start; commencement; beginning; initiation
counterattack; counteroffensive; counterblow
finally; at last; barely; narrowly; gradually; little by little
to strike against; to collide with; to encounter; to meet; to clash
on purpose; deliberately; intentionally
thunder; thunderclap; crash of thunder
rain; rainy day; rainy weather; the November suit (in hanafuda)
huh?; eh?; what?; oh; hey!; look!
to turn back (e.g. half-way); to return; to go back; to recover (e.g. something lost); to be returned; to rebound
dangerous; risky; awful; terrible; terrific; amazing
to go uninvited; to call on without an invitation; to barge in on; to throng to; to crowd into; to converge upon
house; one's house; one's home; one's family
talk; speech; topic; subject; discussions; negotiation; rumor
to believe; to believe in; to place trust in; to confide in; to have faith in
actually; in fact; as a matter of fact
children are a bond between husband and wife; children hold marriages together
effort; exertion; endeavour; endeavor; hard work; striving
disliked; hated; tendency; smack (of); distinction; discrimination
envious; jealous; enviable (position, etc.)
such; like that; that sort of; very
to discover; to find (e.g. an error in a book); to locate; to find (e.g. something missing); to be used to seeing; to be familiar with
every day; daily; day after day; days (e.g. good old days)
to cook (grains, e.g. rice); to boil; to simmer; to stew
to be thirsty; to feel thirsty; to thirst for; to crave
café; cafe; coffeehouse; hostess bar (serving western alcoholic beverages; Taisho and Showa period)
to persevere; to persist; to insist that; to stick to (one's opinion); to remain in a place; to stick to one's post
making; forming; cultivating; form; appearance
girl; daughter; baby girl; young woman
to use (a thing, method, etc.); to make use of; to use (a person, animal, puppet, etc.); to employ; to use (time, money, etc.); to spend
looking away; looking aside
it is ... that ...; precisely; although; while; it is precisely because ... that ...; only because ...
alright; all right; right on; looking good; OK; okay
to break; to snap; to be injured; to wear out; to be worn out; to break; to burst
now that you mention it; come to think of it; that reminds me; on that subject; speaking of which
friend of a mother who is also a mother; mothers who are friends