indicates sentence topic; indicates contrast with another option (stated or unstated); adds emphasis
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
house arrest; being placed in confinement at home
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.
chance; opportunity; machine; aircraft; counter for aircraft; counter for (remaining) lives
at (place, time); in; to (direction, state); toward; for (purpose); because of (reason); for
one's home; hometown; native place; birthplace
to turn back (e.g. half-way); to return; to go back; to recover (e.g. something lost); to be returned; to rebound
like-mindedness; (being of the) same mind; shared sentiment; comrade; fellow; kindred soul
together with; as X, then Y (e.g. as we age we gain wisdom, as wine matures it becomes more valuable, etc.)
chief retainer; daimyo's minister
clean sweep; purging; doing away with; eradication
but; however; (and) yet; nevertheless; still; for all that
poverty; need; destitution; having great difficulty with; struggling greatly with; being in distress
the end; the extremity; the limit; the limits; the result
selling oneself (into bondage) (esp. for prostitutes)
vicissitudes; continual change; transmigration; metempsychosis
after (a long process); at the end of; last line (of a renga)
finally; at last; in the end; after all; never (happened)
both (hands, parents, sides, etc.); counter for carriages (e.g. in a train); counter for vehicles; ryō; tael; ryō; pre-Meiji unit of currency, orig. the value of one ryō of gold
too; also; both A and B; A as well as B; even; as much as
price; cost; value; worth; value
at; in; at; when; by; with; and then
Edo (shogunate capital, now Tokyo); Yedo
good fortune (esp. omikuji fortune-telling result); good luck; auspiciousness; unspecified day of the month (used to obscure the date a letter, invitation, etc. was written)
original; primitive; primary; fundamental; raw
to take into one's possession; to receive; to take into one's care (e.g. person, pet); to take custody of; to leave; to go away
that; it; then; that point (in time); (arch.) there; (arch.) you
to be aware of; to know; to notice; to feel; to understand; to comprehend; to remember
money needed to buy a geisha or prostitute out of bondage
circumstances; condition; to arrange; to manage; to lend money; to raise money
if; when; and; with; used for quoting (thoughts, speech, etc.); promoted pawn; indicates a question
to offer; to propose; to suggest; to put forward; to request; to ask (for)
indicates sentence subject (occasionally object); indicates possessive (esp. in literary expressions); but; however; regardless of; whether (or not)
extraordinary; preposterous; outrageous; absurd
large amount of money; great cost
mind; heart; spirit; the meaning of a phrase (riddle, etc.)
big; large; loud; extensive; spacious; important
to shake; to sway; to waver
year; counter for years (e.g. of an era), grades (e.g. school); period of an apprentice's contract (usu. ten years)
to empty; to remove; to move out; to clear out; to be away from (e.g. one's house); to leave (temporarily); to dawn
eel (esp. the Japanese eel, Anguilla japonica)
to cut up; to cleave; to spare (time, money, etc.); to use part of something; (arch.) to have a tattoo in the corner of one's eye