; that thing; whatsit; whachamacallit; (not) at all; (not) in the slightest
to be; to exist; to have; to be located; to be equipped with; to happen
indicates a question; or; whether or not; some- (e.g. something, someone); hmm; huh; very
to get information out of a person; to begin listening
to go around; to return; to surround; to concern (usu. of disputes)
member of shogun's council of elders
plot; intrigue; scheme; conspiracy; agreement between two or more people to commit an unlawful act
indicates word or phrase being defined; used for quoting (thoughts, speech, etc.); with; (not) as much as; (not) so much as; the fact that
death; decease; (arch.) death penalty (by strangulation or decapitation); (an) out