cicada; locust; small-sized pulley
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
cry (esp. animal); roar; chirp; tweet; bark; whine
Mr.; Mrs.; makes a word more polite (usu. in fixed expressions); state; situation
one day; (on) a certain day
indicates sentence topic; indicates contrast with another option (stated or unstated); adds emphasis
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
middle palace guard (ritsuryo system)
at (place, time); in; to (direction, state); toward; for (purpose); because of (reason); for
to call out (to); to call; to summon (a doctor, etc.); to invite; to designate; to name; to garner (support, etc.)
thank you for waiting; sorry to have kept you waiting
indicates word or phrase being defined; used for quoting (thoughts, speech, etc.); with; (not) as much as; (not) so much as; the fact that
style; manner; way; after (period of time) again (e.g. meeting again after a year); for the first time in (period of time)
approximately; about; to (about) the extent that; (almost) enough that; as ... as ...; like
to become; to get; to result in; to turn out; to consist of; to be composed of; to be completed
indicates a question; or; whether or not; some- (e.g. something, someone); hmm; huh; very
yes; that is correct; understood; I see; present; here; pardon?
to be surprised; to be astonished
to hear; to listen (e.g. to music); to ask; to enquire; to hear about; to hear of; to follow (advice, order, etc.)
to send (a thing); to dispatch; to take or escort (a person somewhere); to see off (a person); to bid farewell (to the departed); to bury; to spend (time)
as a matter of fact; by the way; to tell you the truth; to be honest; frankly
this occasion; at this time; now
white; innocence; innocent person; blank space; white go stone; white dragon tile; skewered grilled pig intestine
crane (any bird of the family Gruidae, esp. the red-crowned crane, Grus japonensis)
oiran; high-ranking courtesan; (arch.) prostitute
indicates sentence subject (occasionally object); indicates possessive (esp. in literary expressions); but; however; regardless of; whether (or not)
paying to get someone (esp. a geisha, prostitute, etc.) out of bondage
thing; matter; incident; occurrence; circumstances; situation; work
honorific/polite/humble prefix
companion; partner; other party; addressee; opponent (sports, etc.)
Dewa (former province located in present-day Yamagata and Akita prefectures)
country; state; region; national government; central government; home (i.e. hometown, home country); (arch.) province (of Japan)
safflower (Carthamus tinctorius); dyer's safflower
merchant; trader; tradesman; dealer; shopkeeper
called; named; as many as; as much as; all ...; every single ...
that is so; that is right; it looks to me; people say that; it is said that; I hear that
how; in what way; how about; questionable
to build up; to establish; to form; to become (a state); to accomplish; to achieve; to change into
no; nay; well; er; you're welcome; not at all
a little bit; a little while
language; dialect; word; phrase; speech; (manner of) speaking