to become thin; to lose weight; to reduce (one's) weight; to be barren; to be infertile; to be sterile
reaching; attaining; arrival
older brother and younger sister
still; even now; to this day
bitter smile; wry smile; strained laugh; sarcastic laugh
trivial; not amounting to much
to like; to love; to be fond of
to choose (a thing) at one's own discretion; to use one's discretion in choosing
flower; blossom; cherry blossom; beauty; blooming (esp. of cherry blossoms); ikebana; hanafuda
to exchange; to swap; to barter; to replace; to substitute
difficult to ...; hard to ...
illegal channel; back channel; black market
several minutes; a few minutes
one; 1; best; first; foremost; beginning; start
one's student (esp. a former one); one's pupil; one's disciple
ikebana; Japanese art of flower arrangement
intermediate wholesaler; middle trader; middleman; broker
trader; dealer; businessperson; fellow trader; people in the same trade
direct selling; direct sales
price of a flower; fee for a geisha's companionship
to earn (income); to make (money); to score (points, victory); to gain (time); to work hard (at one's job); to labor
making do; getting by (somehow); managing
period; epoch; the times; those days; oldness; ancientness
petty; small-minded; stingy; poor (performance, etc.); bad; unskilled
be considered; be deemed; be thought to be
resistance; opposition; reluctance; repulsion; resistance; drag
as soon as possible; as quickly as possible; speedily; without delay; ASAP
next (to); adjoining; adjacent; house next door; neighbouring house; next-door neighbour
meek; quiet; docile; mysterious; marvelous; marvellous
to ask; to inquire; to blame (someone) for; to accuse of; to care about; to regard as important
restlessly; nervously; uneasily; in a fidget
spoiled; spoilt; ruined; loss of face
lately; recently; nowadays
constant; invariable; chronic; everlasting
please; I beg you; for mercy's sake
unreasonable; unnatural; impossible; forcible; forced; excessive (work, etc.); immoderate
happiness; good fortune; luck; blessing
to finish reading; to read through
giving and taking; exchange (of letters); arguing back and forth; (conversational) exchange
to remove; to eliminate; to eradicate; to exclude; to except